General Rules

When a mortal is Embraced and becomes a vampire, they have innate supernatural powers called Disciplines. When a vampire feeds on human blood, they learn to refine and temper the Resonance of their victims to unlock terrifying and devastating powers of the Blood.  These powers range from supernatural strength, speed, and resiliency to the ability to subjugate the mind or cloud the perceptions of enemies and others.

Disciplines are rated on a scale from one to five dots. After character creation, a character must purchase additional Discipline dots with XP. Each unique Discipline has the following general characteristics:

• Type: Are the Discipline’s powers mental, social, or physical?
• Masquerade Risk: How dangerous to the Masquerade is using a majority of this Discipline’s powers?
• Blood Resonance: What type of blood must be consumed to learn this Discipline?

Each power within a Discipline has a cost, usually a simple or standard action, and/or a number of required Rouse checks. Each Discipline power also has a listed duration.

Learning Disciplines

Learning a dot from an in-clan Discipline requires a downtime action from the vampire, as they find and feed upon a mortal with the correct Blood Resonance for that Discipline.

Example: A Ventrue who wishes to learn a dot of Dominate (one of their three in-clan Disciplines) must spend a downtime action representing the time it takes to find a mortal with the Phlegmatic Blood Resonance and unlock the selected power for that Discipline dot.

If a vampire seeks to learn a Discipline dot that’s not in-clan, she must drink one Rouse check worth of blood from a vampire who possesses that Discipline (in- or out-of-clan) at any level. She must then spend a downtime action feeding upon a mortal with the correct Blood Resonance for that Discipline. This process must be repeated each time she wishes to learn a dot of an out-of-clan Discipline.

Example: A Ventrue wishes to learn the first dot of Celerity (an out-of-clan Discipline for Ventrue). The Ventrue must first drink one Rouse check of blood from a vampire who has at least one dot of Celerity. The Ventrue then spends one downtime action finding and feeding on a mortal with Choleric blood. She may then learn the first dot of Celerity and select one of those powers. If she wishes to learn a second dot of Celerity, she must repeat this process in its entirety.

Learning the first dot of Oblivion or Blood Sorcery as an out-of-clan Discipline is the exception to the rule above. In addition to the above requirements, the learning vampire must be willingly taught by a vampire who possesses Oblivion or Blood Sorcery as an in-clan Discipline. This requires a downtime action to be spent by both the learner and the instructor. The power chosen by the learner for the first dot of Oblivion or Blood Sorcery does not have to be a power the teacher possesses. This exception is a requirement only when learning the first dot of Blood Sorcery or Oblivion. Once a character has been taught the first dot by a teacher, they learn future dots and powers in the same way as other disciplines as described above.

Thin-blooded vampires must possess the Vampiric Discipline Merit prior to learning their one selected Discipline (see Thin-Blooded Merits, page xx).

Selecting Powers

Every time a character gains a dot in a Discipline, they must choose one power from that Discipline list. The power chosen must be equal to or less than the new level of dots she possesses in the Discipline.

Note that choosing a lower-level power does not provide a discount on the Discipline dot purchase. For example, a Brujah who started the game without any Potence wants to learn both Prowess and Soaring Leap from Potence. They purchase Soaring Leap with their first dot for 5 XP and Prowess with their second dot for 10 XP (requiring a total of 15 XP in total).

Amalgams

Amalgam powers are special powers that require proficiency in more than one Discipline. They may be selected instead of a standard Discipline power when you purchase a new Discipline dot. In order to select an Amalgam power, you must also possess the listed number of dots in the requisite Disciplines. Amalgam powers count as belonging to both Disciplines for all purposes.

Example: Templeton has chosen to purchase his third dot of the Animalism Discipline. He already possesses two dots of the Obfuscate Discipline. Templeton chooses to select the Unliving Hive power as his Level 3 Animalism power.

Note: Any Amalgam can be purchased by any clan. Unless otherwise stated, the only prerequisite for purchasing an Amalgam is having the number of dots in the secondary Discipline listed (and XP to purchase it).

Using Disciplines

The following rules apply to all Discipline use, unless otherwise stated:

• A Discipline power can be used on the same target on subsequent turns (even if the first attempt failed).
• Multiple instances of the same power do not stack.
• If a power has a duration and is used multiple times on the same target, the duration resets and begins again, instead of having more time added.
• Any Discipline that has an action cost to activate lasts for one hour.
• A character must be able to see a target clearly to use a power on that target. Line of sight can be enhanced by sensory-based powers, such as Heightened Senses, but may not be enhanced by technological assistance, such as video cameras. To establish line of sight, the target must be observed with the vampire’s own senses.
• Any power can be ended if the user spends a simple action.
• Discipline mechanics are written from the point of view of a vampire user; however, if legally possessed by another creature type, consider vampire specific terms to apply to the user.
• Partially-supernatural characters, such as ghouls, are considered mortal. If a power has a greater effect on mortals, it will also have that greater effect on ghouls.
• Other rules and limitations specific to a Discipline are listed in the Characteristics section of each Discipline.

A number of Discipline powers refer to situational modifiers, such as relenting, wound penalties, Conditions, and line of sight. For more information and an explanation of those terms, see Core Systems, page XXX.

Combat Turn Durations:

Unless otherwise stated, a power that lasts for multiple turns in combat expires on the same Initiative count as initiated, regardless of whether the character who initiated the power is still alive or if their initiative has changed.

Example: The Tremere Selene Lazarion uses Blood Rash on Jenny Rotten the Nosferatu on Initiative count 8 of the second turn of a combat scenario. On Initiative 8 of the fourth turn, Blood Rash ends.

Gaze and Focus:

Some Disciplines require the target to focus her attention on the user of the power. These powers do not require eye contact, but do require having the attention of the individual you wish to control. Individuals may attempt to find ways to avoid making eye contact, but the powers of the Blood are not so easily thwarted. Gaze and Focus only requires having the attention of the individual you wish to target. Anyone whose attention is on you is a viable target for powers that require Gaze or Focus. This includes the following individuals:

• Those who are  looking into your eyes;
• Those holding  an in-person conversation (not over a phone or video chat) with you;
• Those who have physically attacked you or used a mental or social power  on you, regardless of the success of such attacks. Gaze and Focus gained this way lasts for the remainder of the scene or combat scenario.

It is possible for a single person to Focus on two or more individuals. If supernatural powers are used to make you pay attention to two characters at the same time, you might glance back and forth between them or move to a place where you could see both simultaneously. You are also capable of holding the Gaze and Focus of multiple parties.

Transformative Powers:

Any power that significantly alters a character’s physical shape is considered a transformative power. Each of these powers explicitly states that it is transformative. Unless otherwise stated, transformative powers have the following characteristics:

• Transformative powers last until dawn or until the user sleeps, is subject to the Helpless Condition, falls unconscious, or falls into torpor. The user may also spend a simple action to end the transformation early.
• A character may only use and benefit from one transformative power at a time. If a character attempts to use a transformative power while already being affected by another, the first ends immediately and the second activates.
• Transformative powers do not prevent you from using non-transformative powers as long as your current form can reasonably fulfill the requirements of the non-transformative power.
• When you activate a transformative power, clothing and small personal items disappear. These return when you regain your normal form.
• A character cannot use physical weapons (guns, swords, etc.) while transformed.
• Conditions are not resolved, nor are wounds and injuries mended or altered, when a character utilizes a transformative power. A character with one eye has one fewer eye in all forms.

Obscured Characters and Out of Body powers: Some powers allow you to separate your consciousness or senses from your physical body or to hide your physical form. When extending your consciousness or senses beyond the limits of your physical body, you may do so only as far as the boundaries of your game or 75 miles, whichever is lower.

Whenever you are obscured from mundane observation, or separating your consciousness or senses from your body, hold a closed fist against your shoulder; this signifies you, the player, are not physically present as your character. This gesture should not be used as justification for other players to attempt to detect your presence with supernatural powers.

Your Storyteller should also be alerted to the location of your actual physical form.

If you are able to perceive multiple locations at once, use an assisting Storyteller to observe and report from one location. You may also rely on other characters in the scene to relay what happened while you choose to concentrate on one location. Use of such powers does not mean that other players must pause roleplay while you move back and forth between multiple scenes.

Mortals: Some powers have differing effects when targeting mortals. Ghouls and thin-blood vampires without the Vampiric Resiliency Merit are considered mortals for the purposes of Discipline effects against them. Fully supernatural creatures, such as Changelings, Mages, and Werewolves, are not considered mortal.