Vehicular

By Ryan Roth (rothr@db.erau.edu) with (slight) revisions by Casca (bertishg@db.erau.edu)

Author's Notes

This is something a friend cooked up for me last summer. I was running a Cyberpunk game using Storyteller mechanics, because I was planning to make it into a futuristic Hunters chronicle. After the first adventure, the players would become embroiled in the affairs of the vampires of Night City. They would be used as pawns, gradually becoming aware of something 'not natural' running the city.

At any rate, my friend -- Ryan Roth (rothr@db.erau.edu) -- has always been a fan of Werewolf, and also has a fondness for the Gangrel because they're so much like the Garou. Completely on his own, he came up with the new Discipline of Vehicular, designed to replace Animalism, now fading in usefulness in the Cyberpunk world.

So in an effort to provide something new to the list, and get us off the endless 'item' arguments, I figured I'd throw this out for general consumption. Please note that it hasn't been playtested, so its mechanics may need some tweaking. If it means anything, I futzed around with it a bit and I'm pretty satisfied with how it looks.

Introduction

You want to know how we Gangrel coped when our forest friends began dying all around us? It wasn't easy. The other Kindred have always considered us a clan of loners and solitary wanderer, but that isn't quite true. We have always had our animal brothers for company. For us, it was enough; they were Family. Then, gradually, then not so gradually, they began to disappear, eaten up by the cities and the wealth-grubbing Kine. We were alone -- for the first time. Many of us couldn't take the pain of seeing so many die. They went mad: some frenzied against the Corporations, aiding our Lupine kin; others made the final decision and challenged the sun for the last time.

We who remained were lost -- in bitterness, resentment, and grief. Finally, the last of the Lupines whom we had tried to help looked upon us with compassion, for they felt the same way. And they began to teach us anew. They used what mystical strength they still held to show us new Voices, new friends for a new world. Voices in the Machine. They had saved us -- saved our sanity.

Know this, young pup. Know that the Lupines are dying; they have been for a long time, and now they are in their death throes. But still they gave us something very special, despite the bad blood between our peoples. You must never forget their honor, their valor, or their history. They have passed all of this on to us. Now, in secret, we carry on their work, with the strength they have given us. We will learn from their mistakes -- and their examples. We will work to expose the Wyrm-minions what survived Garou claws and the Fall of the Wyrm. We will drag them by force into the daylight, with the help of our Families, our Kinfolk, and our Machines. And eventually the Earth, and Gaia, will be cleansed.

Description

This discipline relates to supernatural control over machines, specifically vehicles. Kindred with this power may, at the Storyteller's discretion, apply thiese abilities to non-vehicle machines, but this is at a +2 difficulty.

* The Push

The Kindred using this power is trying to coax his vehicle into going faster, driving harder, or otherwise go beyond its normal limits and stay intact. Roll Manipulation + Drive [+ Vehicle Zen] at difficulty 7. Each success allows the machine to exceed its performance rating by up to 20%. The Kindred can try to boost this to 30%, but at this level the vehicle starts taking a wound every round. This damage is normally irreparable (see below).

** Mr. Fix-It

This power grants a mystical understanding of mechanical damage and its repair. It has two effects. When the Kindred is trying to repair his vehicle (i.e. is stopped, has tools, and a few hours), the standard Intelligence + Repair roll is made, but the Vehicular rating adds automatic successes (like Potence). The second effect is when the Kindred doesn't have the time or the tools -- he simply wills the machine to repair itself. Ruptured lines patch themselves, blown tires reform, even axles mend back together without the weakness of a weld. Roll Manipulation + Repair, difficulty 8. This can even be tried while the vehicle is operating, but the difficulty is then 9. This second effect can even repair irreversible damage (like from the Push). Use of the this effect requires the expenditure of a Blood point.

*** Remote Control

This simply allows the Kindred to operate vehicles that he is currently not inside. He can summon vehicles to him, or even take control of piolted vehicles. The Kindred can control as many vehicles as he has dots of Vehicular, but each additional one raises the difficulty by one. If he tries to wrest control of a vehicle from another driver, it is a resisted roll: Dexterity + Drive (or Pilot) for the driver and Manipulation + Drive for the Kindred. However, since the Kindred is taking direct control of the vehicle (in essence, the vehicle 'wants' to listen to him), the Kindred's difficulty is 5, the driver's 6 (unless he too has Vehicular). The Kindred must know the exact location of the vehicle, so use of this power is limited to line of sight, video equipment, or Auspex powers. In addition, and weapons mounted on the vehicle can be controlled by the Kindred at +1 difficulty.

**** Knight Rider

This power allows the Kindred to bestow sentient awareness upon a vehicle. The vehicle becomes aware of its surroundings and can pilot itself, use its weapons, and do anything the vehicle can normally do if it has a pilot. Although the level of intelligece is lower than the human average, the vehicle can begin to learn as time passes: it becomes smarter, shoots straighter, etc. In addition, the Kindred who made the vehicle into a Knight Rider gains its absolute loyalty (in effect, it is Blood Bonded). The vehicle responds to the mental commands of its maker, although long range (greater than 10 miles) makes this difficult.

Using this discipline is very taxing. Any Kindred can only have up to his Vehicular rating in vehicles created in this fashion. The creation process takes three consecutive nights of constant labor, during which time the Kindred personalizes the vehicle by continual use of the first three levels of Vehicular upon it. On the third night, the Kindred must give up to 10 Blood Points of his own vitae to the vehicle (it is possible to store the blood prior to this night). This blood is usually placed within the vehicle's fuel tank. The Kindred must supply the vehicle with a Blood Point of his own every night thereafter; however, this is the vehicle's new power source, eliminating the need for any other fuel. Immediately after the blood is given, the Kindred must give the vehicle Social and Mental traits (Physical traits are assumed to have already been in existence, based upon the type of vehicle in question) by taking one Aggravated level of damage for each dot -- a minimum of six wounds are necessary to create a Knight Rider, granting the vehicle one dot in each Physical and Social category. (An exception to this is Appearance, which varies with make and model; the average is 2.)

There are dangers in having too many vehicles created in this manner. Besides the blood costs, if the vehicles are kept together, they begin 'quarreling.' They won't endager the Kindred, but they may begin fighting for his favor or, even worse, they may start trying to "one-up" each other. Remember, the longer the vehicles last, the smarter they become.

****** Christine

This power takes a Knight Rider vehicle and turns it into a mechanical ghoul: it possesses a Blood Pool and can spend Blood Points to boost Physical traits, heal damage, and power Disciplines. The vehicle is also Blood Bound to its creator. The biggest bonus is that the vehicle's Blood Pool is only limited by its fuel tank!

When created, the new Christine gains a dot in either Potence, Celerity, or Fortitude, at its creator's discretion. It is possible for other Disciplines to develop over time:

Presence: "Reggie! Get out of the road!" screamed his companions, but the punk was transfixed by the headlights moving at 100 mph towards him...

Obfuscate: The parking lot security film was proof. For some insane reason, the gang of car thieves had passed up on the Porsche, its doors open and keys in the ignition, in favor of ripping off the '06 Yugo.

Even Protean: The sleek black car wasn't going to stop, the cop realized. It was going to slam full-speed into the barricade. Suddenly, inches before impact, it disappeared in a cloud of strange mist which rolled over the startled officers...

Christines develop distinct personalities for themselves, usually quite different from their owners, but also heavily influence by the type of vehicle -- Luxury cars have a tendency to be cultured and mannered; street bikes loud and obnoxious. But the bond between a Kindred and his Christine is very strong, as strong as any Blood Bond. They can telepathically speak to each other, regardless of location. Christines will always try to help the Kindred, whether he wants it or not.

There can only be one Christine for any one Kindred at any time. In addition, all of the other Knight Rider vehicles have to be removed -- Christines take far too much attention (This can lead to interesting power struggles within the Kindred's garage). The selected vehicle must already be of the Knight Rider class and must have average ratings in Mental and Social traits. There is a lot of love put into the making of a Christine -- some Kindred can never manage it (Humanity must be 6 or greater at the time of creation).

To make a Christine, a Kindred must embue it with Virtues, Humanity, and Willpower. This is done in the same way as creating a Knight Rider, with an Aggravated wound taken for each dot so given. In addition, 20 Blood Points must be given up to the vehicle.

If the Christine is ever destroyed beyond repair ('killed'), its creator immediately feels the loss. Depending upon the circumstances, he may Frenzy, slip into a depressive Torpor, or even become suicidal. No other Christines may be created until a Humanity check at difficulty 9 is passed with at least 3 successes.