Post by Hematite on Mar 3, 2014 14:42:57 GMT
Presence [V20 193]
Presence passively reduces the difficulty of mundane social rolls by 1 per level of the Discipline. This only affects social feats like Oration, Deception and Intimidate, not activations of powers that use social Attributes. This effect is automatic and may only be suppressed for a scene by spending a Willpower point (potentially a wise idea in certain circumstances). Characters who have significant amounts of Presence (3+) and have any meaningful interaction with another will stick in that person’s mind, being remembered far more than those without this power, and the Presence-user will draw far more attention than others present at the time. This part of Presence may not be selectively applied; it is either on or off.
Presence requires its victims to see the vampire (or hear them or otherwise be immediately aware of their presence), not necessarily the vampire to see those she is affecting. Thus, Presence can theoretically be used on individuals the vampire isn't even aware of.
Presence is an extraordinarily subtle power and it is very difficult to realize that you have fallen under its sway because of the way it changes your feelings. With the exception of Majesty, all Presence powers are detected by Perception + Awareness at Difficulty 10 (Auspex does not apply) while under its effects, difficulty 8 after the effect has ended. Realizing that someone besides yourself is the victim of Presence is also difficulty 8.
To spend a Willpower point to attempt to resist the effects of Presence, the victim must be aware they are subject to the power. This requires they gain a minimum of 3 successes on the Perception + Awareness roll to understand that they are being affected with Presence.
Presence is not mind control, and it affects only the feelings, not the thoughts. Thus, with Presence alone, you cannot order people to do truly ridiculous things and expect them to obey, but it should be significantly easier to convince them by other means.
Presence includes limited Generation protection. Any target can spend 1 Willpower and roll Willpower at difficulty 8 to resist Presence for a scene, but those 3+ generations or better than the user need only spend a willpower to ignore it for the entire night. This only ignores the specific Presence power used on the victim, though multiple applications of the same power from the same source are also covered in the resistance.
Presence can be "flavored" to create other emotions besides love and devotion. While the mechanical effects remain identical, a fearsome Kindred can inspire Awe in the form of a threatening, menacing presence that demands loyalty and respect, or Entrancement with a feeling of abject terror that brings the subject into line so totally that they cannot conceive of defying the user. The effects are cosmetic in nature and the powers work and function the same way with the same dice for activation.
Unlike Dominate, which won't allow the person to take obviously harmful acts or defy their Nature, Presence is not affected by dangerous situations or the Nature of the victim. Being Summoned through dangerous woods to a crowd of shotgun holding vampires, being Entranced into helping fight one of your friends and other such things are well within the powers of the Presence discipline.
Many of the effects of Presence are largely dependent on the roleplay of the victim. Emerald City Chronicles will consider a player who is repeatedly not appropriately playing the effects of Presence after being warned to be guilty of willful cheating and will be appropriately punished under the Charter.
As per the Presence Overrides sidebar (Guide to the Camarilla page 95), characters with Elder levels of Presence may increasingly override the Blasé merit. Since Emerald Coven Chronicles has altered this merit to fall in line with the V20 changes to Iron Will, this effect is no longer necessary. Emerald City Chronicles does not make use of this rule.
Presence 1: Awe [V20 193]
Successes on this power only determine how many people are affected, not the effect.
Characters under the sway of Awe find themselves agreeing with whatever the Kindred says, as if they had been subject to a successful Oration social feat for every opinion they express. This power is not mind control, but any statement that the Kindred says that has even a grain of rational sense or half-decent logic causes the people so fascinated to automatically and truly agree to the statement as basically accurate and correct. Note the requirement of a minimum of half-decent logic in this clarification; Awe cannot convince someone to attempt completely ludicrous things or anything without a legitimate chance of success.
Like the normal social Oration Feat, the effects of being convinced of a fair point last indefinitely, even if the character leaves the area or spends enough Willpower to end the effect (as they have already been convinced). Convincing someone of something through Oration won't stand up to real proof, but in the absence of sometimes hard to provide proof, it takes more successes on another Oration Feat (Charisma + Leadership) than the user scored on Awe to convince them otherwise with mere words.
Oration Feats can only convince someone of one simple thing a time, so a character who refused to do something for three very good reasons would need three separate arguments and three separate feats to fully overcome their resistance and convince them to do what you intended. This power is not instantly effective for that reason, often taking an extended conversation to overcome complex issues.
Just as with an ordinary Oration feat, the affected party may spend a Willpower to completely ignore that feat. This is not the same as spending a Willpower to attempt to resist the power entirely, only ignoring the Oration Feat used.
If multiple vampires use Awe at the same time, the one who scored more successes will override the effect of the others. Should two or more score equal successes, they will both be equally convincing, likely leaving anyone else in the vicinity incredibly confused, absolutely agreeing with whoever is speaking at the moment.
If a vampire who possesses this power becomes subject to Awe and is aware of it, he may activate his own use of Awe as well, which immunizes him to the effects, regardless of successes.
Presence 2: Dread Gaze [V20 194]
No matter what specific form it takes, using Dread Gaze requires you to breach the Masquerade. Whether by crushing a gun in your hand, taking a bullet to the forehead with a smile, or simply hissing and baring your fangs, revealing the fact that you are a supernatural monster is implicit in the use of Dread Gaze.
The 1-2 success result of this power renders the victim "cowed" which means that they will socially submit to the Vampire, no longer offering any overt resistance to matters of conversation or opinion, but it does not prevent them from entering combat.
"Loses enough dice that he cannot perform any action" means any action that they would otherwise take that turn. If your Wits + Academics to remember the capital of Norway still has some dice left, that doesn't prevent the reaction the power suggests, to curl up and weep.
If the user scores 3 or more successes, the victim must flee his presence using every ability at his disposal to run away as fast as possible (spending the maximum amount of blood for Celerity if the victim has any). On the following round he may make a Perception + Awareness at difficulty 8 to realize what happened. If he succeeds even marginally he may return. Otherwise, he does not comprehend that this terror is not his own and will continue running (though is no longer required to do so with all powers at his disposal).
The extended test version of this power's effect ends one round after you stop concentrating on it, similar to the single use version, though once you reach the desired amount of successes, you can stop testing with the person and simply concentrate on maintaining your ferocious mien. As always, the victim may attempt to spend Willpower to escape the power of the vampire.
Multiple people may all use Dread Gaze on a single target. The effects (and dice penalties) stack.
This power is far more immediately obvious than most Presence powers. The Perception + Awareness roll to be aware that you are affected by this power is made at difficulty 6 rather than 10. 3+ Successes are still required to attempt to resist the effects.
Presence 3: Entrancement [V20 195]
The successes on Entrancement only determine duration of effect, not the potency of effect that is created.
To better fit with LARP, the maximum duration for this power at 5 successes is 3 months, not a full year.
The effects of Entrancement create artificial respect, love and devotion in the subject. An Entranced subject more than just totally agrees with the Kindred using Presence, as in Awe, but wishes to aid the person however they can. If there is some way the Entranced individual can benefit the vampire, they feel the need to do so at once, and may spend Willpower to attempt to hesitate a moment if they need to (this is not the same as fully resisting Presence as above and may be done by an Entranced target at any time even if they do not realize they are entranced). Any time an opportunity is available to do so, they will, especially if the vampire makes their needs known by simply asking for help or suggesting a course of action.
Victims of Entrancement who “momentarily hesitate” as above may stop and pause in their immediate need to help the one who Entranced them, but this does not remove the feelings created by Entrancement even temporarily. It simply allows the victim time to think and perhaps not act rashly. The well-being and needs of the one who Entranced the victim should still be at the forefront of the victim’s mind.
Entrancement ONLY works in the presence of the vampire when they are aware of her being present (they don't have to actively be looking at the Kindred, however) and while it doesn't "end" when away from the Vampire, the Vampire's needs become somewhat less urgent, only to have those feelings rekindled when they receive contact from her again. This emotional relaxing and contracting feels totally natural and isn't obvious to the Entranced individual. In general, when an Entranced person leaves the presence of the vampire, they will remember how they felt and continue to do whatever favor she asked, but no longer make an effort to anticipate and see to her needs actively, but in her direct presence, especially given her attention, the feelings of devotion are renewed just as in the beginning and the subject will do anything he can to benefit the Kindred, including refusing to harm her if asked by another.
If two different Kindred Entrance the same individual and ask conflicting favors, the subject will always side with whichever one is currently present. If both are, whichever Kindred has higher Appearance. If those are equal, the older Entrancement wins.
Note that the victim will do whatever SHE thinks is most likely to please the one who entranced her. This may bear little to no resemblance to the actual desires of the vampire, particularly if the user is not clear in expressing his wishes. Vampiric lore is full of stories of entranced victims doing incredibly foolish things to attempt to impress their masters.
Presence 4: Summon [V20 195]
Because Summon creates a true desire to see the Summoner, people under the effects of Summon will not do *anything* that may increase the likelihood that they will not be able to achieve their goal. This means they will not call for help, say the phrase "I'm being summoned!!" around suspicious friends, and otherwise avoid entanglements that may leave them detained, staked, or impeded. In fact, the summoned character will actively lie if they believe it will help them get to their objective more successfully. If a Willpower is used to resist the Summon, they may do these sorts of behaviors for a single scene. After that scene is over, their desire to see the Summoner returns, and they will even ditch the phone if they believe it will somehow lead to interference with getting there. Furthermore, any attempt to warn friends that you are "being Summoned" or some give any indication that your will isn't your own still requires 3 successes on the Perception + Awareness roll at difficulty 10.
High successes on summon do not make the character travel with irrational speed, blow through stop lights, sprint through Elysium or other kinds of suspicious behavior because suspicious behavior might delay the progress.
You do not know who it is you are being summoned to meet, and the idea that you are being summoned at all barely registers to your mind (unless 3+ successes are scored on the Perception + Awareness roll).
In the event that two different Summons are in effect, or if a Mesmerism command or some other power is employed to impede it, whichever power gets more successes behaves as if the other commands were irrelevant and proceeds as dictated by the successful power and its successes. Note that Mesmerism commands can only be triggered by events the subject is aware of, so a Mesmerism command that triggers “if the target is summoned” will only trigger should the subject become aware that she was summoned by scoring 3+ successes on the Perception + Awareness roll.
Summon ends when the summoned individual alerts the summoner to their presence. They can do so from Obfuscate if they pass the Wits + Stealth roll to speak from Obfuscate. Once this requirement is met, the summoned individual may act normally.
On a botch, this power renders the subject immune to all uses of Summon, even those performed by others, for a month. On a failure, the same is true for the remainder of the night.
The requirement of knowing the character to be Summoned cannot be bypassed by another character who had met them somehow instructing you about them or transmitting the information about them to you. The connection utilized by summon works two ways - the target must also have met the summoner, and it tugs on that connection. The requirement is not simply to "aim" the Summon. Similarly, Forgetful Mind cannot replicate this connection in either target - the connection is emotional, not mental.
The victim will attempt to reach the summoner is the most efficient way possible. This means not taking any action likely to put themselves at undo risk along the way if there is a safer option immediately available. For example, the victim will not travel through a known minefield or an active war zone if a reasonably quick path around is available.
The clause against performing suicidal actions only applies to IMMEDIATE AND CERTAIN suicide. Mere danger is not enough if the Summoner scored 5+ successes. This clause applies to situations such as running through a forest fire en route, not avoiding a city where a known enemy resides or a Blood Hunt is in effect against you.
If the victim possesses any power that allows for reliable and quick travel and can use that power without drawing undue attention (Forced March, Way of Wind 4, Path of Mercury, etc.) he will make use of that power to reach the Summoner more quickly and efficiently. Summon does not necessarily require true physical presence if the victim is capable of reaching the Summoner more efficiently in another realm (Astral Projection, Shadowland Passage, etc.). However the victim will only take such actions if he genuinely believes it to be the most efficient way of reaching his intended destination.
This power only works upon a victim on the material plane, though it will continue to affect him even if he later crosses to another plane.
Presence 5: Majesty [V20 196]
Majesty affects everyone who can see you or is aware of your presence, even if viewing you from a distance (like through a sniper rifle scope, or through Way of Spirit) as long as the scene is being directly observed and not reproduced through another medium such as a television screen or other electronic reproductions or even a Scrying pool.
The Courage challenge in Majesty supersedes the normal ability to spend Willpower to avoid Presence effects. In order to act, or even imagine taking action, against the Majesty user, a Courage roll, difficulty equal to the Majesty user's Charisma + Intimidation, is required. One success allows you to raise your voice in polite dissent or opposition, two successes allows you to act in a way that is contrary to the desires of the Majesty user, and three or more successes allows you to raise your hand against them in violence. You may spend Willpower on this test as normal, and these successes last for one single round. Attempting the challenge and failing still has the devastating repercussions that are stated in the power.
Failure to get any successes on this roll means you can no longer attempt to resist this scene and must shamefully beg, humiliating yourself for forgiveness.
Attacking or striking someone while using Majesty causes -that person- to be no longer affected by Majesty and they may react normally. Bystanders look on in horror, effectively cowed by the show of violence, unless they can muster their Courage to resist.
If someone manages to pass the Courage test and stand up to the Majesty user, everyone still affected by Majesty is required to rush to the Majesty user's aid. Those under the power of Majesty are compelled to assist the Kindred using it if someone dares to defy them however they can before the point of violent action. If a person wishes to defend the Majesty user with violence they may at any time (supposing they believe the Majesty user would wish it) but the power does not specifically compel them to do so.
A character using Majesty is immune to the effects of Majesty. Majesty can be activated without having to achieve successes on a Courage roll.
Majesty ends if the user becomes incapacitated, staked or Torpored.
Achieving 1 success on the Courage roll, either normally or by Willpower, is enough to politely excuse yourself from the situation. If the Majesty user specifically demands that you stay, it takes two successes to defy that request instead of one.
This power is far more immediately obvious than most Presence powers. The Perception + Awareness roll to be aware that you are affected by this power is made at difficulty 6 rather than 10. 3+ Successes are still required to attempt to resist the effects.
Presence 6: Absent Sway [CbR-To 73]
If this power is applied to a piece of art, that art piece doubles the effect of a single artistic feature already applied to it.
If this power is applied to a location, any who enter that location will be overwhelmed with the imbued emotion, sweeping aside any other feelings they might have.
The Storyteller may apply additional effects for this power as suits the situation, however these effects should never exceed a +/-2 to difficulty of certain actions.
Presence 6: Aire of Elation [Cb-To 38]
This power mechanically functions as Majesty, save for the dice pools involved and the fact that it does not compel others to aid.
This power is resisted by a Self-Control/Instinct roll at a difficulty of the user’s Wits + Expression.
This power is subtler than Majesty and thus the difficulty to become aware that you are affected by it does not decrease as with Majesty.
Presence 6: Capture Reality [Cb-To 38]
The roll to use this power is Manipulation + Expression (there is no such statistic in Vampire called Creativity).
When taking a photograph or film, the successes on this power are applied as if the item were crafted art under the crafting system. As this is done quickly, temporary effects that grant bonus dice or lower the difficulty will apply where they otherwise might not and the use may spend Willpower for an automatic success.
Presence 6: Force of Personality [PGttHC 160]
This power is an upgrade to Majesty and conveys the full effects of that power in addition to the additional effects described.
This power is rolled at a difficulty of the highest Current Willpower among those affected. The character may selectively exclude any number of people from this effect (but not from the associated Majesty) as he wishes.
If the activation roll fails or botches, the Majesty does not go into effect.
The use of this power makes it immediately apparent that moving closer to the subject is “contrary to his desires”. Therefore attempting to move inside the six-foot radius of the power requires 2 successes on the usual Courage roll. This replaces the Willpower resistance roll described in the power.
The movement compelled by this power happens on the Initiatives of those affected and counts against their free movement for the round.
If the user of this power moves, the power moves with him and any who come within six feet of him will be compelled to move out of the way unless they score 2 or more successes on the Courage roll to resist.
Presence 6: Intensification [Cb-To 38]
This power is used in conjunction with the crafting system. It doubles the number of features any piece of art receives for its level (an Uncommon would receive 2, a Rare would receive 4, and an Ultra-Rare would receive 6).
Presence 6: Love [V20 196]
Emerald Coven Chronicles uses the expanded version of this power, Passion, presented in Dark Ages Vampire on page 204. See clarifications for that power below.
Presence 6: Melusine’s Song [LS2 37]
This power affects live performances only. The power is not conveyed through recorded mediums, though sound amplification technology may be applied to extend the range.
The request must be stated explicitly in the song’s lyrics. Those who do not understand the language of the lyrics will remain unaffected.
The resistance roll granted by this power still requires the victims to be aware they are being affected by Presence to attempt the resistance roll.
The request must follow the same stipulations as the Dominate power Mesmerism (i.e. it must be immediate, must have a defined end within the power of the target to fulfill, and cannot be suicidal).
The difficulty reduction on Singing is automatic once this power is gained and applies to all rolls that make use of the character’s singing (including uses of Dominate should the user wish to sing her commands).
Presence 6: Paralyzing Glance [V20 196]
A victim affected by this power may take no actions whatsoever unless directly attacked or his life is otherwise directly threatened. At that point he may make a Courage roll at a difficulty equal to the user’s Intimidation +3 to snap out of the effect. Failure on this roll means that the victim cannot defend himself at all. Botching this roll sends the victim into a Rotschreck state for the remainder of the night even after the effects of this power have faded.
See the Dominate clarifications for the rules on avoiding eye contact in combat.
As with Dread Gaze, this power is far more immediately obvious than most Presence powers. The Perception + Awareness roll to be aware that you are affected by this power is made at difficulty 6 rather than 10. 3+ Successes are still required to attempt to resist the effects.
This power’s maximum duration is 1 week at 6+ successes.
Presence 6: Passion [DAV 204]
The target must recognize the attempt at communication AS communication of some kind. Brushing up against someone in a crowd or whispering in their general direction is not sufficient.
If using this power for Love, this effect is identical to a full 3-step blood bond. If it comes in conflict with an actual blood bond, this power wins.
If using the Fear version of this power on a non-vampire, they must make the same Courage roll or attempt to flee the scene (except for Lupines who must roll Rage for Fox Frenzy at a difficulty of 10- the successes scored on the Passion roll).
The system for Rage is the same as for Fear, except that non-vampires who fail the Self-Control roll will fly into a homicidal rage. As they do not have a Beast, they are not treated as fully frenzying and will calm down at the end of the scene. Lupines must roll Rage for anger frenzy at a difficulty of 10- the user’s successes.
Presence 6: Rage [PG2 78]
Emerald Coven Chronicles uses the expanded version of this power, Passion, presented in Dark Ages Vampire on page 204. See clarifications for that power above.
Presence 6: Renew the Earthly Pleasures [DAC 89]
The effects of this power last for the remainder of the scene. If affected with 5+ successes, apply the effects of 4 successes for the remainder of the scene once the duration of 5+ successes expires.
This power has no effect on any living creature. It affects vampires, wraiths, mummies, and Kuei-Jin normally. The difficulty modifier for the target’s Path rating functions slightly differently for the other creature types: For Wraiths the difficulty goes up by 1 for each point their Permanent Angst is less than 5. For mummies, the difficulty goes up by 1 for each point their Humanity is under 5. For Kuei-Jin, the difficulty goes up by one for each point their P’o virtue exceeds their Hun virtue. For Laibon vampires (without normal Path ratings) the difficulty goes down by 1 for each point their Orun exceeds their Aye.
Presence 6: Siren’s Song [Cb-To 38]
This is an earlier version of the power Melusine’s Song (LS2 page 37). Emerald Coven Chronicles uses that version of the power. See the clarifications above for that power.
Presence 6: Spark of Rage [V20 197]
Emerald Coven Chronicles uses the expanded version of this power, Passion, presented in Dark Ages Vampire on page 204. See clarifications for that power above.
Presence 6: Star Magnetism [Cb-To 38]
This power allows the character to transmit any Presence power via a recorded medium. The roll is made at the time the recording is made and will affect anyone viewing the recording at a later date. In the case of variable difficulty rolls, record the test results and dice pool of the user at the time the recording is made and apply the new difficulty each time the recording is viewed. In addition, any time the character is recorded, he is treated as though under the effects of Awe.
This cannot transmit any power that requires any component to target other than line of sight such as touch or eye contact. If the transmitted power requires personal knowledge of the subject, that requirement still holds as normal and those viewing the recording who are not personally acquainted with the user will not be affected.
The effects of transmitted powers are treated exactly as if the power had been activated normally, including all ability to resist.
Presence 6: Temptation [CbR-FoS 68]
The variations of this power listed are not separate powers that must be purchased, they are alternate uses for the same power. This power only needs to be purchased once.
The effects of this power are treated as a Derangement for the purposes of resisting them and eliminating them, even if they are permanent. The Storytellers will assign appropriate mechanics for the new “Derangement” when this power is used.
Presence 6: Two-Tiered Communication [Cb-To 39]
To better suit timing in a LARP this power lasts for however long it takes to make a single, uninterrupted statement. Making such a statement costs one Willpower point. No roll is needed to activate this power.
This power may affect only one person at a time. All other listeners will only hear what the user actually says.
Anyone reading the surface thoughts of the user’s mind while he uses this power will determine the true meaning behind what he is saying.
