By Bryan Rendell, for his re-work of the Setites.
"Bruises, bruises, bruises,
Cuts, cuts, cuts,
Giblets, giblets, giblets,
Guts, guts, guts."
- This Is Serious Mum, Death, Death, Death
The Setites discipline of Vitiatus is derived and developed from the legendary powers of Set, and is entirely unique to the Setite clan. The over-riding concern of this discipline is the corruption of its victims by various insidious means.
* Sense the Sin: By means of this power, the Setite can learn about the targets personal failings and weaknesses, if any. Such knowledge then provides the Setite with the direction further efforts at corruption should go. Such things as derangements, low Willpower, Virtues or Humanity, addictions or compulsions are revealed by this power. Note that this power cannot reveal any knowledge the target may have, such as a crime committed, unless it is connected to a consistant flaw, such as kleptomania.
System: The Setite makes a Perception + Empathy roll, difficulty of the target's Humanity/Path. The number of successes determines how much information is gained, and how accurate it is. Note that no amount of successes will reveal a flaw that isn't there.
** Eyes of the Serpent: The eyes of the Setite appear to be gold with large black irises, and mortals around the character find themselves strangely attracted to him. These eyes are highly beguiling, and will immobilize mortals who look into them. Until the character takes his eyes off of them, they are frozen in place. The use of this power is generally to facillitate the use of other Vitiatus powers.
System: No roll is required for the use of this power, but it can be avoided if the mortal takes care not to look into his eyes. Vampires can also be affected by this power, but the Setite must succeed a Willpower roll (difficulty of 9) in order for it to work.
*** Heaven's Touch: Despite the name, this is a particularly insidious and subtle power. By speaking to the target for several minutes and working the power upon them, the target will find that all external pleasurable stimuli are dramatically increased, while all sensory pains are muted. Thus nice food tastes great, great food tastes wonderful, average sex becomes great sex, and the euphoric effects of drugs and alcohol are extremely pronounced. At the same time, dropping a brick on your foot causes little more than a distant and dull sensation.
While this may seem great, the Setites are quick to exploit it's down side. While under the influence, self control and reason play little part in decision making as the desire for immediate gratification grows strong. Psychological addictions to substances are rapid, as are chemical ones. Addiction to the very state of being under the power of Heaven's Touch is common, as the target returns again and again to the Setite to enjoy the pleasures once more. All these possibilities render this seemingly benign power a potent weapon for the Setites.
System: The Setite must spend at least 5 minutes speaking with the target and gazing into their eyes. The Setite then rolls Manipulation + Empathy (difficulty of the targets Willpower). The number of successes determines the duration and intensity of the effect.
1 success One minute and minimal effect
2 successes 15 minutes and mild effect
3 successes 1 hour and average effect
4 successes 1 night and pronounced effect
5 successes 1 week and extreme effect
For every success gained, the victim can ignore 1 die of wound penalty. With 5 successes, a person could be crippled and function quite normally. However, when attempting a Virtue roll to resist any pleasurable or gratifying stimulus, including a vampire attempting to resist frenzy when hungry and confronted with blood, the victim suffers a dice penalty equal to the successes gained. Vampires only can attempt to resist the effect of the power for a single turn by spending a Willpower point. Spending Willpower equal to the successes the Setite gained will negate the power.
Beyond the game mechanics, the Storyteller should emphasise the role playing aspect of this power. Certain Natures may more readily resist this power, while others wouldn't even try. The Storyteller should also feel free to give characters addictive Derangements when they wantonly indulge their appetites.
**** Beautific Vision: Where Heaven's Touch tampered with the pleasures that satisfy desire, Beautific Vision corrupts the desires themselves. If a person subjected to this power feels any desires, then all objects reasonably associated with satisfying that desire will appear to the target as being as desirable as the most desirable example of those objects. Note that this will vary slightly from person to person. A desire to bet on the horses would render all horse races as desirable as betting on the Grand National maybe. A desire for food would render any food as desirable as a nine course gourmet meal. A desire for sex would render any appropriate partner as desirable as that person's sexual ideal. Pertinently, a desire for blood would render any blood as desirable as the incomprable blood of an Antedeluvian. Beautific Vision cannot actually induce the desire in anyone, unless combined with a power like Heaven's Touch. Only once a desire arises does the power take hold. The corrupting potential of such a power need not be dwelt upon.
System: The Setite must talk with the subject, and maintain eye contact with them, for at leat 15 minutes. The Setite then rolls Manipulation + Empathy (difficulty of the target's Willpower). The number of successes determines for how long the power remains in effect.
1 success One Minute
2 successes One Hour
3 successes One Day
4 successes One Week
5 successes One Month
If the character subsequently expresses a desire for something, or the Storyteller is reasonable sure they want it, then they must make an appropriate virtue roll, usually Self Control/Instinct, at a difficulty of 9, in order not to make some attempt to possess the object of desire. This roll must be made for every object of desire that confronts the character, until he fails a roll, or no more objects of temptation are in sight. A botched Self Control roll may mean that the character will go to any lengths to claim the object of his desire. For hungry Vampires, the difficulty of any attempts to resist frenzy when confronted by blood is automatically 10. However, Vampires only can attempt to resist the effect of Beautific Vision for a turn by spending a point of Willpower. Spending Willpower equal to the successes the Setite gained will negate the power As with Heaven's Touch, the use of Beautific Vision should emphasis the roleplaying aspect of vaulting desire. Simply because the character succeeded in making a Self Control roll does not mean he is as cool and collected as he ever was. If a charcter is not acting appropriately, you may require that they spend Willpower, reflecting the efforts at composure their are obviously making***** Unholy Vision: No longer restricted to attempting corruption by temptation, a Setite who has advanced this far into the power of Vitiatus can attempt to corrupt a victim directly, by filling their minds with twisted visions of depravity, debauchery and perversity, and inviting them to enjoy what they behold. Multiple attempts at this can taint even the most saintly of souls, while average persons can be quickly drawn into the Abyss. System: The setite must spend at least an hour talking to the target, gazing into their eyes all the while. The Setite then makes a Manipulation + Empathy roll (difficulty of the targets Conscience/Callousness + 4). Any successes means that the target must make an immediate Humanity/Path roll, in the usual way, at a difficulty of the number of successes the Setite gained + 2. 5 successes would require a difficulty 7 Humanity roll. If the Setite manages to successfully use Sense the Sin on the target previously, and discovered any hidden needs or desires the target had, then he can specifically include images intended to arouse that particular need. The successes gained in Sense the Sin are divided evenly between reducing the difficulty of the Setites attempt, and increasing the difficulty of the targets Humanity roll. Left over successes go to decreasing the Setites difficulty. The power of Unholy Vision can be used no more than once per day on any one individual.