Post by Hematite on Jan 14, 2014 9:36:51 GMT
Auspex may be used while staked so long as your character is not also in torpor.
Seeing the Unseen [V20 142]
As outlined on page 142 of the V20 Core Book, Auspex can be used to see through illusions or pierce Obfuscate or other illusory and stealth powers. The contested roll is the Auspex-user’s Perception + Awareness vs. the target’s Manipulation + Subterfuge, both rolls made at difficulty 7. Most things that would reduce the difficulty of such rolls do not apply, though certain things such as the Discipline Prodigy merit will. Other things that may affect the difficulty of these rolls is up to ST discretion.
Characters must deliberately be using Auspex in an attempt to see hidden things to use the Seeing the Unseen rules to defeat other supernatural abilities that confuse the senses. Merely having Auspex higher than your opponent's discipline is not enough to automatically be immune to Obfuscate of lower level. The character who wishes to use Seeing the Unseen must first make a Perception + Awareness roll at difficulty 7. This test is not automatic and must be called for by the player, though activating it maintains the heightened awareness for the scene.
If, because of OOC knowledge, the question of whether or not a hidden character, wraith or otherwise Seeing the Unseen is in play with a disagreement of whether it is appropriate to do so, the hidden character may roll Manipulation + Subterfuge vs the perceiving character's Perception + Awareness, both at difficulty 6. This is not the Seeing the Unseen roll and success over the hidden character only gives the Auspex-user the justification to initiate Seeing the Unseen. The Storyteller will always be the final arbiter on cases of justification and may overrule this system if deemed necessary.
Seeing the Unseen gives no ability to pierce the Shroud or the Gauntlet. The rules for Seeing the Unseen may be used on a Manifested Wraith or Spirit, or in conjunction with another power that allows the user to see into the Umbra or Underworld.
The last section on cross-sphere powers and seeing the Unseen is redundant and overridden by the cross-sphere rules. Each type of supernatural creature has something to compare when using the system as normal. Werewolves use their Rank, Changelings use their Art level, Mages use their Sphere rating, Kuei-Jin use their Dharma, Demons use their Lore level, and Wraiths use their Arcanos level. In the case that either ability comes from a Fetish or other magical item, the item’s level is compared. For a Fetish, the Spirit in the item rolls its Gnosis for the opposed roll in the case of equal scores. In the case of an inanimate object, the item cannot oppose and it will lose in the case of ties. These comparisons only apply when one party is using an illusion or stealth based power and another party is using a power designed to pierce such illusions.
The danger sense ability of Auspex will only ever be rolled by the Storytellers. Even success on this roll will provide the user with only some detail they noticed that might allow them to justify making a roll to look for hidden assailants. Success on this roll does not prevent an ambush by itself, nor does it automatically pierce a stealth attempt. All it will ever do is give a hint.
At any point, unless the character has specifically noted they were not using their Auspex, the character may be called on to make a Willpower roll to avoid being distracted by extreme stimuli. The base difficulty varies based on the intensity of the stimulus and the Auspex-user adds his Auspex rating to this base difficulty. Someone suddenly turning on a flashlight in a dark room is a base of difficulty 2, a sudden crash of a window breaking or an engine revving might be difficulty 4, a strobe effect like a police light or a loud siren would be difficulty 6, and an explosion or flashbang could reach difficulty 8 or 9 depending on severity and range. This would mean that a flashbang thrown at the feet of someone with Auspex 5 would require that Auspex-user to make the Willpower roll at difficulty 14. Failure on this roll renders the Auspex-user stunned for a full turn after the effect, and imposes a +2 difficulty on all rolls for the remainder of the scene,
Auspex 1: Heightened Senses
Auspex reduces the difficulty of most Perception tests by 1 per level of the discipline on any use of Perception, including the Perception + Alertness roll to detect an ambush. This does not affect any roll that uses Perception to form the basis of the difficulty for a different power, such as Vanish from Mind's Eye or Horrid Reality.
When using Heightened Senses to eavesdrop, place one finger to the appropriate sense you are using (eyes, ears, etc) and one finger pointing to where your character is actually standing. Remember that Heightened Senses only doubles the acuteness of the sense, so you should only move about half the distance to your target.
When selectively heightening only one sense at a time, the difficulty of using that sense drops by a further one in addition to the usual Auspex modifiers, but no other senses gain the usual Auspex benefit while focusing a single sense. In addition, the difficulty of the Willpower check to avoid being stunned by extreme stimuli is increased by one if the stimulus affects the heightened sense.
Auspex 2: Aura Perception
Successes get you this information:
1 Success: Nature of Creature (Pale aura, Bright Aura, Sparkling Aura, etc)
2 Successes: Primary Emotional State (Hateful, Angry, Worried, Excited, etc)
3 Successes: Secondary Emotional State (Pensive, Curious, Excited, Resentful, etc), the presence of magic that affects you personally (holding a warded object or other magic item does not count)
4 Successes: Notice of Derangements
5 Successes: Diablerie Lines
Second and subsequent uses of Aura Perception on the same target within a 1 month period treat failures as a botch. See an ST.
Infernalism does not show in a character's aura at any level of successes unless the infernalist in question possesses the Dark Thaumaturgy path, Fires of the Inferno, in which case that shows up at 1 success.
Using aura perception on a being that is subject to any kind of possession power, such as Animalism 4: Subsume the Spirit or Dominate 5: Posession shows the aura of the possessing Kindred, complete with creature type (pale aura) because the aura is created by the personality of the person and the personality is dominant.
Auras are a personal thing and can be used to positively identify someone. If the user has observed the subject’s aura before and scored at least 3 successes, he may attempt to recognize that aura as the one he has previously viewed. This requires an Intelligence + Alertness roll at a difficulty of 10 minus the number of successes scored on the most recent Aura scan.
Auspex 3: Spirit's Touch
Information readable from a place using Spirit's Touch goes up 1 Difficulty per day from the event. Stronger and more emotional events start at a lower difficulty. This does not apply to possessions, only places and locations.
It requires 4 Successes to get a name from Spirit's Touch. The name given is the subject’s real name, defined as the name by which they identify themselves. An image is not given, and if this name is unknown to the Auspex-user, then it may still not be enough to identify the target.
Auspex 4: Telepathy
"The mind is not a book to be opened at will and examined at lesiure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many layered thing. Or at least, most minds are." - Severus Snape
Telepathy is line of sight for the player. It’s not a substitute for a cell phone nor is it an excuse to ‘ride piggyback’ into a scene your character isn’t involved in on the other side of town. A good general rule is that telepathy works within the same room.
Using Telepathy against the insane has an additional risk. Before the Telepathy roll is made, make a simple test. If the defender wins this test, the telepath suffers from one of the defender's Derangements for the remainder of the evening. (This can be suppressed as per the normal rules). The telepath may then make the telepathy test and gain information as normal (though the information may be colored by the derangement at ST discretion).
There are two ways to use Telepathy, one is to read thoughts and the other is to send them. These are separate rolls. Successes for these rolls are per the book, (pg. 137 V20 core book).
When sending thoughts, the target may make a Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty of the user’s Manipulation + Subterfuge) to determine the origin of these thoughts. If the target is familiar with the user, he needs only one success to positively identify his “voice”. If the target does not know the user, no amount of success will positively identify him. This only applies when sending thoughts, not reading them.
Two way communication is possible only if both Kindred have Telepathy or if one party spends a Willpower to read the subject’s surface thoughts.
Thoughts projected into a target's mind do not necessarily identify the person "speaking" to them unless the Telepathy user wishes it.
1 Success grants the target's surface thoughts.
2 Successes allows for things on their mind peripherally, like the night's events.
3 Successes allows for private but not secret information such as their real name, or the location of a shared Haven.
4 Successes reveals sensitive information that they would prefer unknown to any but a trusted friend.
5 Successes reveals true secrets, things they wouldn't tell anyone, as well as buried or suppressed memories such as childhood trauma but does not break through Dominate.
5 Successes also allows you to notice mental scarring from the tampering of other powers such as Dominate. This only reveals the presence or absence of such scars, giving no hint as to what they might cover up.
The difficulty of Telepathy on a target increases by 1 for each Derangement they possess due to the inherent strangeness of their alien mind, to a maximum of +3. Any derangements shared between the user and the target do not count for this purpose.
A botch on this roll reveals an intruding presence to the target of Telepathy and a vague sense of their identity, including gender and general level of familiarity. (i.e. a "woman who is completely unknown to you" or "A male presence that you feel you know very well.") A botch will also usually give the user false information, with details left to the ST, though usually they will find what they want to see, regardless of the truth.
As the mind is still "dreaming," Telepathy works as normal on a sleeping or torpored target.
Auspex 5: Psychic Projection
Moving at a walking pace in Astral form requires no roll other than the initial one to activate the power. Walking speed is the only speed at which you may gather useful sensory information.
Other than the roll to activate Astral Projection, you may make one roll to follow a target to their destination, difficulty determined by their speed (5 for Walking, 8 for driving, 10 for aircraft).
Once you are already in Astral Form, you may make a roll to move your Astral Body to any place you are familiar with at appropriate difficulty per page 138 of the V20 Core book.
If you become lost in the Astral plane and you cannot find your way back before the sun rises over your body, the rules or staying awake during the day apply. If you fall asleep, your silver cord breaks.
If your silver cord gets snapped, a storyteller will throw you a number of World of Darkness checks to determine how dire your situation is. The amount of checks necessary to win twice in a row is the amount of scenes necessary to find your way home to your body, and only one such scene can be done each week at game. Each scene carries with it the risk of character death as some unfortunate circumstance or trial becomes necessary to proceed. This is a dire situation and will be treated as such, though your character can recover willpower normally during this time to help her overcome these challenges.
If your body goes into torpor during this time from lack of blood, you still continue your journey. If you successfully, complete the return to your body, your body will jolt awake with 0 blood points and in frenzy.
While in Astral form, your physical attributes are replaced as follows: Strength = Charisma, Dexterity = Manipulation, Stamina = Intelligence. This supersedes the usual replacement attributes.
An astral character may always use their powers of Auspex in this form. If the player achieves at least 3 Successes on the activation roll for Psychic Projection, they may employ any non-physical discipline that does not require outside components (such as most Blood Magic rituals). In order to affect the material world with any power while Astral Projecting, the user must be manifested to do so.
In Astral Form, characters normally occupy the Penumbra as it relates to spirits and werewolves. They are also considered Spirits, as well as Kindred, in this form as it relates to warding rituals.
During Psychic Projection, as with other powers of remote perception, your body is abandoned and insensate. You can neither move, sense, or feel, and if danger befalls your torpid body, you are completely unaware of it until you return your senses to your body.
A character remotely viewing a location through technology or other powers may use Astral Projection to reach that location at difficulty 5, counting it as within sight.
If one tries to astral project into a place that is warded against spirits, the projection fails and the user immediately soaks 3 lethal as he wakes back up in his body, not right outside the ward he struck.
Auspex 6: Babble [Cb-Ma 60]
The Babble lasts indefinitely until the user removes a target from his network.
The user of this power must have at least one dot in Malkavian Time.
This power may only target those with at least one dot in Malkavian Time.
This power does not convey a switchboard. When linked parties are communicating through this power, all those linked will hear everything that is said.
The user of this power is the only one who may add or remove members from the link.
Use of this power is dangerous. Each participant linked with this power must immediately make a simple test as in Telepathy or gain a new derangement, usually one of the core derangements of one of the other linked parties.
Auspex 6: Clairvoyance [V20 139]
For the sake of LARP timing, the use of Clairvoyance out of combat rounds will last the scene.
The user of Clairvoyance must be be familiar with the target. If targeting a person, the user must have met them personally. If targeting a location, the user must have physically visited that location (though doing so through Astral Projection is acceptable). If targeting an object, the user must have previously seen the object in person and studied it for distinctive features (This would take 1 mental action expended in a combat round). This study is unnecessary on any item of Rare quality or better unless the feature "unimpressive" is on it, as the item is immediately recognizable.
The radius viewed is approximately a 10 foot window centered on the target, but does not extend past the objects perceptions. You cannot clairvoyance a person in a box and see what is outside the box, you see them in the dark. The user may employ any other power of Auspex (and only Auspex) anywhere in that radius.
Auspex 6: Crocodile’s Tongue [CbR-To 74]
This power is extremely subjective an d as such the only way to properly run this in a LARP is to leave it as a roleplay power. The user, assuming success on the activation roll, may ask the target what he wants to hear.
In addition to the direct benefits of knowing what the target wants to hear, this power more directly helps in social situations. For the remainder of the scene, the user gains additional dice equal to her successes on any social roll made against the target.
Auspex 6: Cipher [A&T 144]
To update to V20, this power is rolled with Intelligence + Academics at difficulty 6.
The character must know what language he is targeting to use this power. He must also actually make the deduction that what he is looking at is a language or a code and not just pictures or gibberish.
Cipher only affects written language and code. It cannot decipher spoken or body language codes or languages, nor can it interpret sign language.
If the writing is supernatural in any way, the user’s Auspex level is compared to the relevant discipline level. This does not only apply in cases where the magical effect is intended to obscure the meaning of the writing.
Auspex 6: Discern the Aura [A&T 144]
With the V20 update allowing for a general scan of a crowd’s auras, this power is redundant and is not used in Emerald Coven Chronicles.
Auspex 6: The Dreaming [PG2 71]
This is a prophecy power, similar to the second level of Oneiromancy.
Successes on the Wits + Empathy roll dictate clarity and completeness of the dream.
A character with this power may search for visions on a specific subject, but not the answer to a specific question. For example, he may look for things that might endanger his haven, but cannot ask “will the Archbishop order my execution?”
All information gained by The Dreaming must directly concern the user himself as the subject.
Auspex 6: Eagle’s Sight [PG2 72]
The character may not utilize any other abilities (including other Auspex powers) through Eagle’s Sight. This includes the passive benefit from Auspex for enhanced senses. As such, any level of detail is very difficult to acquire with this power.
While using this power, the character takes a penalty of +3 difficulty on all rolls made at his actual body from distraction.
The user of this power may not zoom in for a closer look unless he also possesses Clairvoyance.
Auspex 6: Farsight [DA:V 179]
This is a previous version of the power Clairvoyance. Emerald Coven Chronicles uses that version rather than this one. See Clairvoyance for clarifications on that power.
Auspex 6: The Flaying [LS1 64]
This power does not allow for the skin graft or the flaying itself. That is the province of Vicissitude. This power allows for the perfect recall of form only, allowing the user to maintain a catalogue of forms equal to his Intelligence that he needs only a single success on a Dexterity + Medicine roll (difficulty 6) to reassume.
The skin duplication granted by this counts as an automatic 5 success duplication.
Auspex 6: Genius Loci [Cb-Tz 44]
When activating this power the user rolls Perception + Empathy at difficulty 8. For the remainder of the night, he will gain bonus dice equal to his successes on all rolls meant to interpret or understand situations affiliated with the ambience of the place he used this power. For example, using this power in a graveyard would give additional insight into the nature of death or even the Shadowlands. Using this power in a Church might give additional insight into matters of Faith.
Auspex 6: Horoscopic Forecast [LotH 136]
This power may only be used by a character who possesses the Occult specialty of Astrology.
If using a general reading, the Storyteller will provide one fact per success scored.
If using this power to answer a specific question, the difficulty of the roll is 9 and requires 3 successes for a complete and clear answer.
This power cannot and will not give a time frame. It can reveal what will happen, but not when.
As with any prophecy power, the STs cannot always predict player actions and can only do their best to give the information they have themselves.
Auspex 6: Insight of the Talespinner [Cb-To 36]
If used to aid in writing, this power reduces the difficulty of all Crafts and Expression rolls made to write or tell a story by 3.
If used to capture an audience’s attention, anyone enthralled by this power will remain completely in a thrall with no awareness of the world around them until the tale is finished. Treat the system for this in all ways as though they had failed the roll to resist the Toreador clan flaw.
Toreador and anyone else with the flaw Enraptured by Beauty will make the roll to resist this power at +2 difficulty.
Auspex 6: The Mind Revealed [PGttHC 150]
In order to make this power significantly better than baseline Telepathy, this power does not cost a Willpower point or require a roll to use on supernatural creatures. This power reveals only the surface thoughts, as well as the side bonuses mentioned in the power.
In combat, this power also allows the user to change his declared action immediately after the declaration of the target.
Auspex 6: Prediction [GttC 84]
Activation of this power is reflexive and does not require an action.
Auspex 6: Sense Emotion [PG2 72]
With the V20 update allowing for a general scan of a crowd’s auras, this power is redundant and is not used in Emerald Coven Chronicles.
Auspex 6: Sibyl’s Tongue [CbR-Ma 60]
This power may only be used by characters with at least one dot in Malkavian Time.
It requires 5 successes to get a complete and clear answer to your questions. Any less will increase the cryptic nature of the answer.
Auspex 6: Spirit Bond [DAC 78]
This gives the exact geographical location of the attuned object or person, but no context of that location.
This power only functions on the same plane as the user.
A person targeted by this power does not have to be willing.
The user may have any number of Spirit Bonds active at once and each one should be noted on a card.
Auspex 6: Telepathic Communication [V20 139]
If the user wishes to add more people and is already at his maximum capacity, he may remove anyone currently on his network at any time without their presence or any rolls required.
Anyone connected to a network may contact any or all others on that network either individually or by group. They do not need to go through the power’s user as a switch-board.
Auspex 6: What People Want to Hear [Cb-To 37]
This is a previous version of the power Crocodile’s Tongue. See that power for further clarifications.
