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:
Proposed name: Path of Absolute Certainty
D'Jaq Ghiberti, chief Necromancer of the cities of La Crosse and Winona began encountering demon's and other infernal
forces shortly after arriving in the domains over two years ago. Again and again they caused mischief and destruction. He
could beat them and banish them through physical damage and the use of Potence and as for the act of chaining them
away he left to the Tremere; until the Tremere 'expert' simply didn't do her job for over half a year. He grew frustrated and
began to devise a way to use Necromancy to bind demons away for longer. He theorized that by taking the chains, or
fetters of wraiths and moving them from the wraith to an infernal agent he could use them to bind such creatures away,
and took several trips into the Shadowlands. While there he studied holy ground, ground where a certified miracle took
place. Shortly after their arrival in the Diocese of La Crosse a fire was started in the Convent which the Sisters of Perpetual
Adoration were building. The charter of the order of nuns was about to be consumed, which would have meant their
dissolution as an order. Especially given how the Bishop of La Crosse disliked their order and had tried to remove their
charter multiple times before this. But their first Mother Superior rushed to the Chapel where the charter was kept and
began to pray that it be kept safe. Her prayers kept that chapel safe when every other building in the convent was burned
to the ground. On this holy ground in the Shadowlands stands an Angel. Those souls who have overcome their sins in the
Perdition that the Shadowlands are, are aided by said Angel so that they might finally ascend into Paridisio. Standing in the
sight of an Angel when you're a sinful thing like a vampire is a painful thing. But D'Jaq waited and watched and suffered.
Ascention into heaven is not a common occurrence, but after watching a few such Ascentions D'Jaq learned enough to
suit his purpose, and began to formulate a method by which he could use his knowledge and the power of his blood to
meet his intended goal.
The magic which he created is largely modeled upon, and infused with faith, but is not faith based. No necromancer
should have faith in heaven or hell. Necromancer's can literally see a soul ascend into heaven, though this is admitedly
rare. The more common thing which they can see is Eternal Damnation into Perdition. Uses of the Path of Absolute
Certainty are all but guaranteed to attract attention, but should not necessarily be seen as Masquerade breaches, as the
Divine is, by it's very nature obviously Divine, and God simply will not allow His actions to be forgotten. Memories of the
creatures/items summoned by Lion of Zion, Lamb of Zion, Owl of Zion, Washed Clean by Zion and Chains of Dante cannot
be repressed by Dominate, mind affecting thaumaturgy, the Mind Sphere of true magik or by any other power. Memories of
other people present can be blurred by Mask of 1K, or forgotten through Dominate, or mind affecting thaumaturgy, or the
mind sphere. The animal formed images created by this path of Necromancy are not actual animals and no power of
Animalism will work on them. ST's are encouraged to be absolutely vicious in punishing anyone foolish enough to try
Subsume the Spirit on the Lion, Lamb or Owl of Zion or anyone attempting to use Possession on the human shaped figure
of Washed Clean by Zion.
Basic: Lion of Zion: The necromancer learned to use their absolute certainty in the existence of the divine, and that divine's
desire to smite the infernal to do just that; Smite them. When physically attacking a demon or anyone with an infernal
investment the Necromancer may conjure a life sized glowing white lion with an appearance similar to that of a Patronus
which will attack the infernal on the Necromancers behalf. It will use, and if unsuccessful in a challenge lose, the
Necromancer's traits on their behalf. In addition the Lion of Zion may use the necromancer's Potence including the
Necromancers Potent trait, the Bomb and the Might retest and the increased damage from Advanced Potence (The Lion
will deal lethal damage even if the Necromancer does not have first basic Potence). The Lion can use the Necromancers
Prowess refresh but between Necromancer and Lion only one refresh is allowed per night. The Lion may not use the
Necromancer's Brawl rebids, nor may it use any carrier attacks such as Quell or Vicissitude. The lion cannot be damaged,
though it could be dismissed through counterthaum. It will disappear upon the death of the Necromancer who summoned
it.
In addition to the Necromancer's Potent trait it may bid the trait Searing which may never be lost and may be repeatedly
bid against infernal agents just as Intensity can be used in physical challenges with Potence. The Lion will appear
anywhere within six steps of the Necromancer. It may move up to six steps each round, but must stay within line of sight.
It may make one attack per turn and may attempt once and only once per turn to intercept an attack meant for the
Necromancer as long as it could feasible interpose itself between the necromancer and the attack. As directing it is a
thaumaturgical action the necromancer may make no other actions any turn that is spent directing the lion. This includes
dodging or soaking an attack, though reflexive actions like using Fortitude to test down damage, or spending a blood to
heal at the beginning of the round are allowed.
Extra actions granted by Celerity may not be used the same turn that this lion is conjured nor may they be used in the
same turn the lion is directed. The lion does not get any off hand actions and cannot benefit from Celerity (or Temporis).
This lion may only be commanded to make attacks against infernal beings or those who have made an infernal pact, but
possessing this power does not tell you if someone is infernal. It will never make any attack against individuals who do not
have an infernal pact, though if a non infernal person has been taken control of by an infernal item it will attack them. If the
Necromancer is foolish enough to risk directing the Lion of Zion to attack someone without proof that their target is
infernal or if they order it to attack based upon bad intelligence and they are wrong the Lion will instead attack the
Necromancer and automatically inflict one level of aggravated damage which may not be tested down through Fortitude.
The lion will disapear and the power may not be used again for 48 hours. If the user of this power is forced through
Dominate or similar powers to direct the Lion to attack a noninfernal the lion will ignore the command. This Lion of Zion
cannot be forgotten. Attempts to make a mortal forget this agent of the divine and it's actions will automatically fail, God
does not let his agents be forgotten. Attempts to make a target forget other people present proceed normally. Possessing
this power automatically means that the PC has gained the flaw Enemy (The Infernal) 1. This may not be bought off ever.
Example: Pinocchio Giovanni is walking his dog through the family plot when he spots 6 mortal teenagers and an imp
performing profane rites. He gets up close and summons the Lion. The mortals all scatter and run for it and the imp flies to
a nearby tree branch. (end round one) The imp decides to throw a fireball at the Lion. The fireball can't hurt the Lion so it
relents. On Pinocchio's action the lion leaps upward an swipes at the imp bidding Potent and, because it's moving, Searing
enough to strike the imp. The imp bids dexterous enough to not be hit. Player and st chop and tie. As the lion has access
to Pinocchio's ties the lion wins and deals two lethal damage to the imp. End round two. The Lion of Zion now has more
traits than the imp so it goes first. It again leaps into the air and swats at the imp bidding Potent and Searing enough to do
so. The imp bids dexterous enough to not get hit. Player and ST chop it out and Pinocchio's player flat out loses the chops.
The imp decides to attack the necromancer and throws a fireball at Pinochio. The Lion bids that it is searing enough to
twist in the air and take the hit for Pinocchio. Player and ST chop it out and player wins. The Lion takes the blow meant for
Pinocchio, though it of course suffers no ill effect. At two traits in this the third round one of the mortal teenager's come
back. The imp uses it's social soliloquy to say "Shoot him" and points at Pinocchio. The mortal draws a gun and attempts
to shoot Pinocchio. Pinocchio cannot attempt to dodge or to be tough enough to take the blow because he is actively
directing the Lion, and the lion has already made it's one attempt to intercept an attack meant for Pinocchio and so it can't
make an attempt again. And since the Lion is in front of Pinocchio and the mortal is shooting Pinocchio in the back the
Lion couldn't feasibly move to take the hit and wouldn't have been able to try anyway. Thus Pinocchio takes a lethal which
he tests down with Fortitude. At this point the imp chooses to fly away. Pinocchio knows if he has to deal with the
teenager without aid of the Lion as the teenage may not have made a pact with the Imp yet. He dismisses the Lion anduses his own Potence and Celerity to quickly beat the kid unconscious. He interrogates said kid and kills him after he finds
out the names of the other five kids and whether they'd made a pact with the devil yet. None have so he now has five
teenagers to track down and use Dominate on to erase his face from their memories. He will not be able to erase their
memory of a big glowing lion charging among them so he leaves their memories mostly in tact and they believe God sent
an Angel in the form of a lion to stop the rite they were doing, and that said Angel killed Teenage #6 because he did make a
deal with the devil they'd summoned.
Lamb of Zion: The necromancer has learned to use their absolute certainty in the existence of the divine, and the divine's
desire to smite the infernal to do just that; Smite them. When using any social power against an agent of the infernal or
anyone with infernal investment the Necromancer may bid the trait Angelic which may never be lost and may be
repeatedly bid against infernal agents in social challenges just as Intensity can in physical challenges with Potence. This
trait may only be bid against infernal beings or those who have made an infernal pact but possessing this power does not
tell you if someone is infernal. If the Necromancer is foolish enough to bid the Angelic trait against non-infernal without
proof or because of bad intelligence and they are wrong they suffer one level of aggravated damage which may not be
tested down through Fortitude and this power may not be used again for 48 hours. While using this power a life sized
glowing white lamb will appear next to the Necromancer. It is similar in appearance to a Patronus and memories of this
Lamb of Zion may simply not be suppressed. Any attempt to make a target forget this Lamb of Zion or it's actions will
automatically fail. God does not let his agents be forgotten. Attempts to make a target forget other people present proceed
normally. Possessing this power automatically means that the PC has gained the flaw Enemy (The Infernal) 2. This may
not be bought off ever.
Intermediate:
Owl of Zion: The necromancer has learned to use their absolute certainty in the existence of the divine, and the divine's
desire to smite the infernal to do just that; Smite them. When using any mental power against an agent of the infernal or
anyone with infernal investment the Necromancer may bid the mental trait Divinely Guided which may never be lost and
may be repeatedly bid against infernal agents in mental challenges just as Intensity can in physical challenges. It may not
be used in Firearms or Archery related challenges, regardless of if the if the target of the challenge is infernal or not. This
trait may only be bid against infernal beings or those who have made an infernal pact but possessing this power does not
automatically tell you if someone is infernal. If the Necromancer is foolish enough to use the the Divinely Guided trait
without proof or with bad intelligence and they are wrong they suffer one level of aggravated damage which may not be
tested down through Fortitude and this power may not be used again for 48 hours. When using this power a glowing white
owl, similar in appearance to a Patronus will appear seated upon the character's right shoulder. Any attempt to suppress
or erase memories of this Owl of Zion automatically fail. God does not allow his agents to be forgotten. Attempts to make
a target forget other people present proceed normally. Possessing this power automatically means that the PC has gained
the flaw Enemy (Infernal) 3. This may not be bought off ever.
Individuals with this power who also possess Aura Sight who look upon and successfully view the individuals aura's can
see infernal taint even if the individual has not used an infernal power in the last hour. If the possessor has Innocent's of
the Child's Heart and they have used any infernally granted power in the last hour, they are treated as if they didn't have
Innocent's of the Child's Heart. However any individual with a pact automatically knows that the possessor of this power
has it, and automatically knows when the possessor of this power has them in line of sight. This aspect of the power is
only usable if the Necromancer is in their own body though agents of the infernal and those with Infernal pacts know the
instant you have them in line of sight regardless of if your in your body or not. If the Necromancer is in Possession of
Subsume the Spirit and they use Aura Perception to try and learn if someone is infernal they must follow the regular rules
for detecting Infernal taint and do not gain the secondary benefits of Owl of Zion. A necromancer in a form power such as
bat form from shape of the beast is still in their own body and the secondary aspect of Owl of Zion works. The same is true
of a Necromancer in Blood form, Shadow body or Mist Form.
In addition, upon mastering this level of the Path of Absolute Certainty all PC's with Infernal pacts instantly are made
aware of your existence by their patron and will see your face, and the specifics of this path of Necromancy.
Washed Clean by Zion: At the end of any defensive challenge involving an infernal power where you have lost, spend three
temporary willpower. The power/ability is treated as if the resolution of challenge was in your favor. If you are out of
willpower and affected by mind control or a power that transforms you (IE your turned into a newt) you may, upon
regaining enough willpower spend three willpower to undo the mind control and or transformation. In addition you may
spend 3 willpower to undo mind control or a transformation of infernal origin which has been placed upon another person.
Doing this causes a glowing white human shaped form similar in appearance to a Patronus to appear and empty the
contents of a jar upon you. Memories of this indistinct being may not be forgotten, though attempts to erase or suppress
the memories of the faces of other people present at this time proceed normally.
Possessing this power automatically means that the PC has gained the flaw Enemy (Infernal) 4. This may not be bought
off ever.
Advanced:
Chains of Dante: When facing a infernal entity or anyone with an infernal pact the Necromancer may chose to permanently
destroy 1-3 magic items created by Necromantic rituals, and or fetter. Items created by other magics such as Entrap
Ephemera, garou fetishes do not work. Items created by true magic of Mages will work if the Sphere of Prime was used in
their creation. If not they will not work. For the next scene the infernal entity or individual with an infernal pact is down the
same number of traits when attacking anyone within 30 feet of the Necromancer. When attacking the Necromancer
himself, the infernal entity or individual with the infernal pact must bid the same number of traits extra on any aggressive
action towards the Necromancer.
When this power is used glowing white chains erupt from the earth and clasp themselves on the limbs of the infernalagent. Upon it's destruction they will drag it into the earth and a bright glowing Seal of Solomon will appear on the earth
which is clearly visible to anyone, including the blind, for one month afterwords; This Seal of Solomon will cause the
Infernal agent to be banished to hell for one millennium per magic item or fetter sacrificed.
Using this power when no infernal being is present is not a good idea. ST's have full license to make the players life
miserable and or kill the PC who does this.
Possessing this power automatically means that the PC has gained the flaw Enemy (Infernal) 5. This may not be bought
off ever.
Example: Pinocchio Giovanni and his Enforcer Juan Pisonob spot an imp causing havoc. Pinocchio sacrifices 1 fetter and
1 Bastico Diablico. The imp bids Dexterous throws a fireball at Juan who rushed it. The enforcer bids Dexterous. Both ST
and the Enforcer's player throw paper and compare ties. The imp normally has 10 traits, but due to Chain's of Dante it can
only declare 8. The enforcer declare's more.
Next round the imp decides that killing the necromancer who doesn't have combat training is a better match for it than
fighting a combat trained Enforcer. The imp throws the fireball at Pinocchio. Because Chain's of Dante is active it must bid
Dexterous x3 while Pinocchio bids a single Quick. Both throw rock. The imp lost last round and would normally bid 9, but
due to Chain's of Dante it only bids 7. Pinocchio bids more and the imp's really in trouble because it loses all three
Dexterous traits and only has 6 usable traits and can only currently bid 4.
Date of Archival: 29-Jan-2015
Giovanni