Night Falls (NVA) House Rules

Please familiarize yourself with these rules. Some rules have changed from previous events.

Unless otherwise noted in this document, we use the rules from MET Laws of the Night: Revised (LoTN:R), MET Camarilla Guide, MET Sabbat Guide, MET Storyteller’s Guide, Revised Clanbooks, and MET Journals. Other supplements are accepted at Storyteller discretion.

A Note About Genre Packets: We adhere to the restrictions written in all OWbN Council approved genre packets. However, this does not mean we will automatically allow anything that is printed in the packet.

NVA is a mix genre game.

Table of Contents:

Basic Rules Clarifications 1

Disciplines 5

Garou Gift Clarifications 9

Basic Rules Clarifications:

Blood:

Each player portraying a Vampire Character is expected to approach an ST or dually appointed Narrator and ask for a “blood chop” each evening. The responsibility for this is on the player, not the ST, so entering play without doing this can be construed as cheating. If your chop is successful, your character will be at full blood, minus flaws. Should you tie, you will be at half blood, minus flaws. If you lose, you will be at 4 Blood, minus flaws. Hunting and Luck are the only applicable retests for this challenge.

Healing Aggravated Damage:

Healing aggravated damage requires a full day of rest and 3 blood traits. A willpower trait and three additional blood traits can be spent to heal an additional aggravated wound beyond the first once a day.

Willpower:

Everyone begins the game at full willpower. Replenishing spent Willpower during play requires the appropriate use of the Meditation ability as written in Dark Epics.

Virtues:

Virtue traits risked to retest an applicable challenge are lost permanently if the challenge is lost, in addition to the usual effects of a lost virtue challenge.

Abilities:

Lore’s- Characters are normally limited to no more than 3 levels in any specific Lore considered to be out of genre for that character. For example: A Camarilla Ventrue would only be permitted to have level 4 or 5 in Kindred Lore, Camarilla Lore, and Ventrue Lore. Lore approval is always up to Storyteller discretion.

Crafts:

Crafts cannot create items with traits or effects about and beyond those listed in LotN:R and Dark Epics. It sure makes stuff look pretty though!

Merits/Flaws:

Trait bonuses from multiple merits can be added to any single challenge.

Blasé:

This merit functions as follows: By LotN:R rules for Iron Will, replacing “Dominate” with “Presence” and “mental” with “social”.

Luck:

Does not refresh each evening of the event. You get 3 applicable retests for the weekend.

Resources:

We do not use money cards. Equipment acquisition will be approved based on your level of resources. If it is absolutely necessary for you to have a card representing an amount of cash, see a Storyteller.

Influences: At the moment Influence are in flux. We are networking with local games to discover how we can all run influence the same, so there are no problems crossing borders. We will keep you posted. Until this time we are using the material presented in Dark Epics.

Retainers/Spirit Slaves:

You may have retainers (up to five dots), that can do minimal daily tasks (as an example they could not perform a haven raid) and have no sheets. Or you may create sheets for your retainers to allow them to perform tasks that are more involved (such as attack someone or something). If you elect to create a sheet for your character than your first dot allows you to create a basic retainer and each successive dot allows you to add ten experience points to that retainer. Your retainers may not purchase any backgrounds. You are allowed to purchase up to five – five point retainers using this method, but they all must have sheets. You as the player are responsible for their sheets when you want to use them in game, but the sheets are subject to ST approval. All spirit slaves must have character sheets.

Retainers are an ancillary part of the game. You come to game to role-play your character, not your retainer.

Ghouls may be created as followed:

Attributes: 6/4/3

Abilities: 5

Bonus Points: 5

You get one basic level of either potence or fortitude. You also get two basic disciplines of the dormitor’s in clan disciplines. Ghouls may have a maximum of 8 traits in each attribute category.

Ghouls must have a 7^th generation dormitor to get level 5 disciplines. They must have a 6^th generation dormitor to get level 6 disciplines and so on.

Wraith creation is per Wraith: The Oblivion MET guide.

Combat:

The order of each action in a combat round is decided by the number of traits relating to the declared action, from greatest to least. The orders of actions are as follows:

1. Alacrity

2. Normal actions

3. Swiftness / Rage / First temporis action

4. Legerity / Rage / Second temporis action

5. Follow-up / Rage / Third temporis action

6. Black Met / Rage / Fourth temporis action

7. Remaining temporis and rage actions

-No more than five combatants may challenge the same target in any given round, no matter what the declared action may be.

-Strike declarations-“instant-effect” discipline stacking is not allowed. A strike declaration can only include the activation of one discipline per action. Disciplines which are already active before the strike, such as Potence, Celerity, Scorpion’s Touch (if readied in advance), feral claws, horrid form, etc., do not count towards this limit.

-We use the “two gun mojo” rules from LotN:R.

Retests:

Abilities are the only retests that can be used to cancel each other in a challenge. All other retests gained from sources such as disciplines or merits cannot be cancelled.

Bidding Traits:

No vampire can ever bid more than double their natural generational trait maximum in any one challenge.

For example, an 8^th generation Tzimisce uses blood and horrid form to pump up physical traits. His generational maximum is 14, so he can never big more than 28 in the resolution of ties. Likewise, a 10^th generation Tremere can use potency to drop her virtual generation to 7^th, but since her natural generation trait maximum is 12, she cannot bid more than 24 in a challenge.

Form Powers:

No more than one shape changing power can be active at any one time. In this regard, the examples of shape changing powers are: tenebrous form, earth meld, shape of the beast, mist form, skin of the adder, form of the cobra, ashes to ashes, elemental form, horrid form, Typhonic Beast, Body of the Zephyr, and bloodform. Any other form can be added in the moment in case we forgot something!

Torpor:

Hey, it happens sometimes… Waking a vampire from torpor early requires the blood of a vampire 3 generations or more lower than the person in torpor (LotN:R, pg.111). Also see “Thaumaturgy: Path of Blood, Blood Rage” for alternate methods of waking someone from torpor.

Staking:

A vampire who has been successfully staked is paralyzed as long as their heart remains impaled. This means the vampire cannot move at all, cannot spend blood, and cannot use any disciplines except Fortitude and any discipline that specifically details that it can be used while staked.

Item Cards:

ALL weapons, no matter the write up on the card, will have only the stats (damage, bonus traits, and negative traits) listed in Dark Epics. Longbows are +3 traits.

Magic Item Cards:

“Magic Items” will not be allowed unless specifically created with Thaumaturgy or Necromancy. No items created with Arcanoi, hedge magic, or demon mojo will be allowed. The exception to this rule is Garou Fetishes for Garou Characters.

Regarding Fetishes made with Entrap Ephemera: No bonus traits granted by successful activation of one of these items can exceed 3 in each attribute category, nor can they be stacked to grant more than a total of 3 such bonus traits.

Precedent:

Storytellers have to make split second decisions sometimes when presented with an abnormal situation. Do not expect something to work the same way twice, or the way you demand, unless it is specifically written in these house rules. This is Our House, We Are the House Music.

Rage On:

A Garou at incapacitated (or lower) may attempt to rage on as a free action. This costs 1 rage (and so cannot be done if gnosis was spent that round). A simple challenge is done to measure success. If successful, the Garou immediately heals to the second wounded level and gains a battle scar. They also enter frenzy at the start of the next round. This may be attempted once per night.

Rank Benefits – To best make interaction between Vampires and Werewolves more close to the genre presented in the books.

Rank 1 (Cliath) – Unarmed strikes do lethal damage.

Rank 2 (Fostern) – Might retest

Rank 3 (Adren) –The Bomb

Rank 4 (Athro) – One extra Health Level (All forms, no requirements)

Rank 5 (Elder) – Wins all ties in Physical Challenges

Ritual Creation:

Players can create their own rituals applicable to their own form of blood magic. To do so they must follow the directives set forth from the appropriate clan coordinator. In addition to their requirements, a PC must spend a minimum of one month per experience point cost of the ritual. No PC can create a ritual without the aid of someone who, according to Dark Epics, who can perform the necessary occult influence action required to create the ritual.

Sabbat Ritae:

Page 140 of the MET LotN: Sabbat Guide gives optional rules for Sabbat ritae. “If you want priestly competence and power to matter in your chronicle, use these optional rules. If you’d rather keep it simple, just use the standard rules for tests associated with each ritae. Again, these rules are strictly optional”. We prefer to keep things simple and will not use these optional rules.

Discipline Clarifications

Animalism

Feral Whispers - Feral Whispers can be used to communicate with a Vampire in Subsume the Beast or Protean Beast shape.

Quell the Beast - does not prevent the expenditure of permanent willpower traits.

Auspex

Auspex provides one bonus mental trait per level in the resolution of ties versus Obfuscate and Chimerstry

Aura Perception - when perceiving the aura of an animal under the effects of Subsume the Spirit (Animalism), the aura will be that of the subsuming vampire. When perceiving the aura of someone under the effects of Possession (Dominate), the aura will be that of the vampire who is possessing. No "double" auras.

Telepathy - Line of sight is always necessary to establish and maintain telepathy.

Psychic Projection - While astral, characters cannot spend blood.

Celerity

As per the elder level Celerity power Projectile: “The supernatural speed of the Kindred doesn’t operate by conventional physics, and thus items of weapons handled by them often have problems keeping up. For example, while the actual firing of a gun can occur in the blink of an eye, the bullet still leaves the barrel of the gun at normal speed. A thrown rock slows down to normal speed at the instant it leaves the vampire’s hand. There is no explanation for this; most vampires just shrug and accept this fact”. Therefore the bonuses from rapidity and fleetness cannot be used for thrown or projectile weapons.

Chimerstry

Chimerstry provides one bonus trait per level in the resolution of ties versus Auspex.

Although this is printed in LotN:R pg142, it bears repeating: “Each illusion is a single object; one use of Chimerstry cannot create an entire host of illusory sensations or items.”

Horrid Reality - wounds caused through use of this discipline are soakable.

Dominate

Forgetful Mind - this discipline cannot stack multiple false memories over the same time period. Only the most recent false memory will apply.

Conditioning - be aware that use of conditioning is a violation of many morality codes, Storyteller discretion. "Soft" conditioning (psychology) is not allowed. Effects are by the book.

Possession - be aware that use of possession may be a violation of many morality codes, Storyteller discretion.

Fortitude

Aegis - use of Aegis may be declared at any point in the round, even after having been staked. Declaration of aegis will retroactively negate all effects of the damage taken during that round, which rely on damaging the target in order to take effect - such as staking or the Rending. It does not negate powers which simply rely on contact, rather than damage (even if they deal damage as well) – such as Scorpion’s Touch; in this case, only the damage dealt would be negated. This power will not negate any negative physical form altering effects to the body inflicted that round such as Withering and Vicissitude attacks that do not do damage.

Koldunic Sorcery

Way of Wind –Traveling the Winds – This power takes effect at the end of the turn it is invoked on, after all Celerity and follow–up actions are completed (at the same time as Vanish from the Mind’s Eye occurs). Onlookers who have Heightened Senses – Sight up can track your blurred form as you fly away, but to everyone else, you simply flicker and vanish. You can carry large items or people with you, but Puissance is required to keep a grip on a person or large item you wish to carry, since you go from zero to 250 mph in an instant. People without Fortitude will take a lethal from the jolt. You cannot perform precision targeting while traveling the Winds, so you can’t use it to close with others in combat or to navigate through corridors of a building. It is intended to be a travel power. Fine control, and lightning reaction is impossible while using it.

Way of Spirit and Other Koldunic Powers – All requirements of the powers to be used must be met, even when projecting Koldunic Powers at range. If a target is on concrete, but the Koldun is standing on bare earth, they may still use Way of Earth to swallow them into the ground, the power just takes some of the concrete with it. If the target is on an upper floor that does not directly rest on the ground, the earth opens up as close as it can, takes a bite of the surface above it, and draws that down, possibly unnoticed by the target.

Necromancy

Casting blood magic requires verbal components and hand gestures. Aptitude in a Path, though, can reduce the need for these semantics. When casting, if your rating in the Path is basic, then both verbal and somatic components must be used. If you possess the intermediate levels of the Path, you may choose to use only verbal or hand gestures. If you possess the Path at the advanced level, no somatic or verbal components are necessary at all. All rituals and paths which affect another character require a contested challenge, even if not stated in the books.

Soul Steal - a stolen soul can activate any disciplines that do not require blood. In order to compel a soul which has been stolen, you still must first successfully use Summon Soul on the target, as per the requirements listed for Compel. Note that vampires do not have fetters. Unless somehow destroyed, a stolen soul will always return to its real body at the end of the scene/hour. Soul Steal can only be declared against targets in the same realm as the caster (i.e. no soul stealing across the Shroud). A "vacant" body can still use Fortitude.

Obfuscate

Obfuscate provides one bonus mental trait per level in the resolution of ties versus Auspex.

Mask of 1,000 Faces - an additional mental trait can be spent with this discipline in order to mask clothing as well.

Cloak the Gathering - A vampire may only cloak others with one Obfuscate power at a time (i.e. mask or vanish, but not both), although a target may be effected by multiple cloaks from different sources.

Obtenebration

Shroud of Night - proper amounts of fire (Storyteller discretion) can dispel a shroud, but it takes a full round to do so.

Arms of the Abyss - the number of arms a summoner can create and control at a time is limited to their level of Obtenebration (max limit is 5 arms for any PC).

Black Metamorphosis - the social traits gained through activation of this discipline are for the purpose of resolving ties only; they cannot be bid or spent.

Potence

Prowess – Restores all Physical Traits one time per night, not just Strength related traits.

Might - declaration of might is your last retest (except Luck or Nine Lives). Opponents can use applicable ability retests after your might has been used, but you may not. Note that you cannot overbid after you have declared your might retest.

Protean

Shape of the Beast - Gangrel choose a fight form and a flight form when this discipline is purchased. Use the rules in "Clanbook: Gangrel, Revised." Only 2 total forms may be chosen, and additional forms may not be purchased. Non-Gangrel do not have the option of choosing their forms; they shift to wolf and bat only (use Clanbook: Gangrel, Revised for wolf and bat traits).

Presence

Awe - in order to use awe, the target must be aware of the user’s presence.

Summon - the range on summon is global, but you may only summon characters who are checked in to game at the time of the attempt. A target cannot be summoned to or through a known life-threatening situation. The subject of a successful summons must travel in the fastest way possible (Storyteller discretion) and will bypass any situations that they know could hinder their ability to complete the summons. The subject must present themselves within 3 paces of the summoner. You may only astrally project to fulfill the summons if you were astrally projecting at the time of the summons.

Majesty - activation of majesty is instantaneous. Majesty affects anyone within range (10 paces) who is aware of the user’s presence. Majesty will continue to affect anyone who has been in range of the power at any point while active, and will continue so for the duration of the discipline. As long as a character with active majesty has done nothing to violate the terms of the discipline, anyone wishing to do harm to the character must spend a willpower trait and win a social challenge each round.

Quietus

Silence of Death - does not negate the casting of blood magic.

Scorpion’s Touch and Baal’s Caress - The maximum number of coatings placed on a weapon at any given time is limited to the number of bonus traits the weapon provides. These coatings last until used.

Dagon’s Call - use of this discipline can only utilize the caster’s own willpower.

Temporis

Clotho’s Kiss – Extra actions are in addition to your normal action. You will incur damage during your normal action if you use a discipline while this power is active. Clotho’s Kiss does not stop time. The extra actions are the same as any other powers that grant extra actions. Your actions go off, per the order of actions above on page 3.

Thanatosis

Withering - Successfully withering someone’s head limits them to using no disciplines except Potence, Celerity, and Fortitude.

Thaumaturgy

Components - casting blood magic requires verbal and somatic components. Aptitude in a Path though, can reduce the need for these. When casting, if your rating in the Path is basic, then both verbal and hand gestures must be used. If you possess the intermediate levels of the Path, you may choose to use only verbal or somatic components. If you possess the Path at the advanced level, no somatic or verbal components are necessary at all.

All rituals and paths which affect another character require a contested challenge, even if not stated in the books. All active rituals require a Storyteller when cast. All active rituals require a stamped and signed index card. "Pre-cast" rituals are only allowed per Storyteller discretion. If the book a ritual is printed in does not specifically say a ritual can be "pre-cast" and then triggered/activated at a later time, it cannot be done. Since Thaumaturgy cannot be sped up by Celerity, use of Thaumaturgy will prevent Alacrity Preemptive actions and will keep the Thaumaturge from enjoying follow up physical actions from Celerity on any round he chose to use Thaumaturgy on his normal action.

Path of Blood: Blood Rage - will wake (heal) a vampire from torpor, providing the torpor is due to wounds.

Path of Blood: Potency of Blood - although a vampire’s blood capacity increases with use of this discipline, it does not change the amount of blood in the vampire’s body. In order to fill to capacity after casting, the vampire must ingest more blood.

Dry Nile: The duration on effects generated by this Path is a number of weeks equal to the caster's permanent willpower minus the target's permanent willpower.

Mastery of the Mortal Shell – All levels of this path require mentals spent prior to activation chop, but you have these traits for determination of ties to determine duration of the effect.

Mastery of the Mortal Shell: Seizure – Replace “target may not initiate challenges” to “target is down four traits in all challenges”.

Pavis of the Foul Presence - this ritual functions against the first 4 levels of Presence only. Pavis has a number of charges equal to the caster’s occult ability level. Pavis will reflect Presence, not reverse it (for example, someone summoning a Tremere with Pavis active would end up summoning themselves (rather ineffective); they would not find themselves being summoned to the Tremere).

Principal Focus of Vitae Infusion - a caster may only have a number of "blood beads" equal to their level of occult ability, multiplied by their level of the Path of Blood.

Vicissitude

Note that the only uses of Vicissitude allowed in combat are for damage and the delivery of negative traits. You cannot blind, fuse limbs together, remove bones, etc. with Vicissitude while in combat.

Vicissitude cannot be used to grant bonus social or physical traits.

Garou Gift Clarifications

The difficulty of all static challenges, unless said otherwise is 7. All opportunities to spend traits for additional duration, greater effect, or gift activation cap at 3.

Adaptation: Things like poison gasses do not count as atmospheric conditions.

Attunement: The test is against the most prevalent type of spirit in the area.

Balor’s Gaze: The target suffers the effects of being wounded. Wounded targets suffer the effects of being incapacitated (they do not revert to breed however). Resist Pain does not counteract these effects.

Banish Totem: There is no maximum on the totem traits for this challenge.

Beastmind: The target will understand only the base drives, food, flight, fight etc

Blissful Ignorance: The difficulty of this gift is 7 if you disappear with no witnesses, or against mechanical observation. Against witnesses an opposed mental challenge must be made.

Blur of the Milky Eye: Blur automatically fails to any form of Heightened Senses. Attacking always drops blur.

Call the Hunt: The test is made against the spirit leading the hunt.

Calm: If reduced to zero rage a frenzying Garou will leave frenzy. Calm will not affect a non–frenzying creature without rage.

Clenched Jaw: You may add ½ of your current willpower total when resisting any attempt to break free.

Command Spirit: Additional commands issued in that time cost 1 willpower, but do not require another challenge.

Cutting Wind: When using the gift to shove an opponent a mental vs. physical challenge must be made.

Diagnostics: Test against the spirit. You may spend up to three additional traits.

Direct the Storm: The willpower test is against the frenzied Garou.

Dreamspeak: The challenge is against the target.

Elemental Gift: Test against the elemental spirit.

Exorcism: The challenge is against the traits of the person who bound the spirit.

Faerie Kin: The challenge is against the changeling being called upon.

Falling Touch: The target of falling touch loses his actions for the remainder of the round.

Gift of the Porcupine: The return damage from a hit does not include extra damage from things like razor claws or silver claws.

Gift of the Spriggan: A separate challenge must be made for every 100% increase.

Hand of the Earth Lords: The challenge is against 7 traits for an inanimate object, otherwise it is an opposed challenge.

Heart of Fury: This is an extended challenge

Master of Fire: This does not affect balefire (unless you also have resistant to wyrm emanations)

Mastery: You must spend traits separately for duration and number of commands.

Mental Speech: This gift can be broken into by those with telepathy (or similar powers). A mental challenge must be made by the eavesdropper.

Mindspeak: This gift can be broken into by those with telepathy (or similar powers). A mental challenge must be made by the eavesdropper.

Paralyzing Stare: This gift requires 1 action to prepare for use.

Razor Claws: It takes 1 action to activate this gift.

Scent of Sight: This gift does not work against obfuscate.

Seizing the Edge: You may only switch traits between categories at the start of a turn.

Sense Wyrm: A vampire with 3 or less humanity (2 or less for Gangrel), or on any path, will be noticed by this gift

Shroud: The discipline Eyes of the Beast can see through this gift.

Snarl of the Predator: This gift requires 1 action to prepare for use.

Spirit of the Fray: Spending a gnosis trait allows you to preempt an action, rather than providing the additional 10 traits.

Spirit Speech: This gift translates speech; it is not a repeatable language.

Staredown: Awakened beings do not flee but are frozen in place like Garou.

Strength of the Dominator: The test is against the target.

Wrath of Gaia: The social challenge is against the spirit with the highest gnosis.