Post by Hematite on Jul 4, 2014 13:24:14 GMT
Temporis
Emerald Coven Chronicles uses a baseline of the V20 version of this power. However the versions presented in Player’s Guide to the High Clans, Vampire Storyteller’s Handbook, and Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand are valuable as flavor text, and some of the V20 powers will be altered (as listed below) to take into account some things presented in other texts.
Temporis, the parent or sister (accounts differ) Discipline to Celerity, is still a distinct discipline and it is possible to know both forms of the discipline.
Mastery of Temporis has a psychological effect on those who use it. Vampires with Temporis 5 (or higher) tend to acquire Derangements that relate to time and perception of time when they do acquire Derangements for other reasons (such as Dementation or Degeneration rolls). Appropriate choices are Amnesia, Regression, Visions and Obsession (with time or the future).
Temporis powers can substitute for Celerity powers for certain combo disciplines, especially ones that relate to heightened perceptions or reaction times. In most cases, Temporis 5 may be used to substitute for Celerity of equal or lesser degree in speed enhancing combo disciplines, though it may cause the Combo discipline to be rated more expensively because of its high level.
Emerald Coven Chronicles does make use of the High Cost of Not Living sidebar presented on page 41 of the Vampire Storyteller’s Handbook (below).
THE HIGH COST OF NOT LIVING
Several advanced Temporis powers inflict automatic damage on the vampire who uses them. This is because Temporis is a focused application of the arcane energies that keep the vampire in eternal stasis - and, according to some True Brujah, even more inscrutable powers. When those energies are expelled from the vampire's form to affect the outside world, they aren't there to keep the forces of time at bay and the Cainite experiences the effects of her total age in a single moment. This damage usually manifests as instantaneous aging. In extreme cases, whole sections of the Cainite's flesh may crumble to dust. It is possible to put oneself into torpor - or even meet Final Death - with incautious use of Temporis.
Self-inflicted damage from Temporis use is never soakable, transferable to another character or controllable in its manifestations (no rotting off your own hand to escape a trap). It may be healed normally. Each power's description tells whether the damage it inflicts is lethal or aggravated.
Several advanced Temporis powers inflict automatic damage on the vampire who uses them. This is because Temporis is a focused application of the arcane energies that keep the vampire in eternal stasis - and, according to some True Brujah, even more inscrutable powers. When those energies are expelled from the vampire's form to affect the outside world, they aren't there to keep the forces of time at bay and the Cainite experiences the effects of her total age in a single moment. This damage usually manifests as instantaneous aging. In extreme cases, whole sections of the Cainite's flesh may crumble to dust. It is possible to put oneself into torpor - or even meet Final Death - with incautious use of Temporis.
Self-inflicted damage from Temporis use is never soakable, transferable to another character or controllable in its manifestations (no rotting off your own hand to escape a trap). It may be healed normally. Each power's description tells whether the damage it inflicts is lethal or aggravated.
Temporis 1: Hourglass of the Mind [V20 467]
This power allows the user, among the other effects, to know the exact amount of Celerity declared by all characters in a scene, and detect the presence of any Celerity use. As a consequence, any surprise attack or Ambush that utilizes Celerity spent for extra actions automatically fails to Surprise someone with this Discipline.
Because Celerity is always passively active in it's granting of Dexterity for unused actions, a Perception + Awareness roll, difficulty 8, may be used to determine whether a character has Celerity, and how much they have.
Vampires with this power can understand timing to within a second or better, and so can also perfectly measure the duration of any effect they themselves produced.
This power duplicates the effects of the Time Sense and Celestial Attunement merits as well, allowing the vampire to know when sunrise and sunset are and (with at least one dot of Academics) can determine astrological conditions without charts.
This power allows its user to sense any temporal disturbance within a number of miles equal to his Perception score. Sensing a temporal disturbance at any range greater than his immediate vicinity requires a Perception + Awareness roll at difficulty (9 - the level of power used). 1 or 2 successes gives a vague impression that something is off and a vague area of where the disturbance occurred to within half a mile of the source. 3 or 4 successes tell the True Brujah the approximate power of the temporal disturbance and the location to within a quarter-mile of the source. 5 or more successes tell the True Brujah the precise level (though not the specific power) used and give the accurate location to within approximately a city block. This roll should be made secretly by the Storyteller and does not benefit from Auspex.
Temporis 2: Recurring Contemplation [V20 467]
The vampire may use this power to have the subject relive a specific set of benign memories from their past, so long as those memories do not require any direct action and so long as they have some way of knowing those memories (such as Telepathy, a previous use of Forgetful Mind, or simply being present for them earlier).
This power essentially works like a video backfeed of the mind, cycling in previously experienced information in an ongoing way, and thus, when the power is occurring and isn't turned off by intense action (like combat or even a gentle nudging) the subject of this power is completely oblivious to their circumstances and surroundings, and will have no memory of what happens during the time they are affected, even if the events around them would be otherwise alarming or dangerous (until the point when they are actually disturbed by loud noises or taking damage).
A subject attacked from this power cannot attempt to dodge or prepare any other kind of defense and is treated as if successfully Ambushed. However they do not count as an immobile target and thus do not grant -2 difficulty to hit.
Temporis 3: Leaden Moment [V20 467]
This power does require that the user gesture at the target.
The difficulty of affecting a person with this power is 9. An assault rifle on full auto is also 9.
The speed factor penalty from this power is counted for both the Accuracy and the Damage rolls. Thus, if a 6 success attack roll were at one third it's normal speed (3 successes on Leaden Movement) it would hit at 2 Successes, so +1 damage rollover. The damage roll would then also be cut in a third, rounded down, and
the final damage applied then.
The speed penalty also applies to any use of Dexterity, Strength or Wits. This includes Initiative.
Firearms attacks suffer penalties to the Dexterity roll to attack, but not to damage unless the bullets themselves are slowed with a different use of this power.
Spending blood to Celerity to negate the speed reduction only lasts for the turn in which the blood was spent. The victim does not gain the benefit of those Celerity actions or the passive benefit from the utilized levels of Celerity that turn, effectively converting the usual benefits into resisting this power.
Temporis 4: Patience of the Norns [V20 468]
Auspex 1 or higher negates the need for the Perception + Alertness roll to see quickly moving objects and use this power on them.
Like Leaden Movement, this power may be aborted to as a defensive action to stop projectiles, but unlike
Leaden Movement, such projectiles are halted completely. The difficulty of Patience of the Norns for this purpose are the same as for Leaden Movement, though Patience of the Norns may not be used on living or unliving creatures.
This power can even freeze forces and energies such as fire or lightning (including uses of Lure of Flames or Levinbolt). However it cannot freeze purely mystical attacks, even if those attacks have a visual display.
It is possible to use this power to create traps, such as firing a hail of bullets, then halting it and waiting for some intruder to trigger them by accidental touch.
If a grouping of objects are stopped by one single use of this power, such as a burst of bullets, all of them break and reanimate at once if any of them are touched.
Temporis 4: Cowalker [DSotBH 75]
This is an alternate level 4 power and may be purchased normally. True Brujah may gain both powers if they pay the usual experience cost.
Activating this power does take a mental action, thus preventing multiple teleportations in a round. However, while outside of time, the True Brujah effectively has as long as he wishes
While out of time, the True Brujah may not take any action that interacts with anything other than himself and any gear carried when he activates this power. He may not even touch them enough to move them. Even brushing a door enough to move it an inch is enough to instantly break this power.
This power ends as soon as the user takes an action that affects an object or person still in the timestream.
A victim attacked while still in the timestream counts as though ambushed successfully and as an immobile target (-2 difficulty to hit).
The user of this power may activate other disciplines while outside of time so long as those disciplines do not affect any other person or object currently in the timestream. However, the strain of doing so takes its toll on the user’s body. Each time he activates a discipline (including Thaumaturgical Paths or rituals) he takes one level of unsoakable aggravated damage.
The user may not activate other powers of Temporis while outside of time.
Temporis 5: Clotho’s Gift [V20 469]
This power costs 3 blood, but they are spent like Celerity and do not count against the vampire's Generation limit for the turn.
Because the extra actions created by this power are, for the user, full rounds, the vampire may spend their normal Generation limit of blood expenditure for each turn. Any other effect that lasts a number of rounds advances one round for each action taken during this time as well.
As actions taken from Clotho’s Gift are, for the user, full rounds, they may be further split if desired using the usual Split Action rules. If these actions are split, the additional actions occur in time with all normal extra actions.
A point of unsoakable lethal damage is taken for every additional use after the first of a mental discipline per normal combat round. The first use does not include such limitations. The lethal damage may be healed during for one blood as normal during the duration of Clotho's Gift.
Uses of any power that grants extra actions during this power, including Celerity, Cowalker, or another activation of Clotho's Gift causes instantaneous final death.
Temporis 5: Frozen Object [DSotBH 75]
This is an earlier printing of the Temporis power Patience of the Norns, now at level 4. Emerald Coven Chronicles uses the V20 version of that power. See above for its clarifications.
Temporis 6: Kiss of Lachesis/Control Aging [V20 469]
This power affects only the targeted object, not any outside effects currently targeting it. Therefore it has no effect on durations of active effects on a target.
This power can be used to pull a vampire out of torpor. It may also, if used regularly for a minimal amount, keep a vampire already in torpor from waking.