A Guide to How Supernatural Abilities Work In Play
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This page is a break down of how the The Storytellers of Coterie Online expect to see certain Kindred supernatural abilities in play. Each section will detail specific Discipline abilities and how to RP them in real time. After all, just because you know how to do something doesn't always mean you're great at it. For now, we will only be listing dots 1 through 3 of the disciplines, but may make additions as the game progresses.
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Can I tell when someone is using a discipline?
This question has come up MANY times. First and foremost, use common sense. Does your character have that discipline AS WELL as the ability being used? Do you have the appropriate Kindred Lore level to recognize out of clan disciplines? Is the other player obviously using a supernatural ability or is it a more subtle one?
- Example 1: Things like the Thaumaturgy ability Lure of Flames is pretty damn obvious. Fireballs coming out of a Tremere's hands? Yeah, that's supernatural. That doesn't mean your character will know what the ability actually is or that it's even Thaumaturgy. Most characters that are not a part of Clan Tremere will see the use of Lure of Flames and respond with, "Fuck! Fire! RUN AWAY!" and/or "Must be some of that creepy warlock magic." Beyond that, just because you recognize something as supernatural, doesn't mean you recognize exactly what it is.
- Example 2: If a person is doing an aura perception read and has a high dice pool, you're not going to recognize it off the bat even if you have the same ability.
- Example 3: A kindred just got hit by a fast moving car, but stood up completely unscathed. You as the player have Kindred Lore 2. It is reasonable to have your character recognize that the kindred that just got hit by a car may have Fortitude.
Rule of thumb, if there is any gray area on if your character can or cannot tell if a kindred is using a discipline... then no, your character cannot tell.
As with all things there are always exceptions. The Dominate discipline falls into that category, but we'll get more into that in the Dominate section.
Animalism
Animalism is one of the disciplines that can either be incredibly subtle or very obvious.
Feral Whispers
Feral Whispers is one of the more subtle abilities in the game. Your dice pool will determine whether or not your character needs to make animal noises in order to communicate or can communicate utterly telepathically with the animal. Your dice pool dictates how good you are at the skill.
| Dice Pool | How It's Played |
|---|---|
| 1-3 dice | The player must make audible animal noises imitating the animal they are attempting to communicate with. To kine passing by, they will view the kindred's behavior as odd... or just assume the kindred is another crazy cat lady. |
| 4-6 dice | As your skill level progresses, your ability to be more subtle in communication increases. At a 4 dice pool, the player will still be "verbally communicating" but it will be less needed than at a dice pool of 3. At a dice pool of 6, there will only be an occasional murmur in the animal's "native tongue" in order to communicate. |
| 7+ dice | The kindred may communicate entirely telepathically with the animal. They no longer need to make verbal cues. |
That all said, remember that you can't talk to an animal like they're a human and expect them to understand. They're animals. They think like animals. Asking a rat if there have been any Kindred around won't get you far. It'll probably look at you cockeyed and ask for food. When talking to an animal, if you think about what that animal's motivation are and how they would communicate, you're more likely to get some answers. They are far more basic than kine and kindred. Complex questions or commands rarely will get the results you wanted.
Beckoning
Beckoning is one of those abilities that no matter the dice pool, the kindred will still need to very audibly call out in the animal's native tongue to beckon it. If you're doing this in public, be aware that people will look at you very oddly when you start howling at the moon and even MORE oddly when suddenly a pack of dogs comes running out of the woodwork to meet you.
Quell the Beast
This one's pretty subtle. Touching a kine rather than staring at them in the eye intently like a creeper will often be more suitable to keep the use of this ability under wraps.
As a reminder, Quell the Beast is not effective on Kindred targets. No exceptions.
Auspex
Auspex is also one of the more subtle abilities in the game. It's not particularly a psychically based trait, but it is more empathic in its uses.
Heightened Senses
Use Heightened Senses carefully! This ability activates ALL of your sense and pushes them to a heightened state. It's all or nothing. Be careful when using it in busy areas as one rogue honk of a car horn may deafen your character for an extended period of time.
If you use this ability you must state in channel :HS ON: and when you're done state in channel :HS OFF:.
Aura Perception
Aura perception is much like Feral Whispers in how subtle it is. Depending on your dice pool when using this ability will depend on how much you have to focus on the character you are trying to read.
| Dice Pool | How It's Played |
|---|---|
| 1-3 dice | The player must focus intently for 10 seconds minimum in order to complete an Auspex read. To a kine, the kindred may look like they're "mad doggin'" them. Squinting, or widening one's eyes is an acceptable way to express this as well. |
| 4-6 dice | As your skill level progresses, your ability to be more subtle when reading auras increases. The player is more natural when focusing. It takes less effort and only takes about 5 seconds to get a read. |
| 7+ dice | The player needs no more than 2 seconds to get a read and there is no visual effort to concentrate needed. |
The Spirit's Touch
This one can be a bit tricky. Upon touching an object, a player will recieve a "psychic snapshot" of events concerning the object. Now this doesn't mean you get a mental photograph. This encompasses all elements of the potent event that the object was a part of or whatever event (or person) left the biggest psychic impact on the object.
So let's say a kindred Spirit Touches a knife that was used in the brutal torture and murder of a woman. Not only will you see the woman that was assaulted and possibly a basic environment, but you will feel her terror, sadness and even pain. You may also feel the murderer's rage, self-loathing, fear. Doesn't mean you'll see the murderer's face, though. You will more likely see the person affected as the knife was "looking" at the victim and not the person wielding it, but with all the clues provided it still gives you a leg up on figuring out what happened and how.
Remember to react appropriately to scenes like this. Keep in mind for your character that they just saw and felt (physically, mentally and emotionally) the totality of a brutal event. How would they react coming out of it? How would you react as a human being having to experience that? Look at it from a realistic perspective and base your reactions on variables like character history, fears, etc.
Of course the information you get is all based on the number of your successes. A storyteller must be present when using this ability.
Staff Note: Seeing the Unseen
In the Coterie Online Chronicle, Seeing the Unseen is a passive ability rather than an aggressive ability. What this means is an Auspex user will not need to "attempt" to pierce Obfuscate and Chimerstry, but in stead it will be an automatic based on your level of Auspex versus the defender's level of discipline. If they are equal, you will need to "roll off" to see if the facade is pierced.
Celerity
There's been some confusion about if the human eye can actually see a vampire with their Celerity active. The answer is yes at levels 1-3, and no for levels 4+. That means this is an obvious ability and if used in a crowded kine area would definitely be considered a breach of Masquerade. Kine will see you as a blur of a figure. At levels 4+, also take into consideration that to the kine eye you will simply disappear and then reappear when you take action. Like Nightcrawler from the Xmen without the "bamf" noise.
Dominate
Dominate is a form of hypnosis and depending on the way it is put into use, it can be blatantly obvious or it can be completely unrecognizable.
Command
Command only requires that stress or emphasis be put on the single-word command issued and as such can be very subtly slipped into conversation or blatantly ordered. It can even be slipped into conversation when there are others in the room and it might not be noticed, depending on the command. If this command is used to make someone do something blatantly out of character for them, and they have knowledge of Dominate, then the victim will recognize what has occurred. If ever there is doubt whatsoever, then you have no idea what happened and do not acknowledge you did anything out of the ordinary.
Mesmerize
Mesmerize is less subtle, but not overly so. It could be slipped into a conversation again, with emphasis on the commanding phrase, but is far more likely to be noticed if others are in the room. If this command is used to make someone do something blatantly out of character for them, and they have knowledge of Dominate, then the victim will recognize what has occurred. If ever there is doubt whatsoever, then you have no idea what happened and do not acknowledge you did anything out of the ordinary.
Forgetful Mind
Forgetful Mind is far from subtle and may only be performed in a private setting as it is very obvious. The targeted party will never be able to recognize that they were dominated, though others may. Even if someone else can recognize something has happened to your memory, they will not be able to convince you that something has. This is achieved through a process similar to hypnosis, with the Dominate user asking the victim questions verbally, and the victim responding. Only another Dominate user may ever undo the alterations made.
Staff Note: Botching Dominate
According to book rules, "If a Dominate roll botches, the target is rendered immune to future attempts by the same vampire for the rest of the story." Since this is a "never ending" 24/7 game, the Staff has decided that rather than never being able to Dominate the victim again, the vampire will not be able to Dominate the target again for one month.
Fortitude
Fortitude is another one of those abilities that can be either incredibly obvious or incredibly subtle. One of the things worth major mention, though, is Fortitude does NOT turn you into a tree that's rooted to the ground. It does, however, cause you to not take injury as easily.
For instance, if a Brujah with 4 Potence hits you, you're going to go FLYING no matter your level of Fortitude. You just got hit by a wrecking ball. That doesn't mean you actually got hurt, though. With a combination of your soak and Fortitude, you may come out of that hit utterly unscathed. That means you'll climb out of the rubble from the wall you just were hit through, dust yourself off and ready yourself for the next attack.
Also, let's say with your soak and Fortitude combined, you manage to take no damage from a lethal weapon attack. While the blade may just bounce right off of your stoney skin, it doesn't mean what you're wearing will remain intact.
Obfuscate
Obfuscate is a subtle ability. In general, when coming out of Obfuscate the character does not just surprisingly appear and catch everyone off guard. For those who are around a character coming out of Obfuscate, it's more as if you're just now noticing they are there. "Wow, how long have you been standing there?"... etcetera.
Cloak of Shadows
The Kindred must be in a shadowed area with very little light and remain perfectly still while using this ability. Any movement will cause the ability to cease. It's just like being a creeper in an alley breathing heavily.
Unseen Presence
The Kindred is not literally invisible. Unseen Presence is a trick of the mind. You cause people to look passed you without notice. See the description of base Obfuscate for further information on how to treat a Kindred coming out of Unseen Presence.
Mask of 1000 Faces
This one is pretty straight forward. For established masks (such as a Nosferatu's base mask) there is no need to mark your level of successes on the roll as it is assumed that the kindred is adept at this facade. If you are imitating something other than your usual masks (aka, I'm going to pretend I'm the Harpy for the lawlz), you must also list your number of successes in your character name so others know how to react to how well you're pulling it off. Ex. Msk2_Georgie (note that your character's name is not a part of the new nick).
See the Mask of a Thousand Faces house rules for additional restrictions to using this ability in play.
Potence
Please see Fortitude!
If you hit something it will go flying. This could prove to be a Masquerade breech very quickly.
Presence
Presence is a subtle ability. It holds the power to subtly sway other individual's to the kindred's point of view in various ways.
Presence also has a passive effect. Based on the level of Presence a character has will also dictate how supernaturally "attractive" a kindred is. This applies to both the kindred and kine present alike. Unlike Dominate, Generation plays no role in how Presence will affect you.
Awe
Awe amplifies the sublime magnetism of the kindred. Those near the kindred suddenly desire to be closer to him/her and are very receptive to his/her point of view. Awe is extremely useful for mass communication. It matters little what is said - the hearts of those affected lean toward the vampire's opinion.
Remember that the powers of Awe affect the characters with the lowest Willpower rating first. So, if you're trying to Awe the Kindred around while hanging out in a public bar, expect to get the attention of the kine first.
Dread Gaze
Kindred using this ability literally take on the visage of The Beast. They're posture crouches, their fangs elongate and are bared, etc. It's not the best of ideas to use this ability on kine as they will remember the kindred abruptly turning into some sort of monster, but as all Disciplines should be reserved for emergencies.
Entrancement
This ability is very much like a rank 3 Blood Bond and should be treated as such. The difference is this one will wear off and dealing with a victim that Entrancement has worn off on isn't always easy.
Please keep in mind that (as with any ability) the kindred using the ability does not know ICly how long the Entrancement will last, or if it even worked for sure in the first place.
Staff Note: Botching Presence
According to book rules specifically with Dread Gaze, "A botch at any time indicates the target is not at all impressed - perhaps even finding the vampire's antics comical - and remains immune to any further uses of Presence by the character for the rest of the story." Since this is a "never ending" 24/7 game, the Staff has decided that rather than never being able to Presence the victim again, the vampire will not be able to Presence the target again for one month.
Protean
Protean is one of the more obvious abilities.
Eyes of the Beast
When this ability is activated, the kindred's eyes glow red. So, if you're in a pitch black room and your eyes start glowing, it will be noticeable though who's eyes are glowing won't be immediately recognizable.
This will freak kine out!
Feral Claws
It is highly recommended to all Gangrel players to not pop claws unless there is clear intent to destroy your victim. In the society of New Marseille, if a kindred pops claws on another it will be assumed they have intent to kill them. This could be considered a breach of The Sixth Tradition: Destruction.
Also, this ability is very obvious and VERY scary to kine.
Earth Meld
The kindred sinks eerily into the Earth. Pretty straight forward. It's obvious.
Remember this ability does not work on any material other than soil.
Thaumaturgy
There are too many paths in Thaumaturgy to write here. It would take about 200 pages. SO, instead unless you have Kindred Lore 3, you do not recognize exactly what Thaumaturgy is.
Tremere Players: If you have questions, submit an Issue through the Issue Tracker accessible through your sheet.
