Custom Discipline

Inceptor Discipline - Mastermind

AKA Everything is Scarier than Me

People who practice this are called Pariah Oracles

WARNING: Those that learn this are unable to learn Auspex.

The concept of Insight amidst the Caitiff and higher generation Kindred is not always so clear. There are always those who fall prey to Cassandra’s kiss and become oracles of a sort. There are others who, without realizing it, create immense tactically advantageous plans to the point where half the time they are unsure why everything fits together, BUT THEY KNOW IT DOES.

This inceptor discipline is built along the idea of using these powers to subtly observe and plan for events. In reality, it’s just another use of the prophetic abilities of those who lost the generation lotto.

*Social Outmaneuvering aka Don’t MIND ME, I’m JUST AN UGLY NOSFERATU

The clan of Pariah’s has always been full of skilled behind the scenes manipulators. The youngest of which maintain a macabre showcase of social grace and can create clear parallels of appropriate and inappropriate behavior.

By making a Social Challenge, difficult the number of people in a scene, Retest Etiquette, before a scene has begun the young Nosferatu’s sheer existence points out the flaws in others behavior allowing the Kindred to block a single use of the Etiquette ability.

**Relationship Board aka Weird Crazy People Yarn Chart

Elders are the most skilled manipulators of people, often spinning near endless webs of influence. If there is a web, there are threads. Threads connect countless individuals together and like a deranged serial killer, a Pariah can utilize these crazy yarn charts to figure out where someone’s resources lie.

First to build a board, the Pariah Oracle must spend a Willpower and make a Static Mental Challenge, Retest Crafts, difficulty equal to the different number of influences and backgrounds their target has, excluding Generation. So, if someone only has Resources x4, Herd x2, and no influence, the challenge is against 2, not 6.

Then once the board is built the Pariah Oracle, once a night, may make a Mental Challenge vs 8 and spend a number of Mental Traits then ask a single question per Mental Trait about the target’s backgrounds. Mental Traits spent in this way are unable to be refreshed via Willpower.

Boards made in this way only last a month from the moment they are finished and take a number of days to build equal to the number of different backgrounds (including Generation) that the target has.

***Logical Conclusion aka The Sherlock Holmes Thingy

By examining a person, place or thing, logical conclusions can be made. You’ve changed your clothes, though there is still dirt under your fingernails. You brushed your teeth but your breath still smells of blood. You sir, are likely to be the Gangrel that broke the Toreador’s domain!

By staring intently and making a Static Mental vs the target’s Social (4 for objects and place) Challenge, Retest Investigation, the user may ask a question similar to Auspex 2: Aura Perception. However, instead of asking questions related to the aura of the object, they are able to ask questions related to where it has been, what it was doing, or a related mannerism. The difficulty of the challenge is increased by 1 for every day back the question is related.

Storytellers are encouraged to have the Static Challenge overbid the Pariah Oracle.

****Decisive Planning aka Bill and Ted’s Most Excellent Trick

Bill and Ted traveled through time to do their trick, but the Pariah Oracle is always preparing and setting up for the future. By using this level, a Pariah is able to utilize this to in effect have already prepared for something they needed. Anything done using this power must be able to be explained in one sentence. “Luckily I hacked it earlier and it should open right about… now!” is acceptable.

By spending a use of the Insight background, the Pariah may attempt a challenge or take an action that they should have attempted earlier in the evening. On failure, the Pariah was too busy thinking about it that they actually forgot to do the thing.

For every Willpower spent using this discipline, the preparation time can be extended by a week. If no Willpower is spent, it has to be an action that could have been accomplished earlier that day.

*****The Butterfly Effect aka House of Cards the TV Show

By pushing a cart, moving a log, and dropping a penny at the right time so that it’s picked up by the right person, mysterious things can happen. The Butterfly Effect lets you create a system of happenstance that directly prevents someone from correctly moving their resources or puts the phones of their retainers out of service.

Spend a Willpower and make a Mental Challenge vs 2 times the level of the background. With success, for the next 24 hours that background is unable to be used. It is required for the player using the Butterfly Effect to create a list of weird happenstances that are to be given to the player whose background was shut off in this fashion so its people can explain to it exactly why they were out of action.