By Adam Scott (wingedbeast@hotmail.com)
The other is that the powers, while allowing for seemingly supernatural abilities, are purely mundane. This is not to say that either is common by any stretch of the imagination, but it is to say that the abilities coming from either is a result of focusing the will everybody has, not using a power that only a few have.
The nature of the discipline, despite the fact that it is essentially another way of reaching the same untapped will, is different in its very nature. Students of Love take their power from that which gives them joy. And, this isn't a reference to such small joys as sex, food, or play can provide. This is a reference to the joys that can only come by finding a true love, a soul mate. So, the first thing a person needs to become a Student of Love is a true love (in more detail below).
Next, a potential Student of Love must be willing to focus all of his/her energy on that true love. This kind of focus into love, for most, can be a very scary endeavor. In fact, it requires an almost total obsession. Focusing on love to such a degree can be almost as dangerous for the loved as focusing on hate to such a degree would be for the hated.
Finally, of course, there must be a teacher, somebody who will teach you to use that love to focus your will into a formidable power. But, Students of Love don't teach just anybody with a true love to be Students of Love. There must be a necessity of the teaching, as this kind of focus on love can be truly dangerous. The necessity of learning usually comes in the form of some threat to the true love, in which the focus of Love can assist one in protecting the true love or a separation from the love, in which it would take the assistance of the focus of Love to be with the true love again.
Passions can be reclaimed completely by having direct contact with the true love, such as garou rage and the auspice moon.
With a success on a Love roll, difficulty 6, the character can regain one point of passions by having contact with the peripheral love.
Ignoring Pain: The Student of Love can ignore one die of damage penalty per point of Love. By the time the Student reaches level 5, the goal of finding or protecting the true love can enable him or her to walk on broken legs without problem.
By level 7, the only damage that can become a barrier between a Student of Love and his or her true love is death.
By level 8, the Student of Love will ignore damage that kills others (two past incapacitated to kill the Student.)
By level 9, 3 past incapacitated will be necessary to kill the Student.
By level 10, not even death can make an effective barrier between the Student and the true love. However, at this point, the Student has taken himself so far into Love that any form of permanent loss of his true love will kill the Student, as it is his love that is keeping him alive.
Passion: While Passion works the same as Rage does for Students of Hate and Garou, the name "rage" does not fit the expression of Love. So, temporary Love will be called Passion. For every point of Love a Student has, he or she has one point of Passion. Passion can be spent for extra actions, ignoring stun, or ignoring all wound penalties for a round. Students of Love can spend Passion on automatic successes Dexterity checks, particularly when protecting a True love.
On the occasion of supernatural mind control of some sort, a point of Passion can be spent to automatically resist. However, this supernatural mind control must be of the nature to pose a threat to the true love or a barrier between the Student and the True love.
Awakening a Supernatural Talent: Once an allegedly normal Student of Love reaches a Love rating of 6 or more, a truly rare thing, in and of itself, the Student has a chance of awakening a hidden supernatural talent as the will of Love forces them out into the open.
Allegedly normal human beings could awaken into being magi of a sort. The idea of spheres, Arete, or Paradox will be unknowns to them unless an educated mage comes along and teaches the student about such things. Unless such a thing happens, the Student's power will be as a wild talent that activates in times when the focus is activated.
Those that awaken the shifting gene will gain the advantage of a Glabro form, in times when strength is needed. However, the Student will lack any gifts and be unable to force the change consciously. This will change if the Student is found and taught by one of his or her changing breed. As the Student will not have been originally intended for being one of the shifting breed, the Student will be effectively without auspice and any auspice gifts will be of increased cost.
Increased Trait Maximum: For each level of Love past 5, the Student's trait maximum for Perception and Dexterity are raised by one. So, a Student of Love with a Love stat of 7 can have a Perception and a Dexterity of seven, but all others are at the normal maximum stat.
Manipulation: While love may sometimes feed off of one lying to oneself, it abhors lying to others. As a result, Manipulation + Love can never exceed 5.
Patience: At times, love requires delayed gratification, even delayed love. There will be times in almost every Student's life at which the Student will have the urge to grab for the true love and run or to just hold the true love once, but to do so would be to give up on the possibility for a long while, while resisting the urge may allow one to be with the true love forever. In these cases, a Willpower check to the difficulty of the Love rating must be made in order to resist the urge.
When a Student of Love has nightmares, this is what those nightmares are about. Unrequited love will have some great effects on a Student of Love. The first comes in the pain. The pain of unrequited love is one that almost all of us are accustomed to. But, to focus your life on love forces you to rely upon it for sanity and, in extreme conditions, even for physical health.
If a Student in the first three levels feels the scorch of unrequited love, depression results. Many people experience depression in many ways. So, this can have any number of varied affects, but it is almost assured that the character will engage in some self-destructive acts. And, if it is true that, as Freud said, depression is anger turned inwards, such a person may be dangerous indeed.
If the Student is in levels 4 or 5, the depression will be so great as to spur on violent acts of destruction. Homicidal rages aren't out of the reach of probability. Such a person would also be a prime candidate for learning of Hate, which can be very dangerous indeed, as Love would be quickly transferred to Hate without cost.
If a Student beyond level 5 feels the scorch of unrequited love, the pain will physically damage the student, even to the level of killing him or her if level 10 has been achieved. The healing of wounds caused in such a manner will be slow and arduous, and the wounds will leave deep scars.
In any case, the Student has a very good chance of being left unable to love after feeling unrequited love in such a manner.
Side Note: As with the Students of Hate, it should be noted and stressed that the Students of Love are a purely mundane people. Yes, the supernatural can learn the discipline and use the focus, but the power and the teaching of Love is a very natural thing.