Dominate
Level 1: Command
Vous insuflez un mot a la cible, qui ma suivre cet ordre, sauf si il va a l'encotre de sa non-vie. (EX: Assied, coucher, debout, marche, etc...)
Cost: —
Test Pool: Intelligence + Intimidation + Dominate versus Resolve + Blood Potency
Action: Contested; resistance is refl exive
Draw Results
Failure: The character loses or ties the contested draw and the subject does not obey.
Success: The character wins the contested draw by getting the most successes, and the
victim obeys literally and with appreciable self-preservation.
Assuming the commanded action is one that can be carried out for some time, such as
“wait” or “sleep,” the subject obeys for a number of turns or minutes equal to the successes
obtained on the Command draw. In the event of sleep or similar states, a subject is immediately
awakened on being moved or attacked, and receives their Defense for the turn, though
they may not Dodge.
Level 2: Mesmerize
Au lieu d'un simple mot, vous souflez une phrase complète a la victime, qui se voit obliger d'y obéir, sauf si elle va a l'encontre de sa non-vie (EX: Rapporte moi une bière, frappe Louis, plonge et couvre toi, etc...)
Cost: —
Test Pool: Intelligence + Expression + Dominate versus Resolve + Blood Potency
Action: Contested; resistance is refl exive
If this power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie (see p. 228), a +2
bonus applies.
Draw Results
Failure: The character loses or ties the contested draw and the subject does not obey.
Success: The character wins the contested draw by getting the most successes, and the
victim obeys to the best of his ability.
This power lasts for as long as it takes the subject to carry out the required task, or until
the character is destroyed or enters torpor. Impossible actions such as, “Count every grain of
sand on this beach,” or any instructions that are obviously futile in terms of sheer magnitude
automatically fail to take root in the subject’s mind. Similarly, commands that are impossibly
broad such as, “Never disobey me,” will not work. Orders given with Mesmerism have to be
suffi ciently narrow to be understood as a single set of instructions that can be performed in
a normal span of time. Mesmerism also cannot force a subject to directly harm himself, so
an order of “Stake yourself next week,” would fail. If, during the course of carrying out the
implanted suggestion, the victim realizes he puts himself in danger or acts completely contrary
to his normal moral code, a Resolve draw may be made to shake off the compulsion. This
is a contested draw. Successes drawn must exceed the number of successes obtained for the
dominating character when the individual was fi rst mesmerized.
Failure: The victim must continue to carry out the command as ordered.
Success: The victim escapes the suggestion.
No matter how strong the dominator’s will is or how many successes he obtains, he cannot make
a subject harm himself directly. Any command to commit obvious suicide is ignored, although
commands that are likely to lead to harm — such as, “Walk into that crack house and shoot the
man in the red shirt” — are enforceable, subject to the aforementioned Resolve draws.
If a vampire attempts to Mesmerize a subject who is already under the infl uence of a previously
implanted directive, compare the successes drawn in the attempt against the successes
gained during the implantation of the fi rst suggestion. If the character obtains more successes
than the previous Kindred, the new command may supplant the old one. If he does not,
the original command remains active and the new one fails to take root. In case of a tie, the
original command takes precedent over the new one. A vampire seeking to supplant an old
suggestion with a new one must also acquire successes in excess of those drawn for the subject
in his contested Resolve + Blood Potency draw.
Level 3: Forgetfull Mind
Vous arrivez a faire oubliez un ou plusieurs trucs a la cible
Cost: —
Test Pool: Wits + Persuasion + Dominate – Resolve
Action: Extended (1-100+ successes, based on the detail and complexity of memory; each
draw requires one minute of conversation with the subject)
Draw Results
Failure: The attempt fails.
Success: The character makes headway toward altering a block of memories.
Even a single success pacifi es the victim for the length of time it takes to complete the
process. Both vampire and subject must be safe and relatively composed when this power is
used; it cannot be used to calm someone already in combat, for example. To restore stolen or false memories, or to sense when memories have been altered, a character
must possess Dominate at a level equal to or greater than that of the vampire who fi rst
tampered with the subject’s mind. If such is the case, the player then makes a contested draw in each stage of the extended action, to be compared against the initial user’s attempt, and must score more successes than the predecessor did.
Level 4:Pupetting
Vous contrôllez complètement la cible
Cost: 1 Willpower per draw
Test Pool: Wits + Subterfuge + Dominate versus Resolve + Blood Potency
Action: Contested and Extended (6-15+ successes; each draw represents one week of mental
manipulation); resistance is refl exive.
Draw Results
Failure: The character loses or ties a contested draw and the attempt fails.
Success: The character wins a contested draw and makes progress in his efforts to suborn
the subject’s will.
Conditioning does not have any mechanical effect until fi ve more successes are accumulated
in excess of the victim’s Willpower dots. (If the subject has Willpower 6, Conditioning begins
to take effect once 11 successes are achieved.) Once this benchmark has been reached, all
future attempts by the character to use any Dominate ability (including further uses of Conditioning)
on the victim receive a +1 bonus, and all attempts by other Kindred to Dominate
the subject suffer a -1 penalty. For every additional fi ve successes that are accumulated, the
bonus and penalty each increase by one, to a maximum of +5 and -5. The Storyteller, not the
player, should keep track of the number of successes accumulated.
Once the character’s bonus reaches +3, he no longer needs to make eye contact with the
Conditioning subject to use any Dominate abilities, though giving orders through artifi cial
or impersonal means (such as by phone) imposes a -5 penalty to that particular attempt.
Subjects of Conditioning are oblivious to the process being infl icted upon them unless
they also possess the power. The Storyteller may allow a victim or someone close to him a
Wits + Occult draw to recognize that something is wrong. If the draw fails, the process may
continue unaffected. If the draw succeeds, an effort may be made to interrupt the process.
If the Conditioning vampire is particularly careful about how suggestions and messages are
conveyed, the Wits + Occult draw might suffer a -1 penalty. Interrupting the process could
mean fl eeing the vampire or restraining the subject from meeting the vampire before all the
required successes are accumulated.
It is possible, albeit extremely diffi cult, to break a subject’s Conditioning after the required
successes are gathered. If the victim is completely isolated from her master for a number of
weeks equal to twice the master’s current Conditioning-granted bonus, the bonus drops
by one. For example, a subject has been Conditioned for a long time, and her master has
achieved a bonus of +4 to Dominate her. If she is kept completely isolated from her master
for eight weeks, the bonus drops to +3. Six more weeks, and it drops to +2, and so forth.
The subject’s own personality and creativity slowly reawakens during this period, though she
still experiences periods of listlessness, depression and desperation. For at least the fi rst few
weeks, the subject most likely makes every attempt to return to her master. Until the subject
is completely free, it is horrifyingly easy for the vampire to reassert his dominance, as he likely
has at least some bonus to Dominate the individual for a long while. The Storyteller may
adjust these times to refl ect the regularity of chapters.
If the subject of Conditioning is also the thrall of the vampire, all successes on a Conditioning
draw are doubled. So, if a vampire seeks to Condition his own ghoul, and he gets
three successes to her two in one draw to program the subject, he actually accumulates six
successes in that Conditioning session.
If this power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie (see p. 228), a +2
bonus applies.
Turning minor extras into zombie-like minions is one thing, but many players will become
extremely disheartened if this power is used on their characters, fi nding this blank state a tedious
chore to roleplay. Therefore, with the consent of their Storyteller, the Dominate user may choose
not to turn players’ characters and important Narrator characters into zombie-like automatons;
rather, they become “Manchurian candidates,” who think and act normally in every way - unless
they are directly carrying out an order issued by their master. At those times, they do not become
emotionless automatons, but instead gain some measure of the master’s personality, quirks or
mannerisms. For each bonus point the master has accumulated on Dominate attempts, the victim
picks up one of her master’s notable quirks or habits, which is then actively roleplayed whenever
the master issue a direct order to the victim. Prominent behavioral habits to mirror include accents,
vocabulary, favorite expressions, distinctive laughs, common gestures, body posture, nervous habits
(biting one’s nails), etc. Long-term servants or those carrying out lengthy commands may even
unconsciously start to dress or act like the character. Indeed, heavily Conditioned targets appear
almost like eerie refl ections of their master when carrying out applicable commands, especially to
anyone familiar with the controlling Kindred. If a master does not have many distinctive habits,
the Storyteller may instead allow a victim to heighten the portrayal of one or two existing ones
by degrees for each bonus point. Thus, if the only really notable quirk a Kindred has is biting his
nails, at a +1 bonus the target might only absently chew on them during applicable scenes, but if
the master Conditions his target up to a +4 bonus, the target might bite her nails savagely right
down to the quick, even if the master does not take that behavior so far himself.
It is important to note that the victim is not any more aware of these habits than she would
be of any other Conditioning effects, and will typically dismiss them as momentary fancies
or accidents unless more compelling evidence is provided (i.e., the kind of proof normally
needed to help a target recognize and shake Conditioning). Unless they have been Conditioned
to a truly extensive degree, players who attempt to grotesquely overplay these quirks
in order to send up a distress signal to their fellow coterie members or other Kindred should
be disciplined. After all, ultimately they should be grateful this option was used in the fi rst
place and they got to roleplay their character rather than a bland, emotionless zombie. The
Dominate user must implant specifi c triggers in the Conditioned mind to indicate how the
subject recognizes commands that must be obeyed. These usually include a safeguard that the
subject will always obey orders if his master appears to be in severe distress or in any immediate
danger. Extended time spent rummaging in the subject’s mind with Telepathy and Forgetful
Mind may very well unearth those triggers, revealing the extent of the manipulation.
Given the long-term requirements for this power, it is recommended that the target, the
Storyteller and the Dominate user take the time involved to work together to establish what
quirks are notable enough to mirror, and perhaps suggestions on how to mimic them correctly.
Note that Conditioning should be no less effective in game terms if this option is used; only
the way its effect is roleplayed really changes.
Level 5: Possesion
Vous possédez le corps de la victime. La différence par rapport a Pupetting, est qu'au lieu de controler la cible, vous prenez possesion du corps de la victime, elle n'a pas besoin de vous voir pour obéir a vos ordre, vous devenez la victime
Cost: 1 Willpower
Test Pool: Intelligence + Intimidation + Dominate versus Resolve
Action: Contested and Extended; resistance is refl exive
Roleplaying: A description tag, costume change or other arrangement should be made to
indicate the body switch. Meanwhile, the character’s helpless body should be designated with
an item or description card for anyone who might stumble across it.
Draw Results
The vampire locks eyes with the victim and begins the process of utterly stripping away the
subject’s Willpower. The vampire must obtain a number of successes in excess of the victim’s
Willpower. The victim is held, trapped in this psychic struggle, as long as the vampire’s player
continues to win each contested draw. Each draw occupies a turn’s time.
Failure: In any turn in which the vampire loses or ties a contested draw, the victim may
attempt to escape. If the vampire succeeds in restarting the process during the same scene,
the contest picks up from where it left off.
Success: The character wins a contested draw and accumulates successes in her attempt to
exert ultimate control over her subject.
Once the character has exceeded the victim’s Willpower in number of successes, she may take
control of his body. The character may take any actions she chooses, travel as far from her own
body as she wishes, and is unharmed by daylight while possessing the subject, but she must still
force herself to stay awake during the day (see Humanity on p. 264). The vampire may choose
to end the possession and return to her body at any time, regardless of distance. This occurs
automatically if the vampire fails to remain awake. Any injuries infl icted on the subject also affect
the vampire’s body although Kindred can’t be incapacitated through damage to a body they are
possessing.. If the subject dies while the vampire is still present, the Kindred falls into torpor immediately.
(Some believe the soul attempts to fi nd its way back to its own body during this time.)
If the Kindred’s physical form is destroyed, she remains trapped in the mortal body until she
fi nally fails to remain awake, at which point her psyche is lost to oblivion and is unrecoverable. Any
attempt to “re-Embrace” a vampire’s spirit trapped in a host body results only in Final Death.
When fi nally freed of vampiric possession, some mortals recover almost immediately,
while others lie comatose or suffer trauma-induced psychoses for days or even weeks before
recovering.
Because a vampire experiences everything her physical body does — tasting food, soaking up
the sun — many become addicted to the sensations and spend more time possessing mortals
than inhabiting their own bodies. It is possible, though uncommon, for a vampire to neglect
her physical body long enough for it to starve into torpor while she’s “out.” If a vampire’s dormant
body slips or is forced into torpor, the vampire’s spirit automatically returns to its body.
No Disciplines or Sorcery — whether the host’s or Possessor’s — can be used in Possession; the
vampire takes over the host body completely, only retaining her own mental Attributes and
mental Merits in addition to her Mental and Social Skills. The host body retains all other traits
as well as any Merits that the Possessor also has himself, i.e. if the Dominate user is Ambidextrous,
then a possessed Ambidextrous ghoul will retain that Merit while Possessed.
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