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*Last edited by Leanna on Wed Dec 22, 2010 1:32 am; edited 2 times in total*

Soul Painting (Clanbook Toreador Revised)
Required: Auspex 4, Presence 2
Cost: 18xp

The Toreador art of "painting souls" flourished briefly in the early 1300s, but with the loss (and presumed Final Death) of Katherine of Montpellier, the technique was thought to be gone forever. In recent nights, Katherine has returned. Roused from an ages-long torpor, she has agreed to teach a few worthy students the knack of painting a portrait of a being's inner nature. A few enterprising Toreador have adapted her principles to other expressive media, including music, song and even acting.

(Convincing Katherine to take on a new student is no simple task, of course. A prospective student must impress the teacher with a work of his own, for only those with adequate craftsmanship and sufficient insight have even a chance of mastering this technique. Futhermore, the student must agree to obey Katherine in every particular -- sometimes to the extent of taking two drinks toward a blood bond. Katherine has found few who are willing to even apply under those terms, and of those willing to take the risk, only a minority judged are skilled enough for instruction. Other instructors might not be so strict -- or may be more so.)

Art has long been held to be a doorway into the soul. Usually it's the soul of the artist. In this case, the painting can expose the nature of the person portrayed. The message conveyed is powerful, subtle, and -- when successful -- undeniable. Falsehood cannot be portrayed through Soul Painting, for even the artist does not initially know what the image will reveal.

To create this type of portrait, the artist needs to study the subject for a full, uninterrupted hour. This can be done in a sitting, of course, but (due to the sensitive nature of the portrait) it's more often done from recalled observation. Looking not only at the minute details of appearance and carriage, but also at the subject's aura, the painter forms a conscious insight. This alone is not sufficient, however: The painter must give himself over to an enthralled creative tempest, setting aside his preconceptions complately, in order to make a soul portrait.

The portrait must be painted in a single setting and interrupting a soul painter while she works is as difficult as rousing a Toreador from a more mundane fit of artistic absorption. It generally takes 10-12 hours to create the picture, though more complex efforts may take longer -- Katherine's portrait of the late Archbishop Moncada reputedly took over one thousand hours -- but if successfully completed, it reveals a great deal indeed.

System: The player rolls Manipulation + Empathy (Difficulty 9). If the roll yields even a single success, the painting (or other work) captures the subject's Nature in the work itself. For each additional success, the player opt to illustrate any one of the following: a rough gauge of Humanity (or Path, which usually won't create a traditionally flattering work), Willpower, Self Control, Conscience, Conviction, Instinct or Courage.

Anyone with the Soul Painting power can immediately recognize every insight portayed in a portrait. Those who lack the power may (at the Storyteller's discretion) be required to make Perception, Perception + Empathy, or Perception + Craft rolls to "decode" the portrait. The difficulty for such attempts should be low, however; the whole point of the power is the expression of these abstract concepts.

Note that Soul Painting does not necessarily make the artist a skill painter (or poet, actor, etc.) -- it is quite possible to have a crudely executed portrait that nonetheless communicates the subject's personality. Such a ham-handed painter is unlikely to have learned this power from the mistress herself, though.

Brush with Madness (Custom)
Required: Dementation 4 + Auspex 4
Cost: 12xp

Malkavians tend to search for the chance to spread their unique forms of enlightenment to those around them, including those who invite themselves in to peruse the Malkavian's mind. Once Brush with Madness is learned, it is always defensely activated.

When another Kindred uses a mind-affecting ability on a Malkavian with Brush of Madness, (Some examples of mind-affecting abilities that will trigger response are Auspex 4, Dominate 1-3, or some Presence levels), the Storyteller rolls dice equal to the dots in Dementation that the Malkavian has, (difficulty of the victim's Willpower). Success means that the vampire using the mind-affecting discipline gains the Malkavian's permanent derangement for a temporary amount of time.

1 Success: Victim gains derangement for one hour.
2 Successes: Victim gains derangement for one evening.
3 Successes: Victim gains derangement for one week.
4 Successes: Victim gains derangment for one month.
5 Successes: Victim gains derangement for one year.

Quicken Sight (Modified from VtR)
Required: Auspex 1, Celerity 1
Cost: 6xp

With this power, the Vampire is able to combined her Heightened Sense and Superhuman reaction time to see fast-moving objects in detail that neither Discipline alone can reveal. She can follow a specific card in a deck as it's shuffled, track the loaded chamber in a game of Russian Roulette, pick out subliminal messages in a film or on television, and even read the headline ona newspaper as she drives past the newsstand at 60 miles per hour.

Many Vampires throughout the years have utilized it's power, its history reaching as far back as the Crusades, though some claim even earlier origins.

A player with this ability spends 1 BP and the effects last for a number of turns equal to the successes on a Perception + Alertness roll. The difficulty is a standard of 6, with particularly with small and fast items, such as a bullet, setting the difficulty as high as 8.

Howl of Cerberus
Requires: Animalism 3, Protean 4
Cost: 10xp

This combination of Animalism and Protean allows for those who have mastered it to fully call upon the terror of the wild Beast within the Kindred who unleashes it. By filling their lungs with air and concentrating the full power of their feral conviction, the Kindred can unleash a tremendous roar, howl, screech, or other bestial sound that fills mortals with fear. Upon hearing the Howl of Cerberus, most mortals will cower or flee in terror.

System: Player spends a point of blood (to strengthen their lungs and vocal chords) and then rolls Manipulation + Intimidation (difficulty 8). For each success, the Howl will affect mortals within a 10-yard radius, causing them to cower or flee in terror.

Sharpening the Mind's Eye
Required: Celerity 2, Auspex 2, Fortitude 2
Cost: 6xp

There exists, in the lore of athletes and warriors, that place called 'the zone'. Artists and writers call it the Muse, and other trades and time periods have other names for it, but all agree that when a person has it, they're capable of incredible feats of focus.

This power allows the Vampire to call upon that Focus at will, provided the Vampire has developed sufficient speed of body and mind, and the stamina to maintain it. When invoked, Sharpening the Mind's Eye does not make the Vampire into a blur, as with combat application of Celerity. Instead, the Vampire gains an immense degree of focus that augments his reflexes. His thinking process speeds up and grows more precise, and his movements become smoother and intuitively coordinated, as he gains a supernaturally keen awareness of his body and how the weight is distributed, and the best ways to manipulate that weight, and this awareness extends to the immediate vicinity. In essence, this power invokes the state of mortal Focus on supernaturally brewed crack.

The Vampire doesn't seem any more gifted - the invocation of Sharpening the Mind's Eye simply makes everything look easy, accomplished with an effortless grace born of competence as he understands and manipulates all the little nuances of the situation which would normally be beyond his ken to consider.

System: For the round, non-combat Dexterity rolls (playing an instrument, juggling, balancing, et cetera) have +2 dice added to the pool per BP and WP spent (1WP + 1BP = +2 dice to the Dexterity pool for the round). These effects stack with any blood burns already spent on Dexterity.

The power allows for Dexterity rolls to be made routine at higher levels of Celerity with a commitment of BP and WP. Playing an incredibly difficult instrumental can be reduced to the level of playing a routine tune with added dice, (Dragonforce solo = Twinkle Twinkle Little Star), but that possibility of failure still remains. Balancing on an adversary's shoulder or surfing down a staircase on a laundry basket recieves the modified pool bonus, while rolls to attack or dodge do not.

Tactical Retreat
Required: Celerity 3, Athletics 3
Cost: 6xp

This ability is relatively common among members of the Brujah and Toreador, and is not unknown to others outside of these clans. By calling upon their blood, those with this ability are able to move with unnatural speed and perform great feats of athleticism, even going so far as to tumble, and leap into the air while performing other actions.

System: The Kindred with this ability must burn a blood point and forfeit a Celerity Action from the end of their turn in order to activate it. She is then able to move a distance of up to half of her maximum running speed (Dex x3 + 20 / 2) at the same time as taking a standard action without incurring a dice penalty.

If the Kindred using this ability uses a more complex action for the movement, such as driving a car, tumbling, or some other maneuver, this is treated as an additional action rather than part of her movement.

If a defensive action is taken while this technique is active, any attacks made against the Kindred are made at +1 difficulty due to her high speed and unpredictable movement.