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Auspex



          This Discipline is one of extrasensory awareness, empathy and perception. Those with this Discipline tend to be strongly affected by environmental phenomena, especially beauty. Loud noises can be very disturbing.

Auspex 'v' The Vanishing

          To see through any form of invisibility, or altered visual states such as Chimerstry (Not Obtenebration), with Auspex, but you need your Auspex Higher than the assailants Skill/Power to make them visible.

          

Heightened Senses

          You can sharpen all five of your senses to an extraordinary degree. This is done at will, and lasts as long as you choose. This allows you to double your normal ranges of hearing and sight, in terms of both distance and the conditions in which those senses are effective. Your other senses become equally useful; with increased olfactory sensitivity, you can track even if there are no tracks left, and you can identify almost any object by touch alone.

          There is a drawback, though, as loud noises or bright lights can disturb you while in this state. You may even become "blind" in that particular sense for a short period of time (depending on the degree of noise or glare, it could be days). Thus, if you are exposed to sunlight while employing Heightened Senses, you may be blinded for a week, even after the aggravated damage sustained is healed.

          You are also occasionally alerted to impending danger with unsettling premonitions. These premonitions are typically confusing, but can be invaluable.

           System:Spend 1 point of blood to increase Perception by one. This can be done to raise your Perception to 5, and then you need to spend 2 blood for every additional point of Perception.

Aura Perception

          You can see the auras of other beings, the colours of which indicate their moods, identities and levels of hostility. This power also allows you to recognise other vampires (they have pale auras).

          Even the most shallow, transparent person usually has several different colours composing his aura. The aura may shift between the different colours in a predictable cycle, or it might shift completely at random. The colours change along with the current emotional state of the character, and because people so often have mixed feelings, the aura is often mixed in colour.

           System:You need to spend enough blood to equal the Targets willpower. And then the Host tells you what there Aura reads. But as you do not know their willpower if you fail they can tell you a pack of lies, and you would not know better.

          See the Aura Colours chart for examples of some of the predominant colours that can be found and what emotions they represent.

          An aura may be looked at only once with clear vision. If the character attempts to look at it again, any failure should be considered a botch, as it is very easy to imagine seeing what one wants to see when it comes to auras.



The Spirit's Touch

          With this power you may pick up an object and gain impressions of one of the individuals who last held it. This object reading is usually limited to a "snapshot" of the tableau, but sometimes such things as the race, sex and even aura of the person in question can also be discerned. The Spirit's Touch can also reveal how the owner came to possess the item, or reveal what went on during the last moments the subject held the object.

           System:You need to spend 1 point of blood for every week the object has been left.

Telepathy

          You can probe the surface thoughts of any nearby subject and listen to them as you would listen to that person speak. Given enough time, you can learn nearly anything about the subject. For instance, you might be able to divine the sire of another vampire through Telepathy.

           System:The player must spend 3 blood to probe the thoughts of any Vampire of ghoul, but only 1 blood to probe the thoughts of a mortal, you can only read surface thoughts, and nothing deeper.

Psychic Projection

          You are able to expand your consciousness to such a degree that you can separate your mind from your body. While in this state you can travel without the use of your body, journeying nearly anywhere on Earth. However, as your astral self reaches the outermost point of the Moon's orbit, you will encounter what has been referred to as the Limit of the Lunar Sphere - an impassable barrier.

          The physical body left behind lies as motionless as if it were in torpor. Your mind stays with the astral self, and you have no way of knowing what is going on around or in your body. Indeed, for all you know, your body is in flames.

          A silver cord, a diaphanous line grounding your consciousness to your body, connects your astral self to your real body. If this cord is severed during an astral mishap, you become completely lost and fully enter the astral plane, the realm of ghosts and shades. Finding one's body again requires an arduous and terrifying journey.

           System:You must spend 5 blood to project yourself for 5 minutes, and for every additional minute you must spend 1 additional blood. Should you run out of blood the cord will be severed, and then can only be rejoined through other means, as your body has no blood left in it, you cannot return unaided.

          Another point of Blood needs to spent each time your character decides on a new destination. Failure to do so mean you are lost, and need to return to your body by retracing your steps During Projection you need to hold up a Psychic Projection card.

          Travel at speeds of up to 500 miles per hour is possible in astral form. Also, a character's astral self is naked - no physical objects may accompany the character, though there are rumours of magical artefacts capable of astral travel.

          Interaction with the physical world is impossible unless the character spends a point of Blood (though Aura Perception and Telepathy can be used freely). This allows the character to manifest in a ghost-like form for one turn. However, the character can view events around himself that occur in the physical world, and can generally do so without fear of detection, although characters with the Auspex Discipline may have premonitions that someone is nearby.

          When two characters encounter one another, or if one encounters a being native to the astral world such as a ghost (who is often tied to one location), they may interact as if both were on the physical world. Speech, contact and even combat is possible. Since it is impossible to actually harm another astral character, the goal of conflict is always to cut the opponent's silver cord (use Blood points as the equivalent of Health Levels; when they are all lost, the cord is severed). The Physical Attributes are not, of course, effective, so Social or Mental Traits must take their place. Specifically, Perception replaces Dexterity, Willpower replaces Strength.

          While vampires do not actually travel in the spirit world while in this form, they can sometimes interact with it. Ghosts and Lupines travelling in the spirit world can sense them, and attempt to harm them. It is said that those who know the way may journey to Arcadia, otherwise known as Faerieland, by travelling through astral space, though that may also require a higher Auspex rating.

Auspex Extended

Babble Level Six (Malkavian)

          Like Telepathic Communication, Babble grants the Malkavian the ability to hold telepathic communications, but it has extra benefits and two extra disadvantages. The caster can communicate with as many other people as he has Willpower points, and can link all their minds together, but all parties must carry on their conversation out loud. Participants hear the other persons' voices as if the other persons were standing next to him. If Mad Hattie is standing near a construction site and Gomar the Strange is hiding under a bed in the hushed haven of a Ventrue elder, Hattie can whisper and be heard, but Gomar will have to shout.

           System:System: The user can add more people than he has Willpower points if those people have derangement's and do not resist the Babble. The Malkavian can add a number of people equal to twice his Willpower. Like Telepathic Communication, Babble requires 3 blood and all parties to be willing.

Insight of the Talespinner Level Six (Toreador)

          Insight allows a character to delve far into her own mind, finding entire books and stories. The Toreador can summon forth highly detailed characters and picture them in any situation to gain an innate feel for how each would react. In addition, the Discipline opens up the writer's vocabulary to its full expanse, allowing her to customise each character's vocabulary to fit his personality and background.

          A Toreador using this power finds it easier to write good stories. This does not help creativity, since the writer must come up with the situation on her own. However, if the Toreador comes up with a good plot, the characters will practically tell the tale on their own. Often, the writer will not even know how the story will end until she is finished.

          In addition to its artistic uses, the power has another function. An entertainer can attempt to tell a story off the top of her head. All those who are listening may try to resist. If they fail, they find themselves so caught up in the story they will be unable to do anything else. The character using this power may determine the length of the tale, but it cannot last longer than one scene.

           System:If the Toreador uses this power to capture the full attention of the listeners, anyone within listening range must make a Will + Intelligence Check and gain Higher than the Discipline. Those who fail their roll must listen to the tale without interruption. In addition, all Artistic Expression (Writing) checks are at -3 difficulty when using this power. This power costs a Blood Point to use, and can be boosted by extra Blood.

Melange Level Six (Malkavian)

          The Malkavian can look into the world and see a level beyond the current state of reality. This looks like a collage of shifting forms, but the Malkavian understands it and knows everything that goes on in that plane, without regard to physical barriers, distance or even time. He can see things hidden in objective reality, like Obfuscated creatures, the insides of locked safes, and the fact that his lupine ally is really a shape-changed mage.

          It is easy for the Malkavian to see all of reality. The difficult part is knowing how to reference that moving tapestry to return to the physical plane of waking reality. The Referee will explain what the Malkavian understands of the other plane through riddles, metaphors, or stream-of-consciousness babbling, and it is up to the player to interpret it.

           System:While in the Melange state the character is prone to mutter incoherently and bump into things as she walks. The Storyteller should feel free to enforce this on the player, as well. This costs 5 Blood to activate for 10 minutes.

What People Want to Hear Level Six (Toreador)

          A character with this power automatically knows the appropriate things to say in a conversation. The character does not have to say anything and may alter the words in any way. The character may even take an opposing viewpoint on the subject, but she can relate her points in such a way that the listeners will treat them with respect and admiration. This does not necessarily mean the listeners will change their own views, though it could happen.

           System:By spending one Blood Point and concentrating for one turn, the character knows what to say to get a desired response. The Player must decide exactly how listeners react. If a character is using this power to advance an idea the listener finds fundamentally wrong, the listener is allowed a Willpower check against the Vampires Willpower This power functions for up to one hour, but works only on the individual or group it was directed against.

Genius Loci Level Six (Tzimisce)

          Tzimisce have a natural affinity for places, as their clan weakness demonstrates. This power augments. that affinity, enabling the vampire to tap into the "ambience" or "spirit" of a specific place and thereby gain insight into situations affiliated with the nature of that place. For example, if the vampire uses Genius Loci while in a graveyard, she might gain insight into situations dealing with death. If she uses the power amid the burned-out shell of a building, she might receive a warning of an impending fire; insight into catastrophes in general; or even an awareness of the forces behind rapid, cataclysmic change.

           System:The vampire must meditate in a certain location for at least an hour. The place must be symbolic of a given force or have been the site of strong passions or trauma (i.e., a shopping mall is not likely to give much valuable insight, but a shopping mall where a mass murderer killed 23 victims with an assault rifle might well provide insight into situations involving violence or mass panic). The vampire must then spend blood, the more blood the more insight is gained

          Obviously, this power is extremely subjective: The Storyteller must use discretion when adjudicating its use.

Ecstatic Agony Level Six (Tzimisce)

          Many Tzimisce have learned to tolerate and even appreciate the sensation of pain, but a vampire with this power has far transcended others' understanding. Her nerves still register pain, but perceive it as pleasurable, even spiritually uplifting.

           System:A vampire with this power adds wound penalties to her checks. Thus, the more injured the vampire is, the more effectively she functions. A vampire in the Crippled state adds five to all Checks! Obviously, if injuries entail the loss of body parts, the vampire may not perform actions necessitating those body parts. Furthermore, a vampire who reaches the Incapacitated state is still incapacitated. This power is continuously in effect.

Personality Metamorph Level Seven (Toreador)

          This power allows a Toreador actor to actually reach within her own mind and draw forth original characters, complete with backgrounds and personalities. The Toreador then takes on another personality as if it were her own.

          Basically, this power gives the character a controllable multiple personality disorder. The character could become a skilled assassin, an outstanding artist, a small mortal child or the spirit of a murder victim. The only limits are those imposed by the Storyteller and the player's imagination. However, alternate personalities should not be More powerful than the core personality.

           System:By using two Blood Points, the character can create a new personality for one hour, though one additional Blood Point may be spent for every additional hour it is maintained. The new personality will have its own Social and Mental. Attributes, Abilities and Virtues, along with its own Humanity and Willpower scores. In some cases, it might even have its own set of Disciplines. While the new personality is dominant, the character's actual Virtues, Abilities, Humanity, Willpower and Disciplines may not be used. Blood

Malkavian Madness Network Level Eight (Malkavian)

          The Malkavian can call a meeting of all Malkavians with the Knowledge called Malkavian Time.

           System:The system is Willpower + Blood spent. Other Malkavians will only hear it if they have the Malkavian Time Skill.

Willpower + Blood
	5: 		All Malkavians in three city blocks.
	6: 		All Malkavians in a three-mile radius.
	8: 		All Malkavians in a 10-mile radius.
	10: 		All Malkavians in the city.
	15: 		All Malkavians in the greater 
			metropolitan area.
	35: 		All Malkavians within 300 miles.
	50: 		All Malkavians on the continent.
	100: 		All Malkavians in the world.
          Note: that though Malkavians hear the message, they are not compelled to obey it.