Majesty

Any mortal can resist Majesty for a number of turns equal to his Resolve turn if a Willpower point is spent and a successful Composure roll is made (through the Willpower point does not add three dice to the roll). This roll is reflexive. If the roll fails, the Willpower point is lost and the target remains under the effects of the power(s). If the roll is successful, the mortal probably spends his turn of "freedom" fleeing the vampire's proximity, lest he continue to be affected. Refusing to pay attention to the vampire, rather than fleeing, can allow a mortal to resist the spell for a turn, but the power resumes effect if the mortal remains in the Kindred's vicinity. Vampires resist Majesty in much the same way (by spending a Willpower point), but Supernatural Tolerance is added to Composure rolls made for them. In addition, vampires of lower generation than the character invoking Majesty are able to resist his power for the entire scene with the expenditure of one Willpower point and a successful Composure + Supernatural Tolerance roll.

By and large, the Kindred who choose to develop their Majesty abilities are those who recognize that one achieves more with honey than with vinegar. Those who swear by Majesty often find Dominate, seen as "the flip side of Majesty," to be both boorish and crass, and they would swear to calling upon it only in times of dire need.

Blood Bond: Because Majesty works on the emotions that the victim feels towards the kindred, all uses of of this power gain a bonus to their die pools if the target is in a stage of a Blood Bond to the kindred. The Bonus is equal to the stage of the Blood Bond.

Blood Ties: Close blood relations strengthen the use of many vampiric abilities. This counts for Majesty as well.

• Awe

This power makes the user seem exponentially more charismatic and magnetic than he normally is. The force of his personality issues forth in waves, drawing people to him like moths to a flame. Perhaps the greatest use for Awe is its ability to facilitate public speaking or debate. Whatever the vampire says, people are likely to lend serious credence to his position and views, and even the staunchest opponents gladly hear him out. Awe can often turn the tide in a tense negotiation, tipping the scales from "potentially" to "definitely."

Awe lets a vampire capture the attention of those around her. The victims are drawn to the vampire and can’t help themselves from trusting her laughing at her jokes. The vampire commands their attention and shapes it to suit her needs. While Awe is most effective for first impressions it also affects those who already have an opinion of the vampire. If someone thinks the vampire is treacherous liar, then Awe alone is not enough to change his mind, but it can be enough to make him consider that perhaps, just this one time, the vampire is telling the truth.

Awe doesn’t override self-preservation. If danger strikes, it breaks the spell of fascination, as does leaving the area. The memory of the meeting remains, however, and the target remembers how he felt about the vampire, which will influence future interactions.

Cost: —

Dice Pool: Presence + Socialize + Majesty

Action: Instant

Dramatic Failure: A dramatic failure indicates that the character actually makes himself more unappealing, and people actively seek to avoid him until he leaves.

Failure: Failure indicates that the power simply does not activate. The character knows this immediately and may try again next turn.

Success: The character succeeds in dazzling his intended audience with his overwhelming charisma.

Exceptional Success: The effects of the awe persist after the kindred leaves, perhaps all night or even longer.

The number of successes the player acquires is compared to the Composure of each intended subject. If the number of successes meets a given target's Composure, that subject is affected by the character's powerful personality. If a subject's Composure is higher than the number of successes earned, that subject goes unaffected. A character may Awe whomever is present (see the suggested modifiers below), and comparisons are made from lowest Composure to highest among potential subjects.

She stands out in the eyes of others, clearly visible and audible in any crowd and those individuals affected by Awe raptly fawn over the user. Any mundane social rolls he engages in with them gains a number of bonus dice equal to the number of successes rolled to activate the power; those Awed also take its activation they take these successes as a penalty on rolls to notice their surroundings as they are so distracted by the vampire. This effect lasts for one scene, and people affected may thrill at character's presence the next time they see him without any supernatural power used at all.

Her actions and appearance are cast in a more positive light. She could be covered in dirt, or have just visibly beaten another man bloody, yet still appears poised and approachable. She suffers no social penalties due to her actions or appearance, and can generally talk her way out of most offenses, even minor criminal ones. Of course this does nothing to counteract a Nosferatu's' hideousness or something similar; unless a kindred with such a curse is hiding their appearance somehow the effect of awe could be disastrous.

Modifiers:

Character attempts to Awe two people -1

Character attempts to Awe six people -2

Character attempts to Awe 20 people -3

Character attempts to Awe a vast number of people in the vampire's immediate vicinity -4

•• Dread Gaze

This use of majesty focuses the beats mien to a razors edge and directs onto one subject, bringing the beast to the forefront is enough to induce a bowel liquefying terror inmost victims, one that can leave them quaking and helpless with nothing but a stern look or a snarl from the kindred. Dread Gaze engenders unbearable terror in its victim, stupefying him into madness, immobility, or reckless flight. Even the most stalwart individual will fall back from the vampire's horrific visage.

Cost: —

Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + Majesty - Target's Composure + Supernatural Tolerance

Action: Instant

Duration: Scene

Dramatic Failure: The target finds the vampires antics comical and is immune to the kindred's Majesty for a week.

Failure: The target is startled but not terrified by the sight.

Success: The Victim is cowed, and loses -1 die to all actions for the remainder of the scene or whenever the vampire using dread gaze is out of sight, whichever comes first.

Exceptional Success: The Victim flees, clawing at walls in an attempt to escape. They take a -2 penalty to all die checks for the remainder of the scene or whenever the vampire using dread gaze is out of sight, whichever comes first.

Dread gaze can be used over and over on a victim in a scene, its effects are cumulative. Like normal extended actions one can only roll dread gaze on a subject as many times as equal to their total dice pool after modifiers have been factored in. If the target loses enough dice that he cannot perform any action, he's so shaken and terrified that he curls up on the ground and weeps. Dread Gaze can only affect one target per scene, if it is turned against someone else after its initial use in the same scene its effects instantly end on the first subject. They may still be scared of the kindred, but it will not be a supernatural fear.

••• Entrancement

This power is perhaps the closest thing that Majesty gets to serious command over the thoughts of another. Its power warps the emotional state of the subject, making him a willing servant of the vampire. Subjects retain their sense of identity and free will, believing that every instinct to serve and admire comes of their own volition. With Entrancement, a vampire binds a victim into her service. Entranced individuals have their feelings twisted so that they want to serve the vampire. They want to heed her every wish, need, or desire, believing that they do so out of true devotion. Since only the target’s emotions are snared, not their minds, they are free to use their skills in the vampire’s service, but it makes them unpredictable.

Cost: 1 Vitae

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Empathy + Majesty - Target's Composure + Supernatural Tolerance

Action: Instant & Contested; resistance is reflexive

Dramatic Failure: A dramatic failure offends the subject, making him immune to the vampire's "advances" for the rest of the night.

Failure: The character loses or ties the contested roll. The Entrancement fails and the subject reacts to the vampire normally.

Success: The character wins the contested roll by getting the most successes, and brings the subject under his sway for a few hours or so -- long enough to complete a single task or set of tasks.

Exceptional Success: The character wins the contested roll with five or more successes. An exceptional success indentures the target for at least at least a week, and potentially a month or more.

When a period of effect wears off, the subject does not necessarily bear the vampire any ill will. After all, he has no idea that something unnatural has taken place. He merely comes to the conclusion that he no longer feels the way he once did for the character (even if "once" was an hour ago). At this time, he likely returns to going about his own life, content with never seeing the vampire again. Typically, a vampire who wishes to retain the attention of an affected subject calls upon more reliable (or stringent) methods of indenturing, such as the blood bond.

Modifiers:

The Kindred's Dots in Striking Looks.

The Kindred already has the subject Awed: +1

The Kindred has already successfully Entranced the subject within a week: -3

•••• Summoning

This rather potent power allows the vampire to call any individual he knows personally to his side. In short, the vampire reaches out with the force of his personality and makes a colleague, acquaintance, rival or outright enemy know without doubt that he wishes that person to attend him at once. There is no limit on the distance or range of this power, but summoning someone halfway around the world takes time, even under the best of circumstances. The subject of Summoning takes the most direct possible routes to the vampire's location and intuitively knows when the vampire moves, though doesn't necessarily know the final destination until he gets there (it's like a sort of direction sense). The summoned individual knows to whose presence he travels, and he may pause to make arrangements before departure, if necessary. In other words, the compulsion is strong and the subject doesn't dilly-dally unnecessarily, but he is hardly a single-minded drone in his desire to reach the vampire. The subject does, however, use any resources at his disposal to see that he arrives both safely and punctually.

The call of a summoning fades with the first rays of the sun at dawn. Therefore, if a subject is truly far away or a sufficiently fast means of transportation is not available to him, he can deny the compulsion to attend the summoner at dawn. Indeed, he could return home and go about his business. If the subject is predisposed toward the summoner, however, he may continue the quest of his own accord. During the day, he is under his own power to find the vampire and loses his "direction sense." Another vampire is not compelled to seek the summoner to the very light of day, causing his Final Death. The seeker finds shelter beforehand.

Unless the subject already knows where and how to reach the summoning vampire, the call must be repeated each night until the subject arrives. If, as in the preceding case with the resistant subject, the distance is too far or available transportation is too slow, the subject might never arrive. He falls into a cycle of being drawn to and fleeing from the summoner.

Cost: 1 Vitae

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Persuasion + Majesty - Target's Composure + Supernatural Tolerance

Action: Contested; resistance is reflexive

Dramatic Failure: The target is aware that the vampire tried to summon him, and is immune to that vampire's Summoning attempts for the rest of the story.

Failure: The character loses or ties the contested roll. The subject remains unaware of the Summoning, and nothing happens.

Success: The character wins the contested roll by getting the most successes. Complete success brings the subject as quickly as possible within the space of one night, without questioning the motivations or origins of the summons.

Exceptional Success: An exceptional success draws the subject to the vampire with all deliberate haste, no matter how long the journey takes. The compulsion to arrive prevails even during daylight, and the subject's sense of the summoner's location persists throughout.

Modifiers:

The subject is dedicated or loyal to the summoner +3

The subject is predisposed toward or friendly with the summoner +1

The summoner knows exactly where the subject is +1

The summoner has no idea where the subject is -1

The subject resents being summoned or dislikes the summoner -1

The summoner has no idea where the subject is and he's more than 500 miles away -3

The subject has urgent business elsewhere or reviles the summoner -3

The summoner has no idea where the subject is and he's on the other side of the world -5

••••• Sovereignty

One of the most potent of all Kindred abilities, Sovereignty augments the power of a vampire's personal deportment to incredible levels. The newly empowered mien inspires devotion, respect and fear in those who stand in the vampire's proximity. The weak-willed (and cunning) supplicate themselves for the chance to serve, and the stout of heart find themselves at a loss to do anything but acquiesce. Sovereignty's power influences decisions, breaks hearts, cripples confidence and shakes the ambitious to the foundations of their determination. The vibe the vampire gives off makes others quick to surrender, and the thought of risking his displeasure quails even the heartiest souls. Raising one's voice to a sovereign Kindred seems unthinkable; aggressing upon him seems impossible. The power of this level of Majesty is a terrifying thing to behold, and a difficult thing to rein in once it's let loose. Elders are wise not to abuse it or use it too flippantly, as its power is most effective when used both sparingly and exactingly. Despite its mighty prowess, Sovereignty is a finely honed tool -- a scalpel, rather than a sword.

Cost: 3 Vitae

Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + Majesty versus Resolve + Composure + Supernatural Tolerance

Action: Instant; contested and reflexive

Sovereignty is considered "always active" during scenes in which it is invoked, though it may be turned off at the Kindred's discretion. Activating the power requires an instant action. Its capacity is tested whenever challenged. When the power is at its "normal" level, people can speak freely around the vampire as long as they don't try to defy or criticize him, though their demeanor is marked by an obvious obeisance to the Kindred invoking Sovereignty. Anyone wishing to attack the vampire, however, whether physically, mystically or socially, calls the user's Sovereignty into question. A reflexive and contested roll is made for presiding vampire and would-be attacker. Note also that, unlike other uses of Majesty, Sovereignty may not be overcome with the expenditure of a Willpower point and success on a Composure + Supernatural Tolerance roll. The power is defensive and overwhelming, and it must be countered by a determined foe as described here.

Dramatic Failure: A dramatic failure is rolled for the sovereign vampire. The assailant may attack, use Disciplines or criticize for the rest of the scene without having to make challenges to the character's Sovereignty.

Failure: The sovereign character loses or ties the contested roll; attacks, Discipline uses or criticisms proceed without penalty, but the attacker feels the weight of his action in every movement.

Success: The sovereign character wins the contested roll by getting the most successes, and the assault cannot be carried out this turn. A subsequent attempt calls for another contested roll.

Exceptional Success: The sovereign character wins the contested roll with five or more successes, and the would-be assailant cannot attack or disparage the vampire for the duration of the night.

Note that a contested roll must be made every time someone wishes to make a new attack, use a Discipline or criticize the vampire who uses Sovereignty (with the obvious exception of dramatic failures and exceptional successes). The power applies against physical attacks as well as intended uses of Disciplines that could harm or affect the reigning vampire negatively. Intentions to speak an ill word about or at the sovereign vampire invoke the same contested roll. If the effort fails, the would-be critic cannot bring himself to say what he wishes to. If the presiding vampire responds to aggression by physically attacking back, he breaks his Sovereignty with respect to that subject alone. Use of a Discipline in a damaging or negative way against a would-be aggressor also breaks the spell against that individual alone. All other would-be combatants, Discipline users or naysayers must continue to overcome the reigning vampire's power if they wish to turn aggressor. The sovereign vampire does not break his spell over a subject by disparaging him publicly.