Presence

Presence requires the user to be within Close Range of the target, either physically present or within earshot, unless otherwise stated. The Discipline does not transmit through electronic media unless the user has Electromagnetism. Detecting the use of Presence is extremely difficult; without Sense the Unseen (Auspex), its effects are often too subtle to recognize even when you're specifically looking for them.

Presence affects emotions, not minds. Targets retain their free will but their feelings are altered: fear, adoration, fascination, submission. This makes Presence powerful but unpredictable. You can make someone believe they love you, but you can't control what love makes them do.

Humanity Resistance: Using any Presence Power against a target with Humanity equal to or lower than your Blood Potency imposes Disadvantage on your roll. The emotionally deadened are harder to move.

No Stacking: Only one Presence Power can affect a given target at a time. Activating a second Presence Power on someone already under the effects of another ends the first effect.

In Combat: Only Dread Gaze and Majesty function during combat. Charm and allure are meaningless when someone has already decided they want to bash your fangs out of your pretty mouth.

Awe/Daunt (Discipline Perk)¶

Once per scene when you wish to impose your will upon the social situation, choose one effect (no Hunger Check required):

Awe: Your supernatural charisma draws every eye and softens every heart. You have a number of +1 Forward bonuses equal to your Blood Potency to social rolls involving charm, persuasion, or performance until the scene ends or until you use another Presence Power. Use these whenever you like; they are lost when the scene or Awe/Daunt ends.
Daunt: You radiate menace and authority. As above, you gain at-will +1 Forward bonuses to social rolls involving intimidation or coercion until the scene ends or until you use another Presence Power. While Daunt is active, a creature that is considering attacking you in this scene must successfully Stay Chill first or find themselves unable to act against you. If they manage it and combat begins, Daunt ends.

Level 1¶

Eyes of the Serpent¶

When you catch someone's gaze and your eyes shift to reveal slitted, serpentine pupils, the target is frozen in place for as long as you maintain eye contact. They can speak quietly but cannot move, take actions, or shout. Breaking eye contact, looking away, or the target taking Harm ends the effect immediately. You can only hold one gaze at a time.

Against most mortals, no roll is required; they are utterly enraptured.

If you also have Protean: you can attempt Eyes of the Serpent on supernatural creatures. Make a Hunger Check and roll +Demeanor.

On a 10+, the target is held fast. They cannot break free on their own until you drop your gaze.

On a 7–9, the target is held, but the Storyteller chooses 1 complication:

The target can speak freely and loudly; they will likely call for help
The hold is fragile; any sudden disturbance in the area breaks it
Your serpentine eyes are visible to everyone nearby; this is not at all subtle

On a 6-, the target shakes off the paralysis and knows what you tried. Your eyes remain serpentine for the rest of the scene whether you want them to or not, and the target is immune to Eyes of the Serpent for the remainder of the night.

Lingering Kiss (Passive)¶

Mortals you Feed on become addicted to your Kiss, even if it stings. They obsess over the experience, seek you out, and go to increasingly desperate lengths to feel it again. The addiction fades slowly over weeks without contact, but a single additional Feeding resets the addiction entirely.

You have Advantage on all social rolls against mortals craving your sweet Kiss. The Storyteller is encouraged to introduce addicted mortals as recurring complications, willing accomplices, or inconvenient admirers at dramatically appropriate moments.

Level 2¶

Electromagnetism (Passive)¶

Your Presence now transmits through live electronic media as long as your voice can be heard: phone calls, video chats, live streams, and broadcasts. Awe/Daunt and Entrancement function through live feeds as though you were physically present. Recorded messages and pre-recorded video do not retain the effect.

If using Entrancement through a livestream/video feed, you must speak the target's name clearly; the Power only affects one person at a time. Anyone else watching the same transmission finds you unusually compelling and may instantly like and subscribe, but nothing more.

Honeyed Words (Passive)¶

Your voice alone carries the full weight of your Presence. Normally, Presence requires the target to perceive you directly. With Honeyed Words, the target only needs to hear your voice. You can use this Discipline's Perk and any Presence Power through a closed door, from behind a curtain, while hidden, or from anywhere within Close Range as long as the target can hear you clearly and understand your words. This does not work through electronic transmission.

Level 3¶

Dread Gaze¶

When you bare your fangs and fix somebody with an expression meant to induce primal terror, make a Hunger Check and roll +Demeanor.

Mortals who witness this display flee, freeze, or crumple. No mortal can stand against the full fury of the Beast made visible.

Against Supernatural Creatures:

On a 10+, the target must immediately Stay Chill with a Forward penalty equal to your Blood Potency (minimum 1) or succumb to fearful Frenzy. If they Frenzy, they flee from you by any means necessary and their Frenzy ends only when you are out of sight and earshot.

On a 7–9, the target is visibly shaken and has Disadvantage on their next roll. The Storyteller chooses 1 complication:

The target lashes out defensively before recoiling; you take 1 Superficial Harm
Your display is extremely conspicuous; the Masquerade Clock advances 1 segment
The Beast bleeds through more than you intended; you must Stay Chill yourself or also Frenzy

On a 6-, the target does not flee. They do not freeze. They recognize you as the threat, and their Beast surges toward you. The target Frenzies with you as the sole focus. Their Frenzy can't end until you successfully escape their reach or they kill you. You asked for this.

Irresistible Voice (Passive)¶

Your voice carries preternatural authority. People find it difficult to interrupt you, walk away mid-sentence, or ignore you even when they want to, and must Stay Chill or remain hanging on your every word. Anyone outside your Coterie with a Blood Potency lower than yours is affected by this.

If you also have Dominate: eye contact is no longer required for any Dominate Power of a level equal to or lower than your Blood Potency. Your voice alone is sufficient. The target must still be within Close Range and able to hear you clearly. This does not work through electronic transmission.

Passion Leech¶

When you spend a scene in close proximity to a mortal and slowly siphon the warmth of genuine emotion from them, make a Hunger Check and roll +Demeanor. The target must be unaware of what you're doing; casual conversation, shared space, or simply being near them works.

On a 10+, you absorb the full depth of their emotional capacity. Until dawn breaks, you gain all the benefits of 10 Humanity: your Blush of Life returns with unnecessary gusto, and you feel genuinely, heartbreakingly alive. Warm skin, beating heart, food has flavor, emotions feel real (and quite strong).

On a 7–9, the siphon works but the Storyteller chooses 1 complication:

The effect is only partial; you gain the benefits of 7 Humanity instead of 10
The process left traces; the mortal instinctively dislikes or distrusts you afterward
The emotional warmth fades faster than expected; the benefits last until midnight, not dawn

On a 6-, the siphon reverses. You feel nothing at all and take −1 Ongoing to all Demeanor rolls for the rest of the night as the void inside you yawns wider. The mortal is unaffected and may sense that something unsettling just happened near them.

Successfully using this Power both numbs and stokes the mortal victim's temperament. They lose all Blood Resonance and spend the next 3 nights in a state of flattened affect and reduced inhibitions: emotionally stunted, prone to impulsive decisions, quicker to anger, slower to empathize. They act, in other words, uncomfortably like a vampire. Their behavior returns to normal after the third night, and they will probably write it off as a short-lived illness or mental breakdown.

If you also have Auspex: the mortal's emotional state is visible to you as Resonance throughout the process, and you can choose which specific emotion to drain.

True Love's Face¶

(Requires: Obfuscate access)

When you dive into someone's feelings and reshape your appearance to match the person they feel most strongly about, make a Hunger Check and roll +Demeanor. You must know (or have learned through Auspex, conversation, or investigation) who the target has strong emotions for and what that person looks like. The emotion doesn't have to be love; grief, guilt, longing, hatred, and fury all work just as well.

On a 10+, the transformation is flawless. For the rest of the scene, you look, sound, and move exactly like the person you're impersonating. You have Advantage on all social rolls with the target. The target's emotional response is genuine and intense; the Storyteller decides whether they lean toward the emotion (running to embrace you) or recoil from it (backing away in shock or rage).

On a 7–9, the disguise holds, but the Storyteller chooses 1 complication:

Something is slightly off; the target can't identify what, but they feel uneasy, and close scrutiny or specific questions could unravel you
The emotional reaction is too intense; the target becomes volatile, unpredictable, or publicly distraught
Someone else who knows the impersonated person is present and notices something wrong immediately

On a 6-, your face twists into something wrong. The target sees a grotesque, uncanny distortion of the person you tried to become, and the revulsion is immediate and visceral. You gain 1 Stain from the psychic violation and the target also gains 1 Stain from the experience of seeing someone they know warped into a nightmare. The target is immune to this Power for the rest of the night and will remember what you did.

If you appear as one of the target's Touchstones, the emotional impact is amplified; on a 10+, the target must Stay Chill or act entirely on the emotion you've triggered, ignoring everything else in the scene.

Level 4¶

Entrancement¶

When you focus your supernatural allure on a single individual, make a Hunger Check and roll +Demeanor.

The target falls into rapt fascination with you, as if falling head-over-heels in love or meeting a lifelong idol. They do their best to remain in your good graces and will go out of their way to please you, but will not cause physical harm to themselves or their loved ones. Asking them to do so immediately ends the effect, as does failing any social roll against the target while the effect is active; the spell breaks when your charm falters.

The effect lasts for a number of scenes equal to your Blood Potency.

On a 10+, the target is thoroughly entranced. You have Advantage on all social rolls against them for the duration.

On a 7–9, the entrancement takes hold, but the Storyteller chooses 1 complication:

The target's fascination is possessive and jealous; they resent anyone else receiving your attention
The effect is obvious to onlookers; someone who knows the target can tell something is off
The devotion is so intense it becomes inconvenient; the target will not leave your side willingly, even after the Power ends

On a 6-, the target is repulsed rather than entranced. They see through you completely and will probably leave and report you to whatever authority they think is most appropriate. The Power fails, and the target is immune to Entrancement for the remainder of the night.

Inflame Desire¶

(Requires: Obfuscate access)

When you touch someone and invisibly crank their existing desire to 11, make a Hunger Check and roll +Demeanor. You must be aware of what the target currently wants (through observation, conversation, Auspex, or simple deduction); this Power amplifies what's already there, it never creates a new desire.

On a 10+, the target becomes consumed by their desire. They will pursue it to the exclusion of all else for the rest of the scene: abandoning conversations, ignoring obligations, brushing past allies, spending money they don't have. They suffer −2 Ongoing to any roll not directly related to pursuing the desire. If the object of the desire is something you can offer or withhold, you have Advantage on any negotiation or social roll involving it.

On a 7–9, the desire intensifies but the target retains some self-awareness. The Storyteller chooses 1 complication:

The target's pursuit is aggressive enough to cause collateral damage or draw attention
The target realizes someone did this to them and suspects you or your Coterie (if nearby)
The amplification is imprecise; a related but different desire surfaces instead (the Storyteller decides)

On a 6-, the Power rebounds. Your own Compulsion activates immediately, regardless of whether its normal trigger conditions are met, and persists for the rest of the scene. The target is unaffected and may notice you suddenly acting strangely. If you start getting weird, they'll probably tell someone (possibly even out of actual concern for your well-being).

Suffuse the Edifice (Passive)¶

While you are present in a building or similar enclosed space, you can extend Awe, Daunt, or Majesty through the entire structure. Anyone inside the building or looking at it from outside is affected as though you were standing directly in front of them.

If used outdoors, the effect extends to Far Range instead.

A nightclub suffused with Awe has lines stretching around the block. A Haven suffused with Daunt drives away all but the most determined visitors. Using Majesty on an entire building should be done with extreme caution; the results tend to be spectacular and volatile.

Wingman¶

When you touch a willing vampire and channel your Presence through them, make 2 Hunger Checks. Choose one of your Presence Powers. Your ally gains access to that Power until the end of the scene, using your Blood Potency for any effects that depend upon it. You cannot use the shared Power yourself while it's extended.

Only one Power can be extended at a time, and only to one target. If you extend a different Power or target a different ally, the previous extension ends immediately.

Level 5¶

Majesty¶

When you draw yourself up and unleash the full, terrible force of your supernatural presence, make a number of Hunger Checks equal to the number of Range bands you wish to affect (1 for Intimate, 5 for all through Distant, etc.), then roll +Demeanor.

Whether you appear heartrendingly beautiful, monstrously terrifying, or wielding absolute divine command is up to you. The effect is the same: everyone within the affected area who can perceive you cannot act against you. They can only stare, avert their eyes, kneel, or flee. Self-preservation is still allowed (running from a fire, defending against someone else), but you are untouchable.

On a 10+, Majesty takes hold for the rest of the scene. No one affected can take any hostile action toward you. Anyone who wants to act against you must leave the affected area first.

On a 7–9, Majesty takes hold, but the Storyteller chooses 1 complication:

The effect is unstable; one particularly strong-willed individual (Storyteller's choice) shakes it off
Maintaining the aura requires your full concentration; you cannot use any other Moves while Majesty is active, though you can still use Movement and Free Actions
The display causes lasting emotional trauma in mortal witnesses; this will have consequences later

On a 6-, the Power surges and collapses in the same instant. Everyone within the affected Range feels the attempt like a pressure wave, and instead of awe they feel revulsion. Every person in range is now actively hostile toward you, and any vampires present may interpret your failed display as a direct challenge to their authority unless they're part of your Coterie. You have just made every enemy in the room.

Summon¶

When you concentrate on individuals you've previously affected with a Presence Power or who have tasted your Vitae, make a Hunger Check and roll +Demeanor. You can target a number of individuals up to your Blood Potency. You don't need to know where they are; the call reaches them regardless of distance.

On a 12+, the targets drop whatever they are doing and make their way to you immediately. They'll pay for an overpriced cab, walk out of a meeting, skip work, cancel plans, or even excuse themselves from a date. The only thing they won't do is directly harm themselves to get there.

On a 10+, the targets hear the call clearly and will make a genuine effort to reach you, rearranging their schedule and prioritizing the journey. They arrive within the night if at all possible, though perhaps not simultaneously.

On a 7–9, the targets feel the pull but may not make it. The Storyteller chooses 1 complication:

One or more targets are physically unable to come (stuck, restrained, incapacitated, or in danger)
The pull is vague; the targets head in your general direction but get lost, distracted, or delayed
The call reaches the right people but also attracts someone you did not intend to summon

On a 6-, the targets feel a pull toward you but cannot act on it. Something prevents them: distance, obligation, captivity, or their own resistance. You know they heard the call but not why they can't come. Worse, anyone with supernatural perception near the targets senses the summoning attempt.