Post by Hematite on Jul 4, 2014 13:14:01 GMT
Daimoinon
While knowing or using this power does not in of itself make the user an Infernalist, it does draw upon a power that is outside the normal source of Disciplines. Spending blood or willpower to activate its powers causes the user to experience a painful, pleasurable connection to a primal outside force that is not themselves.
Even though this power does not technically make one an Infernalist, being caught knowing it is a bad idea. The Inquisition will definitely pay you a visit and it is likely that even if it is confirmed you are not an Infernalist, the Inquisition may have you removed anyway just to prevent the headache you cause. The official ruling from the Inquisition on this discipline is that unless they are satisfied that this discipline manifested in you from diablerie of an enemy (and they are the ones who must be convinced), knowledge of its arts are illegal, heretical, and punishable by final death without the need for trial or monomacy. Unofficially, the Inquisition is well aware that Daimoinon is not inherently Infernal, and has several agents who know the art themselves and use it to hunt and draw out their enemies.
The arts of Daimoinon have been greatly exaggerated and mistold in horror stories through the ages to such a degree that very few know the truth anymore. Cainite Lore is not sufficient to cover detailed knowledge of the arts of Daimoinon. 5 or more successes on a level 5 Cainite Lore check will reveal the general idea of each power of levels 1-5, and exaggerated tales about more. Only those with the Baali specialty are entitled to know details.
Daimoinon 1: Sense the Sin [V20 445]
The power does not require eye contact but does require the user to intensely scrutinize the target in a wicked manner that may draw attention.
For three successes scored on this power, the storyteller will generally respond to the player using this power with answers from the Secrets and Weaknesses portion of their questionnaire, specifically targeting those first that have to do with moral failings or vice.
Each use of this power on the same target raises the difficulty by 2 for the remainder of the story (one month). Botches give false secrets, misleading fantasies about the depravities that would be most juicy for the subject.
Daimoinon 2: Fear the Void Below [V20 445]
Ghosts, Fae and Mortals get no resistance to this power. All other supernatural creatures may roll Courage (or half of their Willpower rounded up for supernatural creatures without a Courage score) at a difficulty of the Baali’s current Willpower to resist.
This power requires that Sense the Sin was successfully used against the target in the past, but not necessarily in the same scene. At the Storyteller’s discretion another method of learning a deep secret of the subject can suffice instead, though only if the individual actually has a deep secret he is ashamed of.
This power is inherently personal, targeting only the individual who the Baali is speaking to directly while using the secrets uncovered from Sense the Sin.
The Baali must communicate directly and in person with the target to activate this power, but it does not necessarily require speech, or even that the Baali reveal himself directly, though he must be in line of sight of the target at the time he activates the power.
With one success, the target enters a panicked state and loses 2 dice from all dice pools. With two successes, vampire targets immediately enter Rotschreck, fleeing the scene with all haste. Mortals and other creatures without a built in fear mechanic will still flee in blind panic. This is cumulative with losing 2 dice from all pools. With three successes, the victim falls unconscious, or enters torpor if Cainite. All of these effects last for the full duration of the scene.
This power does not directly show visions of the Christian Hell, but rather taps into the subconscious fears of damnation or oblivion that all creatures share on some level. The visions manifest as some form of eternal torment and suffering of a nature appropriate to the victim. No victim will be able to fully remember these visions afterward, only recalling a horrible trauma that has fled from their mind.
Daimoinon 3: Conflagration/Essence of the Netherworld [V20 445]
The exact manifestation of this power is unique to the user, and once manifested, does not change. The manifestation may be nearly anything but is always clearly unnatural. Missiles that are not obviously made of fire provoke Rotschreck upon taking damage from the attack. Fire based attacks provoke Rotschreck normal to the amount of fire present. The difficulty of the Rotschreck roll is 4+ the blood points invested in the attack (maximum difficulty 10).
Each blood point spent on this power increases the damage rating of the missile by 1, and there is no upper limit to this amount.
The Dexterity + Occult roll to hit with this power adds carry over dice from accuracy as normal, and the target of this attack may Dodge normally to attempt to evade the attack or reduce accuracy.
This power utterly destroys the scenery when it hits it. Normal items are destroyed totally and irrevocably by just being the target of this attack. Extremely large or durable items, at Storyteller's discretion, may require additional blood to be spent on the missile, but as a guideline, each blood spent accounts for 5 steps on the Feat of Strength Chart for the purposes of what kinds of objects it can destroy.
This attack is purely mystical, whatever the theme and deals aggravated damage. Specific effects that allow the user mitigation against fire do not apply.
This attack has a relatively short range of 15 yards. The Baali may attempt the attack at up to 30 yards at +2 difficulty.
Daimoinon 4: Psychomachia [V20 445]
All uses of this power require a storyteller to be present to narrate the Manifestation.
As a general rule, the manifestations do not generally attack immediately, and are not under the direct control of the user of this power. In fact, the user has no idea (other than their own inference and what they have learned from Sense the Sin) what the victim of this power is seeing or experiencing. Manifestations generally will try to convince their target to give up their quests, indulge in their desires, and otherwise aid their darker natures. Generally, only if the victim attacks them, they refuse to indulge in the course suggested by the Manifestation, or the victim attempt to harm the user of the power will the Manifestation attack.
If the Storyteller has foreknowledge to prepare the manifestation, the creature may be a figure from the subject's backstory, or some other key figure from their experiences. For vampires, in the absence of anything specific or better, it will otherwise usually be a manifestation of the subject's Beast, and have all of the subject's own capabilities and the subject's appearance, albeit with a ferocious and insane demeanor.
The Manifestation does not actually exist, and is not visible to anyone but the target. However it is so real to the target, that no degree of persuasion will be able to convince the target that it is not real. Even after the encounter is finished, the victim will not be persuaded that what he experienced was not real (though he may be persuaded that it was not what it seems, such as an imposter using Obfuscate or Vicissitude to impersonate someone he knows).
The user of the power need not be visible for this power to be invoked.
Injuries and torpor sustained by this power end immediately when the opponent is defeated or the user of the power ceases concentration on the power. Users with the Concentration merit may take other actions (including using this power again on a different victim) without disrupting the ongoing effect. Otherwise the Baali takes a +2 difficulty on all actions while concentrating on maintaining the effect. The Baali must maintain line of sight to the victim to maintain the effect.
If the victim defeats the Manifestation through roleplay (Storyteller's discretion based on the drama at hand) or through combat, the power and all wounds taken end at once. The victim may also recover all of their lost Willpower pool.
If the victim suffers wounds or torpor from interaction with the Manifestation, treat the injuries as if they were caused by Chimerstry 5.
Daimoinon 5: Condemnation/Curse [V20 446]
The difficulty of this roll is the target's permanent Willpower.
The successes necessary for a given severity of curse to be laid down is equal to the number of points it would grant as a character Flaw. If there is no analogous Flaw already written, it is judged as per the Cursed flaw on its severity. The length of time functions as the power suggests, and the successes must be distributed between severity and duration.
The Baali must speak the curse before he rolls to activate the power. The Storyteller should alter the mechanics of the spoken curse to an appropriate value based on the successes allocated to severity. If there is no way to appropriately account for the levied curse with the allocated successes, the Storyteller should inform the player that he must allocate more successes to severity in order for the power to work. If the player cannot or will not allocate enough successes to appropriately account for his chosen curse, the power fails.
The Baali must verbally speak his curse in such a way that the victim hears him speak. However the victim does not necessarily need to understand the Baali’s words.
The Baali player has no direct control over the mechanics of his chosen curse. He simply speaks a curse in similar language to the examples in the power and the Storytellers decide on appropriate mechanics based on the allocated successes.
The effects of this power are mystical in nature and cannot be simply healed or removed. In the case of physical deformities, they may be temporarily alleviated through the use of Vicissitude, but will always return at dawn just as if raising the Appearance of a Nosferatu. Flaws gained via this power cannot be bought off or simply removed except by very extreme means. This should involve a very difficult quest of some sort unless the Baali willingly removes the curse.
The curse persists for its full duration unless canceled by the Baali that inflicted it, even if the Baali meets final death.
Daimoinon 6: Concordance/Hell-Born Investiture [V20 446]
This power can produce nearly any permanent effect upon the Baali each time it is purchased. The only limitations that it cannot grant are immunity to sunlight, immunity to faith, and removing the need for blood. The specifics of each gift must be worked out with the Storyteller, though this power is highly balanced toward the Baali (the appropriate balance point is the absolute immunity to fire).
For examples of the scale of this power, use the listed examples from the Dark Ages version, Hell-Born Investiture on page 40 of the Dark Ages Storyteller’s Companion.
SAMPLE INVESTITURES
Ignore the Searing Flames: The vampire is immune to fire of any magnitude. He also has no fear of fire and need never check for Rotschreck because of it. This investiture is often accompanied by a strong metallic or reddish cast to the vampire's skin.
Demonic Score: The Baali sprouts bat-like wings from her back, while her finger and toenails lengthen into dreadful claws that drip venom. The wings allow for flight at a speed of 30 mph (80 yards per turn). The claws inflict Strength +2 lethal damage.
Blood Hive: The vampire may vomit three swarms of bloodsucking insects (one swarm per turn). The insects travel at a rate of 20 yards per turn, and upon reaching a blood-bearing victim may suck one blood point from that victim per turn. Cainites simply lose a blood point from that victim per turn. Cainites simply lose a blood point; mortal victims also lose a health level. Each insect cloud can carry five points of blood back to the Baali, who re-ingests the insects to receive the stolen blood. The insects may be dispatched again in the next turn. The insects cannot be fended off or crushed - only fire can damage the swarm, and they will flee from it. A Baali with this investiture is always surrounded by insects - they buzz around him, crawl in and out of his orifices, and visibly slide beneath the surface of his skin.
Tentacled Grasp: The Baali's arms metamorphose into two thick, muscled, sucker-bearing tentacles, or perhaps she sprouts many smaller tentacles from her torso. These tentacles are astoundingly strong; they grant an effective +2 to the Baali's Strength, and the Baali may climb sheer walls at her normal movement rate (provided that whatever she is climbing is strong enough to hold her weight). In combat, the Baali may make two Brawl attacks at no penalty, and an additional two attacks by splitting her dice pool once. Also, in close-quarters fighting, the vampire can use her tentacles on one target to inflict damage as in a clinch, but the target can only attempt to escape as if he were in a hold without the option of inflicting damage on the Baali.
Ignore the Searing Flames: The vampire is immune to fire of any magnitude. He also has no fear of fire and need never check for Rotschreck because of it. This investiture is often accompanied by a strong metallic or reddish cast to the vampire's skin.
Demonic Score: The Baali sprouts bat-like wings from her back, while her finger and toenails lengthen into dreadful claws that drip venom. The wings allow for flight at a speed of 30 mph (80 yards per turn). The claws inflict Strength +2 lethal damage.
Blood Hive: The vampire may vomit three swarms of bloodsucking insects (one swarm per turn). The insects travel at a rate of 20 yards per turn, and upon reaching a blood-bearing victim may suck one blood point from that victim per turn. Cainites simply lose a blood point from that victim per turn. Cainites simply lose a blood point; mortal victims also lose a health level. Each insect cloud can carry five points of blood back to the Baali, who re-ingests the insects to receive the stolen blood. The insects may be dispatched again in the next turn. The insects cannot be fended off or crushed - only fire can damage the swarm, and they will flee from it. A Baali with this investiture is always surrounded by insects - they buzz around him, crawl in and out of his orifices, and visibly slide beneath the surface of his skin.
Tentacled Grasp: The Baali's arms metamorphose into two thick, muscled, sucker-bearing tentacles, or perhaps she sprouts many smaller tentacles from her torso. These tentacles are astoundingly strong; they grant an effective +2 to the Baali's Strength, and the Baali may climb sheer walls at her normal movement rate (provided that whatever she is climbing is strong enough to hold her weight). In combat, the Baali may make two Brawl attacks at no penalty, and an additional two attacks by splitting her dice pool once. Also, in close-quarters fighting, the vampire can use her tentacles on one target to inflict damage as in a clinch, but the target can only attempt to escape as if he were in a hold without the option of inflicting damage on the Baali.
For particularly powerful effects, additional flaws can come packaged with the benefit to mitigate the power. In these negotiations, the Storyteller should make every effort to say “yes and” or “yes but” rather than refusing outright if possible.
This power allows the Baali to tap the power of the Sleepers without their permission. As no compact has been formed, it does not constitute Infernalism.
Daimoinon 6: Diabolic Lure [DAC 81]
The listed mechanics of this power are very weird and don’t appear to function. Emerald Coven Chronicles instead uses the following mechanics listed below:
This power requires that the Baali has successfully used Sense the Sin on his target within the same scene.
The Baali spends any number of blood points up to the maximum he can spend per turn, then enters into a contested roll with the victim. The Baali rolls Manipulation + Occult at a difficulty of the victim’s Conscience/Conviction + 4. The victim rolls his combined Conscience/Conviction + Self-Control/Instinct at a difficulty of 10 - his own Path Rating. If the Baali scores more successes, the victim loses a permanent number of Path dots equal to the Baali’s net successes, to a maximum of the amount of blood he spent when activating the power. If the Baali scores 5 or more net successes, or if the victim botches the resistance roll, the victim also loses a dot of Conscience/Conviction. Should the victim score equal or more successes than the Baali up to 2 net successes, the victim’s conviction is momentarily shattered and he must immediately test for degeneration as if he violated his path. If the victim scores 3 or more net successes, he is unaffected.
This power may only be used on a given victim once per night.
If the Baali attempts to use this power on a given victim more than once in a lunar month, the difficulty of his roll cumulatively increases by 1 per additional attempt.
Should the Baali botch this power, his own conviction is irrevocably shaken and he loses a number of permanent Path dots equal to the blood he initially spent.
Path dots lost by this power can only be recovered in the usual way, through Tenet Points.
Daimoinon 6: Glimpse the Gulf Beyond [Cb-Ba 46]
This power grants visions only to the intended victim. There is no visual manifestation.
No one, Baali included, are entirely certain what they are tapping into when they use this power. The prevailing theory is that they are connecting their victim’s mind directly to the mind of one of the ancient Sleepers, or possibly temporarily exposing them to the Torment that demons suffer in the Pit. In any case, this power forces the victim to experience visions and sensations so alien and horrible that the mortal or even undead mind is incapable of coping.
Just as with Fear the Void Below, no one exposed to this power will ever remember the specifics of the visions they experience, only a traumatic experience that has caused great psychic harm. There are some things that man was just not meant to witness.
If the victim is reduced to 0 Willpower by this effect, he gains a permanent derangement in addition to the usual effects of having 0 Willpower.
Only those of the Baali bloodline, or those who have undergone the Baali Apostate ritual (including the Angelis Ater) are immune to this power. Baali are not entirely certain why they have such an immunity, but it is theorized that it is due to the connection their bloodline has forged with the Sleepers, whether intending to keep them dormant or to wake them.
