View source for Crimson Dusk - Dominate

=Dominate=
Some Kindred are capable of overwhelming the minds
of others with their own force of will, influencing actions
and even thoughts. Use of Dominate requires a character
to capture a victim’s gaze. The Discipline can therefore be
used on only one subject at a time, and is useless if eye
contact is not possible. Dominate requires a vampire make eye contact
with his victims in order to issue commands. That
contact is one-way — the victim needs to see the
vampire’s eyes, but not vice versa. This contact is
possible through simple barriers like sunglasses
(even mirrored) or tinted windows, but does not
work when looking at a video feed rather than the
vampire himself.

Dominate does not grant the ability to make oneself understood
or to communicate mentally. Commands must be
issued verbally, though certain simple commands (such as
“Go over there!” indicated with a pointed finger and a forceful
expression) may be conveyed by signs at the Storyteller’s
discretion. No matter how powerful a vampire is, he cannot
force his victim to obey if he cannot make himself understood
— if, for example, the victim doesn’t speak the same
language, he cannot hear or the orders simply make no sense.

Note that victims of Dominate might realize what’s been
done to them. That is, they do not automatically sense that
they are being controlled, but they might subsequently wonder
why they suddenly acted as they did. Wise Kindred, especially
those familiar with Dominate, are likely to figure it
out in the moment, and few vampires take kindly to being
manipulated in such a fashion. Most Kindred who develop
Dominate are forceful, controlling personalities, and they
can make a reputation for themselves if they use this Discipline
wantonly.

In all cases, a dramatic failure while attempting to Dominate
a victim renders the would-be victim immune to the
character’s Dominate until the next sunset.

Dominate is far more effective against mortals than it is
against other Kindred. Most Dominate abilities described here
allow the victim to struggle against the effects; that is, a contested
roll is made against the Dominator’s player. As no mortal
has Blood Potency, the vast majority of humans are at a
disadvantage when dealing with the Discipline.

Dominate is also more effective against those whom the
user has subjected to a Vinculum. A regnant may use Dominate
powers (with the exception of Conditioning) on a thrall
without the need for eye contact; the thrall merely has to
hear the regnant’s voice.

Other sentient, supernatural beings such as shapechangers
who have animal form or who can assume animal form are
affected by Dominate rather than by Animalism. A vampire
can therefore try to ply his will on a werewolf — even a
werewolf in wolf form — by using Dominate. Similarly, Animalism
is useless against another vampire who assumes wolf
or another bestial form. Animalism is of no avail to the vampire
in regard to such intelligent beings.

Note that any Dominate power requiring eye contact is
made more difficult if the subject is not standing still or otherwise
immobilized. If the target moves about, the roll to initiate
the relevant power suffers a -1 penalty in addition to all
others listed.

==Command==
Cost: 5

Once he has established eye contact, the vampire issues a
single, one-word command that must be obeyed instantly. The
order must be clear and straightforward — freeze, jump, run,
stop, fall, cough, blink and so forth. If the command is ambiguous
or confusing, the subject might respond slowly or perform
the task poorly. Further, commands are always interpreted
(within reason) in the subject’s best interests. For example, if
the victim stands on the edge of a roof and the character commands
“Jump!” the victim might jump up and down, rather
than leap off the roof. Of course, the victim would probably
not leap off the roof even if the character could find a way to order it. Subjects of Command cannot be made to directly
harm themselves, so an obviously suicidal order such as “Die!”
is ineffective. “Sleep” and the like causes the subject to follow
the order only if he does not believe himself to be in any
mortal danger. A character seduced by a Kindred might sleep
if so instructed, but one in the middle of a combat or interrogation
certainly does not. In such situations, the character
merely falls senseless, but only for a turn.

The vampire may include the command word in a sentence,
in order to conceal his use of the power from others. The
command itself must be stressed, and the character must make
eye contact precisely when that word is spoken. Observers
may notice the unusual emphasis, but only the most alert —
and those familiar with the Discipline — are likely to realize
what has occurred.

Activation Cost:—

Dice Pool: Intelligence + Intimidation + Dominate versus
Resolve + Blood Potency

Action: Contested; resistance is reflexive

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The subject does not obey and is immune
to the character’s Dominate until the next sunset.

Failure: The character loses or ties the contested roll and
the subject does not obey.

Success: The character wins the contested roll by getting
the most successes, and the victim obeys literally and with
appreciable self-preservation.

Exceptional Success: The character wins the contested roll
with five or more successes, and the victim not only obeys but
rationalizes what he does as his own decision until and unless
someone questions him about it in depth. The victim also gains the mesmerized condition.

Assuming the commanded action is one that can carried
out for some time, such as “wait” or “sleep,” the subject obeys
for a number of turns equal to the successes obtained on the
Command roll.

If this power is turned on a vampire with whom the
user has a blood tie (see p. 162), a +2 bonus applies to the
user’s roll.

==Mesmerize==
Cost: 5

All a vampire has to do is meet his victim’s eye to catch him
in his thrall. His control isn’t obvious; he just asks him to do
something and the victim acquiesces. He could unlock a door,
pass a gun — or forget ever meeting him. Some cruel vampires
mesmerize passers-by just to take the rap for their crimes.

Activation Cost: None

Dice Pool: Intelligence + Expression + Dominate vs. Resolve
+ Blood Potency

Action: Instant

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The victim sees through the vampire’s
attempt to control his mind; emboldened, he gains the Steadfast
Condition (p. 306).

Failure: The vampire’s victim proves stronger-willed than
he’d thought.

Success: The vampire holds his victim’s gaze for just a second,
but it’s enough to inflict the Mesmerized Condition (p. 305).

Exceptional Success: The vampire’s control flows over the
victim’s brain like water. They want to do whatever the vampire
says. The vampire can issue a command in the same action as
mesmerizing the victim.

Once he has inflicted the Mesmerized Condition, the
vampire can command the victim as an instant action. His
commands can’t be longer than three or four words, and he
has to be direct — his control doesn’t extend to issuing vague
commands. “Follow me,” “Shoot your husband,” and “Repeat
after me…” are all suitable commands, while “Forget,” “Submit,”
and “Do my bidding” have too much room for interpretation.
He can even mess with the victim’s memory, making one
statement about the current scene that victim will remember
as truth. While he can still only use simple and unambiguous
commands, he can pack a lot of changes into four words: “You
killed that man” and “I was not here” combine to frame the
victim for murder.

==Iron Edict==
Cost: 10

Once he’s got a hotline into his victim’s mind, the vampire
can take some time to play with his thoughts and memories.
While it takes more of his power to relay complex commands,
he goes from jerking his victim’s strings to controlling him
like a puppeteer, making his every movement dance to his tune.

Activation Cost: 1 Vitae; none if victim is in Vinculum with the vampire

Dice Pool: None

Requirement: The vampire must have inflicted the
Mesmerized Condition on the victim

Action: Instant

The vampire can issue a longer command to a Mesmerized
victim. This edict can be up to three sentences long, and can include a successive series of actions. The command takes two
turns per sentence to convey. As with Mesmerize, the vampire’s
control doesn’t extend to commands that rely on the victim’s
interpretation. The victim takes the Dominated Condition (p.
302) and will follow the vampire’s commands as soon as he
finishes speaking them. He continues to follow the order until
he has completed his task, or the sun rises. Many Kindred use
Iron Edict to issue a simple command, such as “Obey my direct
instructions when I give them to you,” which effectively gives
them control over the minion until the sun comes up — though
it doesn’t extend the duration of the Mesmerized Condition.

==Program==
Cost: 10

The source of many legends of the vampire’s hypnotic gaze,
Mesmerize allows the Kindred to implant a false thought or
suggestion into the subject’s subconscious mind. The power
requires not only eye contact but intense concentration and
precise wording, so both the character and the subject must
be free from distraction. The Kindred may activate the imposed
thought or command immediately —“Walk over here
and open the door” — or he may establish a stimulus that
activates the suggestion at a later date — “When you see a
man in a blue suit with a red rose in his lapel, you will spill
your drink on him.” The victim must be able to understand
the vampire. The Kindred must maintain eye contact only as
long as it takes to implant the suggestion or idea.
Mesmerize can deliver truly complex and long-term
commands, such as following someone, taking notes on
his activities and reporting back on the first of the next month. A subject can have only one suggestion implanted
at any given time.

Activation Cost:—

Dice Pool: Intelligence + Expression + Dominate versus
Resolve + Blood Potency

Action: Contested; resistance is reflexive

If this power is turned on a vampire with whom the user
has a blood tie (see p. 162), a +2 bonus applies.

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The subject does not obey and is immune
to the character’s Dominate until the next sunset.

Failure: The character loses or ties the contested roll and
the subject does not obey.

Success: The character wins the contested roll by getting
the most successes, and the victim obeys to the best
of his ability.

Exceptional Success: The character wins the contested roll
with five or more successes. The victim not only obeys, but
rationalizes what he does as his own decision until and unless
someone questions her about it in depth.

This power lasts for as long as it takes the subject to carry
out the required task, or until the character is destroyed or
enters torpor. Impossible actions such as, “Count every grain
of sand on this beach,” automatically fail to take root in the
subject’s mind. If, during the course of carrying out the implanted
suggestion, the victim realizes he puts himself in danger
or acts completely contrary to his normal moral code, a
Resolve roll may be made to shake off the compulsion. This is
a contested roll. Successes rolled must exceed the number of
successes obtained for the dominating character when the individual
was first mesmerized.

Dramatic Failure: Not only must the subject continue to
carry out the command, no more Resolve rolls may be made
to shake the dominator’s control, no matter what the subject
is forced to do.

Failure: The victim must continue to carry out the command
as ordered.

Success: The victim escapes the suggestion.

Exceptional Success: The victim defies the suggestion, and
the dominator incurs a -1 penalty to future attempts to Dominate
him until the next night.

No matter how strong the dominator’s will is or how many
successes he obtains, he cannot make a subject harm himself
directly. Any command to commit suicide is therefore
ignored, although commands that are likely to lead to harm
— such as, “Walk into that crack house and shoot the man
in the red shirt” — are enforceable, subject to the Resolve
rolls discussed above.

If a vampire attempts to Mesmerize a subject who is already
under the influence of a previously implanted directive, compare
the successes rolled in the attempt against the successes
gained during the implantation of the first suggestion. If the
character obtains more successes than the previous Kindred,
the new command may supplant the old one. If he does not,
the original command remains active and the new one fails to take root. In case of a tie, the original command takes precedent
over the new one. A vampire seeking to supplant an
old suggestion with a new one must also acquire successes in
excess of those rolled for the subject in his contested Resolve
+ Blood Potency roll.