Custom Discipline
Some chronicles allow for their players to develop customized powers for their characters. The following is a compilation of player created custom content in OWBN. At this time, custom content that is created and/or used by vampire PC's is required to be listed.
Custom Content Category: Discipline
XP Cost: 0XP
MET Mechanics:
• Tatemae
Tatemae (ta-TEH-my) is the Japanese term for the emotions that one presents to the world, as opposed to
what one truly feels. The first Kamen power allows a Kindred to hide his emotions perfectly. This power only
truly allows a Kindred to suggest that his true thoughts match the ones he is displaying. He cannot choose to
look like a loyal servant pretending to be discontent; he must either look like a loyal servant who is displaying
his loyalty or a discontent servant displaying his discontent. This limits the subtlety of the deceptions a Kindred
with this Discipline can practice. The emotion displayed is normally quite general, so that the mask remains
useful for the whole of a conversation. Thus, it would be normal to fake loyalty, friendliness or sympathy but not
amusement at a particular joke. However, faking amusement at a comedy performance would be reasonable.
It is not uncommon for Sotoha Kindred to use this power all the time.
Cost: —
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Expression + Kamen
Action: Instant, normally. Characters may contest attempts to use supernatural abilities to see through the
Kindred’s mask with Composure + Expression + Kamen. Mundane attempts to assess what the Kindred is
feeling always conclude that the facade he is projecting is wholly genuine. Supernatural attempts may also
be fooled, unless they can overcome the Discipline in an opposed roll. In addition, the Kindred must attempt
to keep the deception up. Actions that clearly break the image also end the effect of the power. Thus, a
Kindred faking interest in a lecture would not continue to appear interested if he started reading a book instead.
However, the power of the Discipline does mean that the Kindred does not need to make a great effort to
maintain the façade. The Kindred using this power need not be faking his displayed emotion. Even when
a Kindred is sincere, it may be to his advantage to definitely appear so. If a supernatural attempt to pierce
the Discipline succeeds, the user knows that it has, even if the emotion revealed is the same as the one the
Discipline was displaying.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character’s true feelings, and the fact that he is trying to hide them, are obvious to
everyone. The character does not, however, realize that he is so transparent. He suffers a –2 penalty on all
Social dice pools for the remainder of the scene.
Failure: The character must rely on his mundane acting abilities to hide his true feelings. He is aware that
his attempt to activate the Discipline failed.
Success: The character can maintain one poise perfectly. That is, he can choose to have one emotion look
entirely genuine for the duration of a scene. To change the emotion, however, he must activate the power
(and the player must roll) again. For example, a character makes his act of friendliness towards a Carthian
troublemaker appear genuine. Later, the Prince’s enforcers descend, and the character needs to make his
show of loyalty to the Prince seem genuine. This requires a new roll.
Exceptional Success: The character can change his mask at will for the duration of the scene. Thus, in the
example above, a new roll would not be required to make his loyalty appear genuine.
Suggested MET Conversion:
Emotional Control: You present yourself confidently, repelling efforts to find flaws in your thoughts, read your
aura or otherwise intrude on your mind. This Gift doesn’t prevent supernatural efforts (such as the Discipline
Auspex), though it does hamper them. Make a Social Challenge (retest with Subterfuge). If successful, you
automatically win all ties on normal Mental and Social Challenges intended to probe your mind, examine your
aura, etc. Mundane attempts to determine your current emotional state automatically fail. The effect lasts for
one scene or one hour.
•• The Fitting Time
The first stage of control over the Beast allows a Kindred to delay entering a frenzy. Ideally, this gives her
enough time to get somewhere out of sight of others before relinquishing control, but low levels of success
may grant her merely a moment to take some action to lessen the likely impact. For example, a Kindred who
delays a hunger frenzy might run from her friends, so that she does not feed on them.
Cost: —
Dice Pool: Resolve + Composure + Kamen
Action: Reflexive. The roll is made immediately after failing to resist frenzy, to delay the onset of that frenzy.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The frenzy starts immediately, and is less amenable to control than even a normal failure.
The Kindred may not spend Willpower to direct the frenzy in any way.
Failure: The frenzy starts immediately, as normal.
Success: The Kindred can delay entering the frenzy for a certain period of time determined by the successes
rolled. She may choose to enter frenzy at any point within that time, but if she has not done so earlier, she
automatically goes into frenzy when the time period expires.
Exceptional Success: No benefit beyond being able to delay the frenzy until the following night, as indicated
on the table below.
Successes Maximum Time
1 success One turns
2 successes Five turns
3–4 successes One scene
5+ successes One night. If the Kindred does not enter frenzy before laying down to sleep at dawn, she wakes
in frenzy the following evening. When the Kindred does enter frenzy, it is the same as any other involuntary
frenzy.
Suggested MET Conversion:
Delayed Gratification: Immediately after failing a test to resist Frenzy, make a static Mental Challenge against
the same difficulty as the stimulus that caused the Frenzy. One a success, you may spend a number of Mental
traits up to your current total permanent Humanity or Path Traits. The number of Traits spent indicate how long
you may hold off the Beast.
1 Trait: One turn
2 Traits: Five turns
3 Traits: One scene/hour
4 Traits: The rest of the night. If the user does not enter frenzy before laying down to sleep at dawn, she wakes
in Frenzy the following evening. When the Kindred does enter frenzy, it is the same as any other involuntary
frenzy.
5 Traits: The rest of the night, plus the entirety of the following night. If the user does not enter Frenzy before
laying down to sleep the following dawn, she wakes in Frenzy the next evening.
••• The Wave Is the Man
When a Kindred with this power “rides the wave” of frenzy, she has much more control over her actions and
appearance than normal. She may appear as calm as she wishes, and take actions that require thought and
deliberate decision, including the use of Disciplines such as Dominate. The benefits of being in frenzy still
apply, however: the vampire ignores wound penalties, gets a bonus die to all physical dice pools and gets a
bonus to resist attempts at mental domination.
From the outside, it is almost impossible to determine that the vampire is in frenzy. Supernatural abilities such
as Auspex can do so by examining the vampire’s aura, but to mundane observation she appears no different
from normal. While the Kindred may choose to behave in a wild manner, she need not, and virtually all Sotoha
choose to remain icily calm even while they frenzy. However, she is still in frenzy, and observers may be able
to deduce that from her behavior. The frenzying kindred has an absolute focus on the target of her frenzy. She
can do nothing that she does not judge to be the fastest and most effective way to achieve her end. As the
frenzy was invoked voluntarily, the vampire no doubt has an end in mind.
While the frenzying vampire cannot do anything she does not judge to be the fastest and most effective means
to her end,that does not mean she should spend a long time contemplating options. On the contrary, she
must decide quickly from among the options that come immediately to mind. If two seem equally effective,
she is free to choose either, as long as she chooses quickly. In certain cases, the fastest and most effective
way to achieve an end might require lots of careful planning, which is fine. However, the Kindred cannot be
distracted from those plans. If the frenzy lasts a long time, the vampire may take reasonable precautions when
she sleeps and feeds, as long as they do not distract from her target. The same applies to any other needs
that she has for survival, since the vampire’s survival is generally essential to achieving the end of a frenzy.
If the Kindred is a Sotoha, the frenzy does not subside automatically when it has reached its end. She must
gain a success on a Resolve + Composure roll to end it, as normal. Fujita Carlos, a Sotoha vampire in Buenos
Aires, is rumored to have been in frenzy for over 30 years. His lord, Fujita Juanita, was killed through the
machinations of the local Prince and Primogen, and Carlos has been waging an obsessive vendetta against
them ever since. While this is not unusual for the Sotoha, Carlos has appeared to shrug off the worst wounds
and has seemed almost immune to fear frenzies, leading knowledgeable Kindred to suspect that he has been
“riding the wave” all this time. Carlos has sworn not to take another lord until he has avenged Juanita, making
him a true ronin.
Cost: —
Dice Pool: This power requires no roll. It automatically affects any voluntary frenzy that the vampire enters.
Action: Reflexive
Suggest MET Conversion:
Desensitization: As written. Since there is no Sotoha Bloodline, the Frenzy subsides as normal – within 10
minutes of removing/being removed from the stimulus.
•••• Face of the Moment
The Kindred with this power can fit perfectly into any social situation, even one of which he was completely
ignorant. He knows what the people around him consider to be correct behavior for him in the current
circumstances, and thus he never accidentally breaks the local rules of etiquette. If the Kindred is appearing
as himself, the power is most useful in a new society. If he is in disguise, however, he knows how the people
around him think that the type of person he is pretending to be should behave, and also whether they expect
him to behave properly. This is a great help in maintaining a successful disguise. In addition, lies the Kindred
tells to support any act he is sustaining appear sincere to any mundane examination and to any supernatural
investigation that fails to overcome this power. This power does not help a Kindred keep track of the lies
that he should be telling in a particular situation, however. Most Kindred with Face of the Moment also use
Tatemae at the same time. These two powers may be activated together in a single action, although the rolls
must still be made separately, and it is possible for one to succeed and one to fail. It is, of course, also possible
to use one power without the other. As with Tatemae, some powerful Sotoha Kindred keep this power in effect
all the time.
Cost: —
Dice Pool: Wits + Socialize + Kamen. Composure + Expression + Kamen to resist supernatural attempts to
pierce his lies.
Action: Instant
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The vampire appears to all around him as an impostor. If he is in disguise, everyone realizes
that he is disguised, although they may not immediately realize who he really is, particularly if the disguise is
supernatural. If he is not in disguise, everyone who interacts with him becomes convinced that he is either
a supernaturally disguised impostor or is possessed by some spirit making his body behave strangely. This
effect lasts for a scene.
Failure: The vampire must rely on his other resources to navigate the social reefs of a new environment or to
support a deception.
Success: The Kindred can act as if he were long accustomed to his role for a period of time depending on
the number of successes rolled.
Successes Duration
1 success 10 minutes
2 successes 30 minutes
3 successes One hour or one scene
4+ successes One night
While the power is in effect, the Kindred suffers no penalties to social dice pools that would normally apply
to an outsider in the society. In addition, he knows what the accepted etiquette is. If he is in disguise, he
instinctively knows how the person he is impersonating would be expected to behave and what would be the
polite behavior for that person. The Kindred’s actions are not constrained. He can choose to be impolite or to
be just barely polite enough to avoid giving an insult. However, such fine judgments do require a die roll, as
they would for someone naturally familiar with the society.
Exceptional Success: The effect lasts for one night, as for four successes. In addition, the Kindred gets
a +3 bonus to all social dice pools, reflecting the amazing ease with which he can manipulate the social
expectations of the group.
Suggested MET Conversion:
Assimilation: You can blend smoothly into any culture, no matter how strange or unfamiliar it seems.
Assimilation doesn’t hide racial differences, but allows you to act and speak like a native and understand
the local language. Make a Static Social Challenge. The difficulty varies based on how alien the culture is:
infiltrating another gathering of Cainites requires only seven Traits, while passing as a member of a Black
Spiral Hive on another continent requires twelve Traits. If the challenge succeeds, you suffer no social
penalties while interacting with members of the target culture. Assimilation lasts for one scene. You may
choose to spend a Willpower at the time of the challenge – if you do, and the challenge succeeds, the effects
last for the rest of the night. In addition, the user gets a +2 bonus to all Social challenges, reflecting the
amazing ease with which he can manipulate the social expectations of the group.
••••• Masking the Beast
The final power of Kamen functions like The Wave Is the Man, above, but for involuntary frenzies. No matter
how deep the vampire may be in frenzy, she can appear completely calm and rational, taking sensible steps to
best achieve the ends of the frenzy.
Cost: —
Dice Pool: This power requires no roll. It automatically affects any involuntary frenzy the vampire enters. This
power requires some adjudication between the player and Storyteller. It does not make the vampire immune to
frenzy, although there are some Kindred who believe that it does. On the other hand, this power is a major
advantage to a frenzying vampire. At the very least, a vampire with this power can use any of her other powers
while in a frenzy, regardless of how much calm and concentration they take, and can always appear calm and
in control. The vampire also has considerable control over her actions, within the limits of the frenzy.
A vampire in hunger frenzy must feed to satiation as soon as possible. If the only vessel around is her beloved,
she drains him dry. On the other hand, if the two of them are in a hotel room, she can charge out and into the
next room, looking for another victim. She cannot, however, decide to take her beloved home first and feed
later in the evening. If the vampire enters hunger frenzy while feeding, she can still break off to feed from
another vessel, as long as she believes that there is another easily available.
A vampire in fear frenzy must get away from the cause of the fear as quickly as possible. A vampire forced into
frenzy by another vampire waving a lighter in her face at a social gathering may make a cutting remark as she
turns to stalk haughtily from the room, rather than freaking out and running screaming, but she must still leave.
A vampire driven to fear frenzy by a candle could blow it out. Similarly, a vampire terrified by the sunlight
coming through a window could duck around the light to close the shutters. If they failed to completely block
the light, she would have to leave the room. Fear frenzies are possibly the least restricted, as about the only
thing the vampire cannot do is bravely endure the threat; and most Kindred would not risk their Requiems in
that way in any case.
A vampire in anger frenzy must express her anger. She need not, however, do so through physical violence. If
the frenzy was provoked as anger with a particular individual, it must be taken out on that individual. If, on the
other hand, it was provoked by general frustration, the vampire can choose how to express it. In no case will
a vampire with this power involuntarily attack her friends while in an anger frenzy, unless they are disguised
as her enemies. A vampire provoked into an anger frenzy in a social situation could choose to take it out in a
stream of highly polished verbal abuse, possibly challenging her opponent to a duel. A vampire who enters
anger frenzy in combat gets the bonuses of being in frenzy, but otherwise may continue the combat as if
nothing had happened.
Action: Reflexive
Suggested MET Conversion:
Extinction: As written.
Date of Archival: 05-Feb-2015
Sabbat