Fortitude

Fortitude is resilience beyond mortal comprehension. Where other Disciplines teach you to avoid danger, Fortitude teaches you to absorb it. Bullets flatten against your chest. Fire washes over you and finds nothing willing to burn. A full right hook from a Brujah lands square on your jaw and you don't move, don't blink, and don't even feel particularly inconvenienced.

The Discipline works in two registers: body and mind. Physical Fortitude hardens your dead flesh against damage, converts lethal wounds to attractive bruises, and at its peak renders you something close to indestructible. Mental Fortitude turns your thoughts into a sealed vault, shrugging off supernatural coercion, psychic intrusion, and the kind of mind games that would reduce a lesser vampire to someone else's sock puppet.

Fortitude carries a moderate Masquerade risk. Most uses are invisible (tougher skin doesn't glow, a strengthened mind doesn't make noise), but surviving something that should have killed you can raise plenty of questions. Getting shot point-blank and brushing a bullet casing off your coat is the kind of thing that ends up on someone's Ring camera (or cast as an extra in the next John Wick film).

There is no counter to Fortitude. If you want to get through it, bring bigger weapons, more fire, or a lot more friends.

Resilience (Discipline Perk)¶

Your undead body is even more supernaturally durable than most others. Your maximum HP increases by an amount equal to your Blood Potency (minimum +1). This is always active and adjusts automatically whenever your Blood Potency changes.

Level 1¶

Toughness¶

When you brace yourself and let the Blood harden beneath your skin, make a Hunger Check. For the rest of the scene, halve all incoming Superficial Harm (rounded down, minimum 1).

If you're caught off guard, you can activate Toughness reflexively when you first take Harm, but the halving only applies from that point forward, not to the hit that prompted the activation, which only receives a flat −1 reduction.

Unswayable Mind (Passive)¶

Your mind is still and heavy like a firmly-settled boulder. Attempts to sway you, whether through mortal charm or supernatural compulsion, meet an indifferent wall. When you Stay Chill or otherwise resist mundane or supernatural coercion, intimidation, or mental domination, add your Blood Potency as a Forward bonus.

This stacks with Playbook Perks that also modify resistance rolls. A Ventrue with Unyielding Privilege and Unswayable Mind is exactly as impossible to push around as that combination implies.

Level 2¶

Earth's Perseverance¶

When you plant your feet and will yourself to become immovable, make a Hunger Check. For the rest of the scene, absolutely nothing can move you from your position unless you choose to move yourself. Shoves, tackles, grapples meant to drag you, explosions, vehicle impacts, supernatural knockback, all of it washes over you like water over a river stone.

This doesn't make you resistant to damage. You can absolutely be beaten, shot, set on fire, and torn to ribbons while standing perfectly still, you just won't budge while it happens. The floor you're standing on can also be destroyed, and good luck staying immovable in midair, you silly vampire.

You can end the effect at any time. Choosing to move (even just a little) ends this Power immediately.

Invigorating Vitae (Passive)¶

Your Blood carries an unusual affinity for mending flesh. When you rouse your Vitae to heal Superficial Harm, you heal twice your Blood Potency in Superficial Harm instead of the usual amount.

When a creature drinks your Vitae, each Hunger Check's worth heals 3 Aggravated Harm instead of the usual 1. This counts as 1 exchange of Vitae toward a Blood Bond.

Self-Assurance (Passive)¶

(Requires: Unswayable Mind)

Your mind actively punishes intrusion. When you successfully Stay Chill or otherwise resist mundane or supernatural coercion covered by Unswayable Mind, the creature that tried to tell you what to do takes Aggravated Harm equal to half your Blood Potency (rounded up, minimum 1). No roll, no Hunger Check, just instant searing psychic pain.

The intruder doesn't need to be nearby for this to work. A failed Dominate command delivered through a Familiar, a Presence Power projected across a room, even a mortal's particularly aggressive attempt at intimidation: if Unswayable Mind helps you resist it, Self-Assurance makes the source regret trying.

Level 3¶

Calloused Soul¶

When you carry out a premeditated atrocity that ends at least three mortal lives, mark 3 Stains. One of these may be mitigated by a relevant Conviction.

For the rest of the night, you cannot gain Stains from any source and cannot lose Humanity by any means. You slumber peacefully in your coffin (or closet or cave or whatever) without a Remorse Check. Your conscience is cauterized; the worst thing you'll do tonight has already been done.

Stains gained from this Power persist and must be cleared through the normal process on subsequent nights. They don't vanish with the immunity.

This Power requires planning and intent. Three people dying because you lost control doesn't qualify. You have to mean it, and you have to tell the Storyteller your intentions.

Defy Bane¶

When you take Aggravated Harm and refuse to yield to it, make a Hunger Check and roll +Resolve. You can activate this Power reactively the instant Aggravated Harm is dealt to you, even if it isn't your turn.

On a 10+, your body absorbs the punishment. All Aggravated Harm from this instance is converted to Superficial. The wound still hurts and still marks your flesh, but it will heal at the end of the scene instead of lingering until slumber.

On a 7–9, you convert half the Aggravated Harm (rounded down, minimum 1) to Superficial. The Storyteller chooses 1 complication:

Your flesh visibly ripples, hardens, or knits itself in a way no living body should; if mortals are present, the Masquerade Clock advances
The effort costs more than expected; gain +1 Hunger beyond the activation
The impact staggers you despite the conversion; take −1 Forward

On a 6-, the Aggravated Harm hits at full force and your body's failed attempt to resist costs you. Gain +1 Hunger from the wasted effort. Whatever hit you landed harder than you were ready for, and the shock is written all over your face. Your opponent has Advantage on the next Move they make to hurt you.

Fortify the Inner Façade (Passive)¶

Your mind is sealed behind walls of supernatural granite. Any Power that attempts to read your thoughts, emotions, aura, or mental state (Scry the Soul, Telepathy, Reveal Temperament, Fatal Flaw, and similar) is affected as follows:

If the Power's level is lower than your Blood Potency, it simply fails. Your mind registers as blank and unreadable, your aura as flat and unremarkable. The user learns nothing and doesn't know you're using this Power.
If the Power's level equals or exceeds your Blood Potency, the user rolls with Disadvantage and has some notion that you have some mental defenses but can't confirm unless their attempt succeeds.

Fortify the Inner Façade protects against Powers that read you. It offers no defense against Powers that control you (Dominate, Presence, Melpominee, etc.). For those, Unswayable Mind is your shield.

Seal the Beast's Maw¶

When you clench your jaw and force the Beast into silence, make 2 Hunger Checks. For the rest of the scene, the Beast goes quiet, and you gain the following benefits: Compulsion penalties don't apply to you, you don't automatically Frenzy at 5 Hunger, and you function as though your Hunger were 0, regardless of what it actually is. Your fangs retract, your eyes clear, and for a little while, you almost feel like you used to.

If you gain 2 or more Hunger through other means during the scene (not counting the activation cost), the Beast loses its patience and breaks free. This Power ends immediately, and you have Disadvantage on all rolls to resist Frenzy until the scene ends. The rebound is far worse than if you'd never suppressed it at all.

Valeren¶

When you lay your hands on an injured vampire and will your Blood to close their wounds, make a Hunger Check and roll +Resolve. You must be within Hand Range. You cannot target yourself with Valeren.

On a 12+, your touch is as soothing as a warm bath. Heal all of your target's Superficial Harm and convert up to 3 Aggravated Harm to Superficial afterwards.

On a 10+, your projected Fortitude knits their flesh cleanly. Heal Superficial Harm equal to 3 + your Resolve, or convert 2 Aggravated Harm to Superficial.

On a 7–9, the healing is incomplete. Heal Superficial Harm equal to your Resolve, or convert 1 Aggravated Harm to Superficial. The Storyteller chooses 1 complication:

You absorb part of the injury; take 1 Superficial Harm yourself
The process is visibly supernatural (glowing veins, knitting flesh, steam rising from the wound); anyone watching knows this isn't normal or natural first aid
Your Blood mingles with theirs more than intended; this counts as 1 exchange of Vitae toward a Blood Bond

On a 6-, the injuries reject your Blood and rebound. Take Superficial Harm equal to whatever you were trying to heal. The target is not healed, and the backlash stings enough that you probably shouldn't try again tonight.

You can only use Valeren on a given target once per night. If you heal a second vampire in the same night, you take 1 Aggravated Harm from the strain of extending your Blood's resilience so broadly.

If you spend a full, uninterrupted scene tending to someone's wounds, no roll is required. Treat the result as a 10+ automatically. Patience and caution are paramount to success, as any Elder will tell you in a long monologue before they tear you apart.

Level 4¶

Draught of Endurance¶

When you open a vein and let someone drink directly from you, make a Hunger Check with Disadvantage. The drinker gains temporary access to all of Level 1 Fortitude until the next dawn. For vampires, the gift fades when they next Feed or reach 5 Hunger, whichever comes first.

Drinking directly from a Kindred is an intimate and dangerous act. This counts as 1 exchange of Vitae toward a Blood Bond.

Gorgon's Scales¶

When you activate the defenses latent in the blood you carry, make a Hunger Check. You gain a specific resistance depending on the Blood Resonance of your most recent meal as long as you still have at least 1 banked Advantage from it:

Choleric (anger, passion, intensity): A stake driven through your heart crumbles to ash, either at the moment of insertion or at the end of the scene (your choice). The Resonance is consumed when this triggers.
Melancholic (sorrow, fear, endurance): Aggravated Harm from fire (and any Folkloric Banes you may have, such as garlic or silver) is converted to Superficial, up to a total of 4 points. The Resonance is consumed once all 4 points are exhausted.
Phlegmatic (calm, apathy, submission): Your mind becomes utterly impenetrable. For one scene, all supernatural attempts to read your thoughts, emotions, or aura automatically fail regardless of Power level. The Resonance is consumed at the end of the scene.
Sanguine (joy, desire, pleasure): Aggravated Harm from sunlight is converted to Superficial, up to a total of 4 points. The Resonance is consumed once all 4 points are exhausted.

The protection lasts until the scene ends or the Resonance is consumed, whichever comes first. You can only benefit from one Resonance protection at a time.

Shatter (Passive)¶

(Requires: Toughness)

When you take a hit while Toughness is active and let the Blood strengthen your form past mere endurance, make a Hunger Check. For the rest of the scene, while Toughness is active, your body reflects damage back to the source. Anyone who strikes you in melee combat takes Superficial Harm equal to the amount you absorbed from their blow. Shatter ends when Toughness ends.

Melee weapons used against you suffer the same reflected Harm. Once a weapon has accumulated reflected Harm equal to or exceeding its Harm tag, it shatters and is permanently destroyed unless it has the Holy, Magical, or Unbreakable tags.

Unarmed attackers feel it immediately: their knuckles splinter, their bones rattle, their claws snap, their hands come away bleeding. The look on their face when they realize they just punched a walking, talking Acme anvil is always worth the Hunger Check.

Level 5¶

Flesh of Marble¶

When you flood your skin with the full power of your Blood, make 2 Hunger Checks. For the rest of the scene, you ignore the first source of physical Harm you receive each turn, including fire but not sunlight. If there's confusion about which source is "first," the Storyteller decides based on the fiction, or you ignore the most damaging single source that turn.

An opponent that rolls a 12+ on any offensive Move or Power bypasses Flesh of Marble entirely. Nothing is truly invincible and some blows simply cannot be denied.

While active, your skin takes on an unsettling, faintly luminous sheen. It doesn't look like stone, exactly, but it doesn't look quite right either. It's a little like being slathered in glittery sunscreen.

Meat Shields¶

When you draw on the fragile vitality of the mortals around you, make a Hunger Check with Disadvantage. For the rest of the scene, you gain 3 Temporary HP for each mortal within Close Range who isn't a direct threat to you, to a maximum of 15.

Temporary HP is absorbed before your regular HP when you take Harm. It adjusts dynamically: if mortals enter Close Range, you gain more (up to the cap). If they leave or die, you lose the corresponding Temporary HP. When the scene ends, all remaining Temporary HP vanishes.

You don't drain anything from them (though you probably want to) and they feel nothing other than a strong desire to exit stage left and see their loved ones. Their presence simply feeds the Blood, reminding it what real fragility looks like and making yours harder by comparison. The most vampiric form of comfort: you feel better because everyone around you could die at any moment and you can't. Not yet, anyway.

Prowess from Pain (Passive)¶

Injuries make you more dangerous, not less. While you have any Harm marked on your track, your body ignores all narrative consequences of those injuries. A shattered arm still punches. A broken leg still runs. A stake through the shoulder is an inconvenience, not a disability. Your body is held together by your viscous Vitae and your commitment to refusing consequences.

Additionally, each time you take Harm, you gain a Forward bonus to your next physical roll equal to the amount of Harm taken (maximum +5). The worse you get hurt, the harder you hit back.