Crimson Dusk - Animalism

Animalism

A vampire’s Beast is not just a facet of his predatory nature, but a predator in and of itself — and it’s at the top of the food chain. A vampire can slip the leash of his Beast just a little to overpower weaker animals, forcing his will on them. Most Animalism powers affect predators and scavenging animals. In a city, the Kindred can call on feral cats and dogs, pigeons and crows, foxes, and more rats than anyone wants to think about. Rural vampires can summon bats, wolves, mountain lions, and even bears — any animal that feasts on the flesh of another.

Feral Whispers

Cost: 5

A vampire can only command those who can understand him. So it is with beasts as well as men. A vampire using Feral Whispers overpowers the animal’s instinctive reactions and forces it to understand. He can ask questions of a creature and it must respond as best it can, and with a further slight nudge, he can compel it to obey him. A canny vampire can use magpies and crows to spy on his victims from above, or command a gangster’s mastiffs to savage their owner. The vampire talks to the animal, either using human words or, much more frequently, by making animal sounds of his own. He can command groups of animals, such as a flock of birds or a swarm of rats, as long as he is close enough that the animals can all hear her, and he can see all of them.

Activation Cost: None Dice Pool: Manipulation + Animal Ken + Animalism Mastery Action: Instant Duration: Scene, command can persist up to a night.

Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The animal misunderstands the vampire’s command, giving false information when the vampire asks, or obeying a twisted version of the vampire’s command.

Failure: The animals fear the Beast, fleeing from a superior predator.

Success: The vampire can communicate with an animal, asking it what it has perceived. Most animals can remember what has happened over the last night. Animals relate what they have encountered through the lens of their own perceptions — dogs answer in terms of smell and hearing, while birds relate what they could see. The vampire can also give the victim a simple command, equivalent to what the animal could do on its own, such as “attack him,” “follow her then return here,” “chew through these cables.” The command doesn’t normally persist for more than a night, but the vampire can add simple contingencies such as forcing the beast to go to ground if noticed, or to return once the command is complete.

Exceptional Success: The animal is exceptionally obedient to the vampire, improvising to follow the spirit of the Kindred’s command.

Raise the Familiar

Cost: 10

True beasts cannot be Embraced. They have never had the necessary Humanity. With this power, though, the vampire can complete the process halfway. By feeding a drained animal some of his Vitae, a vampire can infuse it with a fragment of the Kindred’s twilight life. It looks as it did when it died, though if appropriate, it might gain retractable fangs like a vampire. But the fangs are a lie — its true tragedy is that it cannot transubstantiate blood into Vitae. If it was wounded in death, it retains signs of the injuries, but its body functions fully. A coyote crushed by an SUV has a tire track running across it but no crushed bones, and a crow with a busted wing has bone jutting out of the wound but can still fly.

It doesn’t act like a normal animal — it doesn’t hunt for food, nor is it spooked by loud noises. It sleeps throughout the day, but becomes active at night. A human observing such an animal might be able to tell something’s wrong, but only the most grievous wounds usually make them take the time to look.

Activation Cost: 1 Vitae Requirement: Feed 1 Vitae to the corpse (included in cost) Dice Pool: None Action: Instant Duration: (Blood Potency * animal’s Stamina) nights

The vampire feeds one point of Vitae to the animal’s corpse. The animal returns to a semblance of life for a number of nights equal to (Blood Potency * animal’s Stamina). Once he has raised a beast, a vampire can feed it more Vitae; each point ensures the animal’s continued existence as though the vampire had just raised it.

The raised creature gains a semblance of intelligence and a certain low cunning, enough to follow complex orders that most animals could not understand, and to interpret the spirit of commands rather than the letter. Treat the familiar as having one dot of Intelligence.

Infused with Vitae, the familiar takes bashing damage from attacks like a vampire, and does not fall unconscious or bleed out. The animal does not decompose.

The Vitae burning within the animal’s dead veins forges a sympathetic link between it and the vampire. The vampire can use Feral Whispers on his familiar at any time, over any distance, communicating silently or issuing commands at any range. Though he must still roll to see if his familiar interpreted his command, the animal does not resist.

Obedience

Cost: 10

Having mastered the ability to commune with beasts, the Kindred’s connection with his own feral nature now allows him to command them as well. No longer need he beg, threaten or cajole animals into doing his will. He demands, and they obey as best they can.

The vampire must make eye contact, as with Feral Whispers, and convey to an animal precisely what he wants it to do. The animal obeys to the best of its ability, but its nature and intelligence might cause it to interpret its orders in unusual ways. Once it has received an order, the animal carries it out, assuming it can be completed before the following sunrise. At dawn, the compulsion ceases, regardless of whether the task is complete or not.

It is extremely difficult to order an animal to do anything blatantly against its nature (such as ordering a sparrow to attack someone) or obviously self-destructive (such as forcing a guard dog to lie down in front of a moving truck).

A vampire can give single orders to only one animal at a time, but he may have as many animals currently under his control as circumstances allow, as long as he can give each one its orders individually.

Cost:— Dice Pool: Presence + Animal Ken + Animalism Mastery – animal’s Composure Action: Instant

Obedience also requires a contested roll if the animal is already under the control of another Kindred with this power (in which case Obedience successes achieved must exceed those rolled for the original vampire).

Roll Results Dramatic Failure: Dramatic failure indicates that the animal either attacks the character or does the exact opposite of what he commands it to do. In addition, that animal is immune to any further use of Animalism by that character until the next sunset.

Failure: Failure indicates that the character cannot command or communicate with the animal. Success: Success indicates that the animal obeys the character’s orders to the best of its abilities.

Exceptional Success: Exceptional success indicates that the animal develops a strong, if temporary, affection for the character. It attempts to please and to anticipate orders, even when not actively following a specific command.

Suggested Modifiers Modifier Situation +1 The animal is a predatory mammal (wolf, cat, insectivorous bat). +1 The character has already successfully used Feral Whispers on the animal he now attempts to command with Obedience. — The animal is another sort of mammal, a predatory bird or a large reptile (rat, owl, alligator). -1 The animal is another sort of bird or a small reptile (pigeon, snake). -1 The order is contradictory to the animal’s nature or set of inherent abilities. -1 The animal is a ghoul. -3 The animal is an insect or fish. -3 The order is blatantly suicidal.

Summon the Hunt

Cost: 15

The vampire infuses some of his Vitae with the essence of his prey, making it irresistible to other predators and scavenging beasts. Wherever he spills his blood — on the ground, over an object, or even splashing it on another person — the animals he calls will try to consume it. His blood only loses potency once the summoned animals destroy whatever he poured it over or once the sun rises, at which point the Vitae burns away as though it were never present. He can focus his Beast’s call on one kind of creature, for example summoning just birds or rats. Prey animals in the affected area rightly shy away, afraid of the power of a vampire’s Beast.

Activation Cost: 2 Vitae Requirement: Spill 1 Vitae upon the target (included in cost). Dice Pool: Presence + Animal Ken + Animalism Mastery Action: Instant Duration: One night, or until the item marked with blood is destroyed.

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The animals follow the Beast’s call, but lash out against the vampire in fear.

Failure: Animals within the Discipline’s range feel their normal fear of the Kindred and stay well away.

Success: The vampire chooses when spilling the Vitae whether to summon all predators and scavengers, or whether to restrict himself to one kind of animal. All animals that match her request within (successes) city blocks in the city, or (successes

• 100) yards (successes * 90 meters) in the country respond to

his call. Once they taste the spilled Vitae, the vampire can imprint a command as though he had used Feral Whispers on the animal. All animals receive the same command, but it persists even while the vampire slumbers; the animals follow his command for one night per success.

Exceptional Success: Animals that taste the vampire’s blood follow his command with single-minded zeal. They do not stop to eat or sleep, deriving sustenance from the taste of Vitae alone.

Call of the Wild

Cost: 15

The Kindred is so fully in tune with his own Beast that he can call out in a feral voice — howling, hissing, cawing or the like — that beckons all creatures of a specific type. Any animal of that sort within a given area is compelled to respond, immediately moving toward the Kindred at its fastest possible speed, via the most direct route it can find. Only animals that can hear the call are summoned, so creatures that have been deafened or that are insulated from the sound by thick walls or other barriers do not respond. Additionally, only natural animals respond to this call — no hell hounds or gargoyles (see p. 225-256), for example, answer it. Animals that respond to the Kindred’s call are not automatically under his control, but they are more easily subjected to other Animalism powers.

Cost: 1 Vitae Dice Pool: Presence + Animal Ken + Animalism Mastery Action: Instant

Roll Results Dramatic Failure: All animals of the type called within 100 yards immediately turn hostile toward the character and are immune to any further uses of Animalism by that character until the next sunset.

Failure: On a failure, no animals appear.

Success: The area of the call is 100 yards for every success rolled. That is, a single success when summoning rats calls all rats within 100 yards. The Storyteller determines how many animals respond based on the environment. Hundreds or thousands of rats might appear in an inner city, while no hawks or coyotes would.

Exceptional Success: As per a normal success. In the previous example of the rat summoner, if the player achieved seven successes, all rats within 700 yards would heed the call.

Suggested Modifiers The Storyteller may impose bonuses or penalties to the call based on weather, barriers or other ambient noise, as he feels is appropriate. A heavy wind might cut down the distance the sound can travel, for instance, imposing a -2 penalty. Animals responding to Call of the Wild are easier for the beckoning character to influence with other uses of Animalism. Any further use of Animalism on these specific creatures receives a bonus equal to the number of successes on the roll to invoke this power. This bonus lasts for the remainder of the scene.

Feral Infection

Cost: 20

The vampire floods the area with his predatory aura, infecting everything around him with the ravings of her Beast. The scent of his blood inspires rage in animals, and can drive men mad, especially those who have recently touched his blood. Other Kindred witnessing the effects of Feral Infection recognize the Beast unchained, likening the victims’ actions to their own moments of frenzy. The vampire using this Discipline can exert a measure of control over his victims’ madness, focusing his own Beast against some victim he wants to crush, or a goal he wants to conquer.

Activation Cost: 2 Vitae Requirement: Spill 1 Vitae upon the ground (included in cost). Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + Animalism Mastery Action: Instant Duration: Scene

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The vampire loses hold of his Beast, and it smashes past him. He is provoked to frenzy, though with a –2 die modifier on the roll to resist.

Failure: Affected animals display odd behavior — chasing their tails, or attacking their own limbs — but nothing drives them into a rage.

Success: Any animal that can smell the vampire’s blood enters a state of feral rage. It lashes out, attacking the nearest victim without a thought for its own safety. Once the victim is unconscious or dead, the animal feeds on his flesh. If the vampire wishes, he can direct the mob of frenzied creatures towards a single target or goal. He can’t give complex instructions or a direct command, but can point out targets to attack or the direction to move.

Humans and supernatural creatures must make a reflexive (Resolve + Composure – vampire’s successes) roll to resist the vampire’s predatory Aura. If the victim has touched or imbibed the vampire’s blood within the last night, they suffer a –3 die penalty. A failed roll puts the victim under the vampire’s command. Vampires and werewolves frenzy, their victims dictated by the Kindred who provoked them. Humans and other supernatural creatures fall into an atavistic state where they must attack the target, or move towards it if they can’t reach it. If the vampire does not set a command, his victims turn upon one another. A supernatural creature can spend a point of Willpower to ignore the vampire’s commands, though he remains frenzied.

Exceptional Success: Unleashing his Beast sates it temporarily. The vampire gains the Sated Condition (p. 305, Blood and Smoke).

Subsume the Lesser Spirit

Cost: 20

By locking eyes with an animal, a vampire may psychically enter the creature’s body and possess it as though it were his own. Some Kindred believe that doing so actually transfers the vampire’s soul into the beast, though other, less mystically minded Kindred disagree. Regardless, the animal’s own mind and instincts are completely subsumed, allowing the Kindred free reign to take whatever actions he chooses in the creature’s body. The vampire’s own body falls into a torpor-like state and appears for all intents and purposes to be a corpse. Until the character returns, his body cannot be awakened by any means (though Kindred urban legends tell of ghosts possessing such bodies and wreaking havoc). Also, it is whispered among certain circles that some vampires, addicted to the sensations of life they experience while riding an animal, remain too long in that form and forget their true nature.

Cost: 1 Vitae Dice Pool: Manipulation + Animal Ken + Animalism Mastery versus animal’s Composure Action: Contested

Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The character fails to bond with the animal; the animal grows hostile and is immune to any further uses of Animalism by that character until the next sunset.

Failure: The character loses or ties the contested action and fails to bond with the animal.

Success: The character wins the contested action and occupies the animal’s body. He can use Animalism but no other Disciplines while doing so.

Exceptional Success: The character wins the contested action with five or more successes and occupies the animal’s body, and can also use Auspex and Majesty while doing so.

If the roll made for the character wins the contested roll and gets successes in excess of the animal’s Composure dots, the character is in total control and his mind remains clear. If his roll succeeds but garners a number of successes equal to or lower than the animal’s Composure dots, a Willpower point must be spent for the character to take any actions contrary to the animal’s instincts. Otherwise, bestial urges and impulses cloud the vampire’s mind.

Additionally, if the player wins the contested roll but gets a number of successes equal to or lower than the animal’s Composure, his character’s consciousness is so closely intertwined with the beast’s that he maintains some bestial behaviors even after returning to his own form. Until the player spends a total of three Willpower points specifically to overcome this effect — the points can’t, say, be spent to gain three extra dice in unrelated rolls — the character continues to think and feel in an animalistic manner. This effect has no “hard” mechanical applications, but it should be roleplayed. If the character doesn’t indulge in animalistic activity, the Storyteller should feel free to either dock the character future experience points or spend Willpower automatically for the character when a particularly bestial response is appropriate but not displayed.

While possessing an animal, a character can travel as far from his own body as he wishes and is unharmed by daylight, but he must still force himself to stay awake during the day (see Humanity on p. 184). The vampire may choose to end the possession and return to his body at any time, regardless of distance. This occurs automatically if the vampire fails to remain awake. Any injuries inflicted on the animal also affect the vampire’s body. If the animal dies while the vampire is still present, the Kindred falls into torpor immediately. Some believe that the soul attempts to find its way back to its own body during this time. If the Kindred’s physical form is destroyed, his psyche remains trapped in the animal until he finally fails to remain awake, at which point his spirit is lost to oblivion and is unrecoverable.

It is possible, though uncommon, for a vampire to neglect his physical body long enough for it to starve into torpor while he’s “out”. If a vampire’s dormant body slips or is forced into torpor, the vampire’s spirit automatically returns to its body.

Suggested Modifiers Modifier Situation +1 The animal is a predatory mammal (wolf, cat, insectivorous bat). +1 The character has already successfully used Feral Whispers on the animal he now attempts to possess. +1 The character is able to assume the same animal form via the Protean Discipline as the creature he tries to possess. — The animal is another sort of mammal, a predatory bird or a large reptile (rat, owl, alligator). -1 The animal is another sort of bird or a small reptile (pigeon, snake). -1 The animal is a ghoul. -3 The animal is an insect or fish.

Lord of the Land

Cost: 25

The vampire marks his territory with Vitae, in much the same way that animals use urine or feces. He must encircle his territory in a ring of Vitae, claiming it as his own — assuming he has driven off any prior residents. When encircling the territory, he must walk the whole border. Some Kindred open wounds on their hands and arms and walk at a stately pace, dripping a slow stream of thick blood behind them. Others run wild, smearing blood and bodily fluids on surfaces like a feral beast. Once he has established his territory, the vampire is privy to everything that happens within it. He can command animals, summon or banish people, and provoke other vampires to leave his lair. Most vampires establish their territory in small places, like a brownstone or small public garden. A powerful vampire might claim a whole public park or castle, but he must make sure that nothing interrupts his claim — more than one vampire has discovered that his territory is already claimed by an angry pack of werewolves halfway through claiming it.

Cost: 3-9 Vitae and 1 Willpower Requirement: The vampire must walk a circuit around his new territory while marking it with Vitae. Three Vitae is enough to secure a small house or garden, six can secure a city block, while nine is enough to claim a castle. She must make sure that the area contains no other vampires; many Kindred prefer to evict all supernatural denizens. While the Discipline will still function if her territory contains werewolves or other monsters, they will suffer the effects — and will deduce that the vampire is to blame. Dice Pool: None Action: Instant Duration: One week per dot of Blood Potency, longer if the vampire remains in his territory.

The vampire marks his territory. It remains empowered for at least one week per dot of Blood Potency, though the effects of this Discipline only end when the vampire leaves his territory after the duration. Rumors speak of ancient vampires lying in torpor whose territories remain active to this day. A vampire’s territory scares off most creatures. Animals and wild beasts won’t enter, and will fight to escape if forced inside, unless otherwise affected by the vampire’s powers. Humans and supernatural creatures, including other vampires, must succeed at a reflexive Composure + Blood Potency roll to enter — or to stay in the area once it is created. Unless they roll an exceptional success, the feeling of overwhelming dread inflicts a –3 die penalty on all actions. For Kindred, simply being in another vampire’s territory is provocation to frenzy, and rolls to resist suffer a –2 die penalty. If a vampire explicitly invites someone into his territory — or uses Feral Whispers or Summon the Hunt in the case of animals — they do not suffer these penalties. Ghoul animals are also exempt. When the vampire is within his territory, he can feel when a person or animal crosses into his territory; if an invader is a vampire, he knows his general Blood Potency. He always has a rough idea of where everyone is within his domain, and only supernatural means such as Disciplines can cut through his awareness — triggering a Clash of Wills. As the undisputed master of his territory, a frenzying creature cannot attack the vampire, nor may they spend Willpower to resist his commands delivered through Feral Infection. Any commands given by Feral Whispers last indefinitely, or until the animal leaves the vampire’s territory. Finally, the vampire can snatch the senses of any animal he has raised with Raise the Familiar within his territory, and use that animal to deliver commands using Feral Whispers to other creatures.