Presence 

Awe

Using Awe

Awe is an extremely subtle power that allows a vampire to add their Presence rating to all Persuasion and Performance skill rolls, as well as to other Charisma-based rolls at ST discretion. For these rolls, we will expect the writing to match the roll and may ask to see the written text before approving Awe’s use in boosting the roll. 

It should be noted that even a successful persuasion check does not guarantee that the other party *is* persuaded, with or without Awe’s buff; even Entrancement, which gives bonuses to all social skill rolls, cannot force someone to do something that results in obvious social or physical harm to themselves or others. Presence is not Dominate; it is not mind-control nor brainwashing. 

Awe, in effect, boosts the force of the vampire’s personality and can heighten people’s interest and openness to what is being said, but cannot force anyone into doing or thinking something against their will or nature.  If you are rolling an Awe-boosted check against an SPC, the SPC’s reaction to the persuasion check, especially if the ask is a large one, will be left to STs.  Against a PC, the player will determine where the line is for their character.

Awe is best used to facilitate hunting, to make a good first impression, or to help convince someone to listen to something you need them to, for example.  It does not, however, force people to listen, nor guarantee results; Awe is a ‘soft’ power discipline which is very difficult to detect. It should not be roleplayed as a massive emotional nuke which mesmerizes or enthralls others; if we see this being done, we will ask for retcons or rewrites of scenes.

Please recall that your character can always try to resist rolls boosted by Awe. They cannot resist the Awe and must roleplay its effects, but you can roll to see if your character is not convinced to do or believe something. Awe is not mind control.

Resisting Awe

As per RAW, a character can only attempt to resist/contest Awe if that character is aware that Awe is being used. One way that a character can become aware of the use of Awe is through the discipline Sense the Unseen; this is the only discipline which can potentially reveal Awe use.

Unlike Obfuscate powers, Awe is too subtle to automatically trigger Sense the Unseen. In order to use Sense the Unseen in an attempt to discover that a character is using Awe, there must be significant evidence provided through on-going or long-term RP which has led to the reasonable guess or assumption that Awe is in use in this current scene. 

Remember: Awe is so subtle that even when specifically looking for it with Sense the Unseen, it can be hard to find. The evidence needed to justify the StU roll must be more substantial than “I like them more than I think I should;” some people are just naturally charming, and Awe is not mind-control and cannot make characters do anything out of character. Meeting once with Awe and once without Awe is not enough; one of those could have been an ‘off’ day. Etc.

A few general examples or guidelines for what sort of evidence might suffice to justify an attempt to contest Awe use:

1. If Character A is, IC, specifically told that Awe is being used on them, they may roll Composure + Intelligence against the Awe user’s Manipulation + Presence in an attempt to resist the Awe. If they fail this roll, they must still RP the effects of Awe, but can still attempt, separately, to contest or resist any roll buffed by Awe. A successful Sense the Unseen roll is not required for this initial contest because the character already knows Awe is in use.
2. If Character A has had Awe overused against them in the past by Character B in ways which were unsubtle or otherwise constituted an ‘abuse’ of Awe, and Character A is aware that Awe exists, this might constitute evidence enough for the initial contest roll (Composure + Intelligence, as above), even without Sense the Unseen. Please present the evidence to STs in #ask-the-st for a ruling on whether or not the Awe can be directly contested without StU being employed.
3. If Character A has seen Character B employing Awe against others on more than one occasion, with knowledge of the fact that they were doing so, it might be evidence enough for Character A to guess that Awe might be being used against them, by Character B only. Please present the evidence to STs in #ask-the-st for a ruling on whether or not Character A has enough evidence to justify a Sense the Unseen roll. If the StU is successful, they may then roll the contest of Composure + Intelligence vs Manipulation + Presence. If this roll fails, they are still affected by the Awe. If it passes, they are not affected, but must still roll to contest or resist any persuasion roll made by Character B.

If the character seeking to resist the effects of Awe has the discipline of Unswayable Mind, they may add their Fortitude rating to both the Composure + Intelligence roll and any roll made to resist the mundane persuasion attempt as well.

Lingering Kiss

The Kiss of a vampire induces near-ecstasy in the victim, but this power leaves other Kisses in the dust. Victims fed upon by the user become addicted to the Kiss, obsessing over it and even seeking the vampire out for repeated feedings. Mortals often become anemic, self-harm, or even die from this addiction. Addicting other vampires is also possible, with the caveat that obsessed vampires demand to be fed from, a risk to the user becoming Blood Bound. 

When using this power, please remember to add it into the notes (such as hunting) or otherwise inform the ST if it’s part of an ask.

Cost: Free

System: The vampire slakes  at least 1 Hunger from a victim, and has the choice to activate this power or not. The Kiss gives intense pleasurable feelings and just one bite creates an addictive bond. This does not manifest as a Flaw, but it can create future Flaws if used to get information or persuade the wrong mortal into doing something. This power does not replace a roll, but can turn an unwilling person willing if they are desperate enough for their fix. Utilizing this power is great for forming herds or one-night stands that haunt the Kindred after the vessel seeks them out for another bite.

Duration: Addiction to the Lingering Kiss lasts for a month. Addiction resets if bitten with this power again within that timeframe. 

Magnum Opus

Level 4 (from Winter’s Teeth Issue #3, with edits)

Amalgam: Auspex 3

The user may sublimate and infuse the powers of the blood into their works of art to make them supernaturally alluring or ghastly. This Presence-imbued masterwork is merely an illusion, however – a momentary beauty that does not withstand deep scrutiny.

Cost: One or more Rouse Checks.

Dice pools: Charisma/Manipulation + Presence, Intelligence/Dexterity + Craft

System: Before starting an Extended Test or Craft roll to create a work of art, the user may choose to leave traces of their Presence in the artwork. The user picks Awe or Daunt (must already possess the power), then makes a Rouse Check and rolls Charisma or Manipulation + Presence to imbue their crafting materials with their powers. Within the same night, the artist may then utilise those materials in a Craft project, by rolling Intelligence or Dexterity + Craft. Upon successful completion of the project, the user finds that residual traces of their powers linger within the work itself. When the artwork is on display, audiences must roll Composure + Resolve (Difficulty equal to the number of successes on the Presence roll) or feel the effects of the rough equivalent of Awe or Daunt exuding from the piece. A Critical Success on the resistance roll renders the subject immune to further influence by the piece. Note: much like with the raw discipline, critics and observers may find themselves suddenly able to critique flaws or imperfections once they have left the immediate area.

Duration: N/A

Blood-Stained Love

• Wingman: Approved

Tattered Facade

• Passion Leech: Approved. Crit effect may only heal Agg WP once per story. Does not make Human Empty, it makes their Resonance negligible.
• Inflame Desire: Approved