Campaign of the Month: October 2017
Blood & Bourbon
Celerity
“When my energies first surged through me I discovered how to move like lightning.”
The Book of Nod
Report #600—Unnatural Speed
We have now observed on 37* occasions the unnatural speed of the blankbody. The species is capable of bursts of
speed and grace, appearing before one of us, moving to the rear, and biting from behind in what is estimated to be fewer than two seconds. Additionally, some rare blankbodies have shown they can continue acting at this fast rate, appearing down the other end of a street in ten seconds when it should take 60.
There is no known remedy or defense against this quickness, which acts as one of the greatest threats to our termination of the species. It is supposed that they require blood in their systems to act in this way, but we do not know how much or how long said blood fuels their actions.
Current protocol is to record blankbodies of this type from a distance. If cornered by one, permission is granted to detonate a microbomb on the agent’s person, as even the fast types do not show resistance to areas of fire or shrapnel. Slowing or destroying one of these creatures is worth a single agent’s life.
*at time of report.
Clans: Banu Haqim, Brujah, Toreador
Nicknames: Bolting (common), slipping (common), super-speed (vulgar), velocitas (traditional)
Overview
Vampire the Masquerade (4th ed.)
Not all vampires are slow, meticulous creatures. When needed, some vampires can move fast. Really fast. Celerity allows Assamites, Brujah, and Toreador to move with astonishing swiftness, becoming practically a blur. The Assamites use their speed in conjunction with stealth to strike quickly and viciously from the shadows before they are noticed. Brujah, on the other hand, simply like the edge that the power gives them against overwhelming odds. The Toreador are more inclined to use Celerity to provide an air of unnatural grace to live performances or for an extra push to complete a masterpiece on time, but they can be as quick to draw blood as any assassin or punk when angered.
Vampire the Requiem (1st ed.)
Tales and legends of vampires ascribe to them inhuman speed, the ability to move faster than the eye can see, and even to appear in two places at once. While some of those accounts are exaggerated, Kindred with the Discipline of Celerity can indeed move far faster than any mortal. They appear to blur into nothingness, all others moving as if in slow motion in comparison.
Note that Celerity is obviously superhuman in use. Few princes smile upon uses of Celerity that leave too many curious mortal witnesses unaccounted for.
Vampire the Requiem (2nd ed.)
Unleashing their Beast, a vampire can cross vast distances in the blink of an eye, catch a thrown punch before their attacker has even moved a muscle, or snatch a gun barrel away from someone’s temple before they can pull the trigger. Celerity makes a vampire so fast that it’s as if they never have to move at all.
Vampire the Masquerade (5th ed.)
The ability to strike fast, dodge blows, and escape pursuers allows Kindred to become extremely effective predators. Celerity enables vampires to move faster than any natural creature, though it does more than grant a supernatural speed, with vampires employing it actually appearing to think almost as fast as they act. While some vampires use to slice and stab at enemies without fear of riposte, others simply use it to get from A to B faster than any other person on foot.
Characteristics
• Type: Physical
• Masquerade Threat: Medium-High. Most Celerity powers are clearly inhuman, the only saving grace being that they’re very hard to catch on film or photograph.
• Blood Resonance: Choleric. Fear and utter terror, runners, athletes, amphetamine and alkaloid users, habitual players of first-person shooters and other twitch games.
Celerity • Devotions
Common Devotions
The vampire must take Alacrity for their first one-dot Celerity Devotion.
Alacrity
The vampire is preternaturally fast. This confers several benefits:
• The vampire adds their Celerity dots to their Dexterity dots. This can increase their Dexterity to 6 or more.
• The vampire runs at the following approximate speeds: ~25 mph (Celerity •), ~50 mph (Celerity ••), ~100 mph (Celerity •••), ~200 mph (Celerity ••••), ~400 mph (Celerity •••••). At Celerity •, the vampire has Advantage on rolls to outrun someone with no Celerity. At Celerity ••+, the vampire has Advantage on rolls to outrun someone with lower Celerity, and Major Advantage on rolls to outrun someone with no Celerity. Night-folk with other forms of supernatural speed count as having Celerity.
Cost: Varies.
• The Dexterity bonus is free.
• Running faster costs 1 Rouse check per dot the vampire’s Celerity exceeds their Blood Potency. (For example, it costs 4 Rouse checks for a Blood Potency 1 vampire with Celerity 5 to run at ~400 mph.) The vampire can run at a lower Celerity speed if they don’t want to pay a Rouse cost. This may cause them to take Advantage against fewer people.
Duration: Permanent (first use) or scene (second use)
Everfull Hand
The vampire can use anything with an edge or hard surface as a melee weapon. Pencils, hard drives, spoons, or deodorant sticks are all just as lethal in the vampire’s hands as a machete and don’t take any penalties for being improvised weapons. Real blades are still more useful (they count as two-handed rather than one-handed weapons and Specialties apply), but the vampire is a lot less likely to be caught unarmed. Most environments have something hard and handheld they can use.
Cost: Free
Hidden Hand
The vampire can perform a blindingly fast physical action within arm’s reach: e.g., stealing an item off someone, stacking a card deck, disassembling a gun, etc. The action can’t be an attack. Observers don’t notice what the vampire did unless it’s obvious (e.g., if the vampire moves a chair from one spot to another), and even then, they don’t know the vampire did it. Characters with Auspex, Celerity, or equivalent powers automatically notice what the vampire did.
Cost: 1 Rouse check. First use in a scene is free at Blood Potency 2+.
Hypermetabolism
The ghoul can burn through their own energy reserves to fuel their powers. By taking the Injured Condition (or increasing its penalties by 1), the ghoul can use a Devotion without making a Rouse check. If the Devotion costs two or more Rouse checks, it costs one Rouse check fewer. The ghoul can also take the Injured Condition and not have to eat, drink, or sleep for 24 hours.
Cost: Free
Million Mile Mouth
The vampire can talk over someone with a verbal torrent. Their speech is too fast to preempt or interrupt. Take Advantage on Social rolls where this bullish approach would be helpful. Other vampires with equal or higher Celerity or Auspex dots aren’t affected.
This Devotion is considered crass to use in Elysium.
Cost: 1 Rouse check. First use in a scene is free at Blood Potency 2+.
Posthaste
The vampire can complete independent physical tasks (e.g., cleaning up murder scenes, digging a grave, repairing a car) in half the usual time. Unlike the higher-dot versions of Posthaste, it doesn’t violate the Masquerade for mortals to see the vampire using this Devotion, though the vampire will stand out as an extremely hard worker.
Cost: Free
Weightless Tread
The vampire can run across water and other permeable surfaces as if they were fully solid. The vampire sinks if they stop running. The vampire is also effectively near-weightless for all other purposes (e.g., triggering pressure-sensitive plates, leaving footprints, or being carried by someone).
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-1. Free at Blood Potency 2+.
Duration: Scene
Uncommon Devotions
Enfeebling Aura
(Presence • amalgam)
Many Brujah masters of Celerity and Potence claim that Presence means nothing when you’re staring down a skull-crushing fist. This Devotion seeks to disprove that notion. It brings forth the vampire’s supernatural presence not to awe a crowd, but to cow and enfeeble a victim. While it won’t completely stop an assailant, it will even the playing field in a tussle.
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-1. Free at Blood Potency 2+.
Dice Pool: (Charisma or Manipulation) + (applicable Skill) + (Celerity or Presence)
DC: (1/2 victim’s [Resolve + Composure + Supernatural Tolerance]) + 1. Every success removes one dot from the victim’s highest physical Discipline. The vampire can also specify a Discipline to remove dots from.
Duration: Scene
Slow Fall
The vampire can survive falls from great heights without harm, slowing or accelerating their rate of descent at any point so they land on their feet. Anyone the vampire carries also benefits from this Devotion.
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-1. Free at Blood Potency 2+.
Duration: Scene
Celerity •• Devotions
Common Devotions
Creeping Crawl
The vampire can walk across vertical surfaces and cling to ceilings like a spider or gecko. The vampire’s feet and hands cling to whatever surface they walk upon. The vampire’s hair, clothes, and carried items are still subject to normal gravity: a sudden rain of loose change from the ceiling can be a give-away in the wrong circumstances.
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-2. Free at Blood Potency 3+.
Duration: Scene
Everfull Hand
This Devotion functions like Everfull Hand •, except the vampire can use soft and edgeless objects as melee weapons. Scarves, shirts, wrappers, and towels all become lethal instruments in the vampire’s hands and able to slice through flesh like steel. This Devotion is obviously unnatural to witness, but it ensures the vampire is practically only ever caught unarmed in a bare room.
Everfull Hand •: The vampire can use anything with an edge or hard surface as a melee weapon. Pencils, hard drives, spoons, or deodorant sticks are all just as lethal in the vampire’s hands as a machete and don’t take any penalties for being improvised weapons. Real blades are still more useful (they count as two-handed rather than one-handed weapons and Specialties apply), but the vampire is a lot less likely to be caught unarmed. Most environments have something hard and handheld they can use.
Prerequisite: Everfull Hand •
Cost: Free
Hidden Hand
This Devotion functions like Hidden Hand •, except the vampire can make a Clash of Wills to escape notice by characters with Auspex, Celerity, or equivalent powers.
Hidden Hand •: The vampire can perform a blindingly fast physical action within arm’s reach: e.g., stealing an item off someone, stacking a card deck, disassembling a gun, etc. The action can’t be an attack. Observers don’t notice what the vampire did unless it’s obvious (e.g., if the vampire moves a chair from one spot to another), and even then, they don’t know the vampire did it. Characters with Auspex, Celerity, or equivalent powers automatically notice what the vampire did.
Prerequisite: Hidden Hand •
Cost: 1 Rouse check. First use in a scene is free at Blood Potency 3+.
Posthaste
This Devotion functions like Posthaste •, except vampire can complete an independent physical task in a fraction of the normal time: for every hour the task would normally take, the vampire only spends a minute. The vampire can use this Devotion to clean up murder scenes, dig graves, fix cars, or even put together jigsaw puzzles in a blur of motion. Prolonged tasks, such as entering every possible combination into a safe with a lockout delay, simply take less time.
Posthaste •: The vampire can complete independent physical tasks (e.g., cleaning up murder scenes, digging a grave, repairing a car) in half the usual time. Unlike the higher-dot versions of Posthaste, it doesn’t violate the Masquerade for mortals to see the vampire using this Devotion, though the vampire will stand out as an extremely hard worker.
Prerequisite: Posthaste •
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-2. Free at Blood Potency 3+.
Duration: One scene or task, whichever is shorter.
Unseen Strike
The vampire can strike someone too fast for people to even see. When the vampire makes a combat roll against someone, people don’t notice unless they have preternatural speed or senses and the vampire fails a Clash of Wills. Someone toppling over dead in a public space will still attract notice, but people won’t see the vampire do it. The vampire can do all the things they’d do with a normal combat roll: kill or injure the target, disarm or incapacitate them, or just make them look weak.
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-2. Free at Blood Potency 3+.
Weightless Tread
This Devotion functions like Weightless Tread •, except it no longer costs a Rouse check and lasts for as long as the vampire wants it to.
Weightless Tread •: The vampire can run across water and other permeable surfaces as if they were fully solid. The vampire sinks if they stop running. The vampire is also effectively near-weightless for all other purposes (e.g., triggering pressure-sensitive plates, leaving footprints, or being carried by someone).
Prerequisite: Weightless Tread •
Cost: Free
Duration: Indefinite
Uncommon Devotions
Levitate
The vampire can float through the air at the same pace as a leisurely stroll. The vampire must remain within reach of a solid wall or surface—close enough for a jumping person to grab them. The vampire can use this Devotion to “walk” off buildings without falling, reach high places they normally couldn’t, or even float from a sidewalk to the top of a skyscraper (so long as they remain within reach of the building).
Prerequisites: Slow Fall •
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-2. Free at Blood Potency 3+.
Duration: Scene
Speed of Thought
(Auspex • amalgam)
The vampire can extend the benefits of Posthaste • to repetitive mental tasks, such as reading books, organizing papers, or working through math equations.
Posthaste •: The vampire can complete independent physical tasks (e.g., cleaning up murder scenes, digging a grave, repairing a car) in half the usual time. Unlike the higher-dot versions of Posthaste, it doesn’t violate the Masquerade for mortals to see the vampire using this Devotion, though the vampire will stand out as an extremely hard worker.
Prerequisite: Posthaste •
Celerity ••• Devotions
Common Devotions
Accelerate Metabolism
With a touch, the vampire can accelerate someone’s metabolic functions. Living victims of this power immediately grow starving, dehydrated, and sleep-deprived. (Many also soil themselves.) This Devotion has less effect against the undead, who have fewer biological frailties, but can make them burn through precious vitae. Some vampires use repeated applications of this Devotion as a torture technique, or simply to “soften up” interrogation subjects who’d otherwise take a while to properly starve and deprive of sleep.
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-3. Free at Blood Potency 4+.
Dice Pool: Dexterity + (Medicine, Brawl, or Intimidation). Remember that Celerity adds to Dexterity rolls.
DC: (1/2 victim’s [Resolve + Stamina + Supernatural Tolerance]) + 1. For every success that meets or exceeds the DC, living victims take an Injured level. Kindred victims increase their Hunger by an equal amount. Ghoul victims suffer both effects.
Already Dead
This Devotion functions as Unseen Strike, except the vampire can also delay the effects of their attack up to any point within the scene. The vampire can fatally stab someone in a subway terminal, leave, and have the victim topple over dead after they take the escalator out of the terminal and get into their car. Many Kindred also use this Devotion in duels to make a seemingly ineffective pass past an opponent, let them scoff, and then “realize” the full extent of their injuries.
Unseen Strike ••: The vampire can strike someone too fast for people to even see. When the vampire makes a combat roll against someone, people don’t notice unless they have preternatural speed or senses and the vampire fails a Clash of Wills. Someone toppling over dead in a public space will still attract notice, but people won’t see the vampire do it. The vampire can do all the things they’d do with a normal combat roll: kill or injure the target, disarm or incapacitate them, or just make them look weak.
Prerequisite: Unseen Strike ••
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-3. Free at Blood Potency 4+.
Blink
The vampire rapidly flashes from place to place. People don’t see them as anything more than a blur—they can make out the vampire’s rough height, build, and clothing, but not features. This lets the vampire stage ambushes (granting Advantage on their first attack roll against someone) and flee scenes or cross distances faster than any mortal can follow. Ambushing or outrunning another vampire with Auspex or Celerity (or other night-folk with preternatural speed or senses) takes a Clash of Wills.
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-3. Free at Blood Potency 4+.
Interrupt
The vampire can interrupt another character’s recent action and supersede it with their own, retconning it from having happened. For example, the vampire might stop a gunman from shooting someone by tackling them out of the way. The vampire must succeed on a Clash of Wills to interrupt other night-folk with preternatural speed. The vampire’s player must use this Devotion in their next post after whatever action they want to interrupt.
Cost: 2 Rouse checks at Blood Potency 0-3. 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 4+.
Posthaste
This Devotion functions like Posthaste ••, except the vampire can extend its benefits to other people, so long as they remain within the vampire’s line of sight for the duration of the task. Many hands can make for extraordinarily light and fast work.
Posthaste ••: This Devotion functions like Posthaste •, except vampire can complete an independent physical task in a fraction of the normal time: for every hour the task would normally take, the vampire only spends a minute. The vampire can use this Devotion to clean up murder scenes, dig graves, fix cars, or even put together jigsaw puzzles in a blur of motion. Prolonged tasks, such as entering every possible combination into a safe with a lockout delay, simply take less time.
Posthaste •: The vampire can complete independent physical tasks (e.g., cleaning up murder scenes, digging a grave, repairing a car) in half the usual time. Unlike the higher-dot versions of Posthaste, it doesn’t violate the Masquerade for mortals to see the vampire using this Devotion, though the vampire will stand out as an extremely hard worker.
Prerequisite: Posthaste •, Posthaste ••
Cost: 1 Rouse check per individual affected. First use in a scene is free at Blood Potency 4+.
Duration: One scene or task, whichever is shorter.
Tireless Tread
The vampire is indefatigable and no longer pays a Rouse cost to run at high speeds using Alacrity. Even a vampire with Blood Potency 1 and Celerity 5 can run at their maximum speed (~400 mph) without spending any blood.
Ghouls with this Devotion reduce Alacrity’s cost to 1 Rouse check per dot by which their Celerity exceeds their Stamina.
Unseen Tread
Ordinary mortals don’t see the vampire when they run at accelerated speed using Alacrity. Motion-sensitive devices can still detect the vampire, as can other night-folk with preternatural speed or senses.
Cost: 1 Rouse checks at Blood Potency 0-3. Free at Blood Potency 4+.
Duration: Scene or until the vampire stops running. They must remain in constant motion to take advantage of the Devotion.
Untouchable
The vampire becomes a blur of motion. Fists, swords, and even bullets whiz harmlessly past them. As long as the vampire doesn’t attack anyone, they can only be physically attacked by another Celerity user (or other night-folk with preternatural speed) who they fail a Clash of Wills against. The vampire has to stay constantly moving to maintain this Devotion’s protection, but can remain within the same room.
Cost: 2 Rouse checks at Blood Potency 0-3. 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 4+.
Duration: Scene
Uncommon Devotions
Hover
The vampire can float through the air in any direction as fast as they run. The vampire still needs to be within reach of a solid surface, as with Levitate, so they can’t “fly” higher than someone can jump if they take off directly from the ground. Still, the vampire’s greater speed lets them strafe opponents in combat and get places more quickly. Levitate can take over 10 minutes to climb many skyscrapers, but Hover can get the vampire there as fast as a speeding car. Additionally, this Devotion no longer carries a Rouse cost.
Prerequisites: Slow Fall •, Levitate ••
Cost: Free
Speed of Thought
(Auspex •• amalgam)
The vampire can extend the benefits of Posthaste •• to repetitive mental tasks, such as reading books, organizing papers, or working through math equations.
Posthaste ••: This Devotion functions like Posthaste •, except vampire can complete an independent physical task in a fraction of the normal time: for every hour the task would normally take, the vampire only spends a minute. The vampire can use this Devotion to clean up murder scenes, dig graves, fix cars, or even put together jigsaw puzzles in a blur of motion. Prolonged tasks, such as entering every possible combination into a safe with a lockout delay, simply take less time.
Posthaste •: The vampire can complete independent physical tasks (e.g., cleaning up murder scenes, digging a grave, repairing a car) in half the usual time. Unlike the higher-dot versions of Posthaste, it doesn’t violate the Masquerade for mortals to see the vampire using this Devotion, though the vampire will stand out as an extremely hard worker.
Prerequisites: Posthaste •, Posthaste ••, Speed of Thought ••
Victual from Afar
(Auspex •••• amalgam)
The vampire can feed their ghouls blood remotely, mystically transporting vitae from their veins into their ghouls’. The vampire still needs to use other powers if they want to know how badly their ghouls need blood, but it’s useful if a ghoul disappears, can call their domitor over the phone, or if the vampire is physically prevented from reaching a servant they know can help them.
If a ghoul takes this Devotion, their domitor can send blood only to them, but the ghoul can telepathically request blood at any point. The ghoul can’t communicate anything besides a wordless hunger for blood. Most domitors severely discipline their ghouls to only use this Devotion in emergencies, but addicts will do anything for a fix.
Unlike most amalgam Devotions, the vampire and the ghoul can split the prerequisites between each other. For example, a vampire with Auspex 4 and no dots in Celerity or Fortitude could still take this Devotion, but could only send blood to ghouls with Celerity 3 or Fortitude 3. A ghoul with Auspex 4 and no dots in Celerity or Fortitude could also take this Devotion, so long as their domitor has Celerity 3 or Fortitude 3.
Cost: Free, but blood transmitted between ghouls and vampires not in the same city costs a “surcharge” of 1 Rouse check per 500 miles.
Celerity •••• Devotions
Common Devotions
Draught of Elegance
The vampire can saturate their blood with the power of Celerity, conveying a portion of that grace to anyone who drinks of it. Drinking a Rouse check’s worth of blood lets the drinker temporarily use the vampire’s Celerity dots in place of their own. The drinker gains no additional Devotions besides Alacrity.
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-4. Free at Blood Potency 5+. This is in addition to the requirement that the drinker consume a Rouse check’s worth of the vampire’s blood.
Duration: One night for mortals and ghouls; for other vampires, until the next feeding or the other vampire reaches Hunger 6.
Ghoststep
The vampire becomes effectively insubstantial, ceasing to be affected by the laws of nature. The vampire can move in any direction in spite of obstructions, gravity, or logic: the vampire can run through a wall or other solid barrier as if it wasn’t there, run across water, run up a wall, run across a ceiling, and so on. The vampire is immune to damage from environmental hazards while they move except for fire, sunlight, and banes.
Cost: 2 Rouse checks at Blood Potency 0-4. 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 5+.
Duration: One dice roll’s worth of actions, or several seconds’ worth of time.
Interrupt
This Devotion functions like Interrupt •••, except the vampire can take two actions instead of just one. For example, the vampire might stop a gunman from shooting someone by tackling them out of the way, then handcuffing them to a table or removing them from the building. The vampire can’t physically attack someone more than once.
Interrupt •••: The vampire can interrupt another character’s recent action and supersede it with their own, retconning it from having happened. For example, the vampire might stop a gunman from shooting someone by tackling them out of the way. The vampire must succeed on a Clash of Wills to interrupt other night-folk with preternatural speed. The vampire’s player must use this Devotion in their next post after whatever action they want to interrupt.
Prerequisite: Interrupt •••
Cost: 3 Rouse checks at Blood Potency 0-4. 2 Rouse checks at Blood Potency 5+.
Posthaste
This Devotion functions like Posthaste ••, except the vampire no longer pays a Rouse cost to accomplish hour-long physical tasks in a minute. By making 1 Rouse check, the vampire can accomplish any physical task that takes up to 24 hours in only a minute. The vampire can’t extend these benefits to other people, but can still pay Rouse checks to have them accomplish hour-long tasks in a minute.
Posthaste •••: This Devotion functions like Posthaste ••, except the vampire can extend its benefits to other people, so long as they remain within the vampire’s line of sight for the duration of the task. Many hands can make for extraordinarily light and fast work.
Posthaste ••: This Devotion functions like Posthaste •, except vampire can complete an independent physical task in a fraction of the normal time: for every hour the task would normally take, the vampire only spends a minute. The vampire can use this Devotion to clean up murder scenes, dig graves, fix cars, or even put together jigsaw puzzles in a blur of motion. Prolonged tasks, such as entering every possible combination into a safe with a lockout delay, simply take less time.
Posthaste •: The vampire can complete independent physical tasks (e.g., cleaning up murder scenes, digging a grave, repairing a car) in half the usual time. Unlike the higher-dot versions of Posthaste, it doesn’t violate the Masquerade for mortals to see the vampire using this Devotion, though the vampire will stand out as an extremely hard worker.
Prerequisite: Posthaste •, Posthaste ••, Posthaste •••
Cost: As above. First 24-hour use in a night is free at Blood Potency 5+.
Duration: One scene or task, whichever is shorter.
Unseen Tread
This Devotion functions like Unseen Tread •••, except ordinary mortals can’t hear, smell, or otherwise perceive the vampire while they remain in motion. The vampire can also make a Clash of Wills to avoid detection by night-folk with preternatural speed or senses.
Unseen Tread ••: Ordinary mortals don’t see the vampire when they run at accelerated speed using Alacrity. Motion-sensitive devices can still detect the vampire, as can other night-folk with preternatural speed or senses.
Prerequisite: Unseen Tread •••
Cost: 1 Rouse checks at Blood Potency 0-4. Free at Blood Potency 5+.
Duration: Scene or until the vampire stops running. They must remain in constant motion to take advantage of the Devotion.
Uncommon Devotions
Burning Tread
The vampire can start fires from the friction of their footfalls when they run. The vampire has no control over these fires after they start, but they burn out after only several seconds. Among other uses, this Devotion can be used offensively in combat, to destroy surfaces or objects the vampire runs over, or to simply drive away other Kindred (which trigger frenzy as normal). The vampire doesn’t risk frenzy from these fires unless they’re prevented from running away.
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-4. Free at Blood Potency 5+.
Duration: Scene
Glide
The vampire can fly through the air in any direction except upwards. The vampire can fly as fast as they run and no longer needs to be within reach of a solid surface. If the vampire jumps off a high vantage point, they can soar through the sky like a bird, potentially hundreds of feet in the air. The vampire can’t gain altitude in mid-air. If the vampire vertically takes off from the ground, they can’t ascend higher than they can jump. The vampire can still use the Hover Devotion to gain altitude by “climbing” solid surfaces within their reach. In olden times, many vampires used this Devotion in combination with Alacrity to travel great distances.
Ghouls can’t take this Devotion.
Prerequisites: Slow Fall •, Levitate ••, Hover •••
Cost: Free
Not There
This Devotion functions like Blink, except the vampire doesn’t just blur: they straight-up vanish. They’re effectively invisible for as long as they keep moving. The vampire can kill or abduct someone, steal things, get into or out of areas, and do it all without onlookers knowing who was there. The vampire still makes noise, though, and the aftereffects of their actions may be obvious. The vampire must succeed on a Clash of Wills to stay invisible to night-folk with preternatural speed or senses.
Blink •••: The vampire rapidly flashes from place to place. People don’t see them as anything more than a blur—they can make out the vampire’s rough height, build, and clothing, but not features. This lets the vampire stage ambushes (granting Advantage on their first attack roll against someone) and flee scenes or cross distances faster than any mortal can follow. Ambushing or outrunning another vampire with Auspex or Celerity (or other night-folk with preternatural speed or senses) takes a Clash of Wills.
Prerequisite: Blink •••
Cost: 1 Rouse check per unseen action. First use in a scene is free at Blood Potency 5+.
Speed of Thought
(Auspex ••• amalgam)
The vampire can extend the benefits of Posthaste ••• to repetitive mental tasks, such as reading books, organizing papers, or working through math equations.
Posthaste •••: This Devotion functions like Posthaste ••, except the vampire can extend its benefits to other people, so long as they remain within the vampire’s line of sight for the duration of the task. Many hands can make for extraordinarily light and fast work.
Posthaste ••: This Devotion functions like Posthaste •, except vampire can complete an independent physical task in a fraction of the normal time: for every hour the task would normally take, the vampire only spends a minute. The vampire can use this Devotion to clean up murder scenes, dig graves, fix cars, or even put together jigsaw puzzles in a blur of motion. Prolonged tasks, such as entering every possible combination into a safe with a lockout delay, simply take less time.
Posthaste •: The vampire can complete independent physical tasks (e.g., cleaning up murder scenes, digging a grave, repairing a car) in half the usual time. Unlike the higher-dot versions of Posthaste, it doesn’t violate the Masquerade for mortals to see the vampire using this Devotion, though the vampire will stand out as an extremely hard worker.
Prerequisites: Posthaste •, Posthaste ••, Posthaste •••, Speed of Thought ••, Speed of Thought •••
Celerity ••••• Devotions
Common Devotions
Draught of Elegance
This Devotion functions like Draught of Elegance ••••, except the drinkers gain one additional Devotion for every new Celerity level they gain. These Devotions must be known by the vampire.
The drinker must gain Devotions at the corresponding Celerity levels; for example, a drinker who gains Celerity ••••• must gain Alacrity, a Celerity •• Devotion, a Celerity ••• Devotion, a Celerity •••• Devotion, and a Celerity •••• Devotion, rather than Alacrity and four Celerity ••••• Devotions.
If the drinker already knows Celerity, they still gain new Devotions at levels the drinker already knows.
Draught of Elegance ••••: The vampire can saturate their blood with the power of Celerity, conveying a portion of that grace to anyone who drinks of it. Drinking a Rouse check’s worth of blood lets the drinker temporarily use the vampire’s Celerity dots in place of their own. The drinker gains no additional Devotions besides Alacrity.
Prerequisite: Draught of Elegance ••••
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-5. Free at Blood Potency 6+. This is in addition to the requirement that the drinker consume a Rouse check’s worth of the vampire’s blood.
Duration: One night for mortals and ghouls; for other vampires, until the next feeding or the other vampire reaches Hunger 6.
Ghostwalk
This Devotion functions like Ghoststep, except the duration is extended. The vampire can move through any number of walls or solid barriers and avoid any number of environmental hazards while the Devotion is active. Additionally, if the vampire ventures into fire, sunlight, or banes, they only have to make one dice roll to resist damage. If they’d only have to make one roll anyway, roll with Advantage.
Ghoststep ••••: The vampire becomes effectively insubstantial, ceasing to be affected by the laws of nature. The vampire can move in any direction in spite of obstructions, gravity, or logic: the vampire can run through a wall or other solid barrier as if it wasn’t there, run across water, run up a wall, run across a ceiling, and so on. The vampire is immune to damage from environmental hazards while they move except for fire, sunlight, and banes.
Prerequisite: Ghoststep ••••
Cost: 2 Rouse checks at Blood Potency 0-5. 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 6+.
Duration: Scene
Interrupt
This Devotion functions like Interrupt •••, except the vampire can take up to a scene’s worth of actions instead of just one action. For example, the vampire might stop a gunman from shooting someone by tackling them out of the way, throwing away the gunman’s weapon, racing across town with the gunman back to their haven, chaining the gunman to a bed, and any number of further possible actions. This Devotion can burn through a great deal of blood, however. The vampire can’t make more than one physical attack.
_*Interrupt ••••:* This Devotion functions like Interrupt •••, except the vampire can take two actions instead of just one. For example, the vampire might stop a gunman from shooting someone by tackling them out of the way, then handcuffing them to a table or removing them from the building. The vampire can’t physically attack someone more than once.
Interrupt •••: The vampire can interrupt another character’s recent action and supersede it with their own, retconning it from having happened. For example, the vampire might stop a gunman from shooting someone by tackling them out of the way. The vampire must succeed on a Clash of Wills to interrupt other night-folk with preternatural speed. The vampire’s player must use this Devotion in their next post after whatever action they want to interrupt.
Prerequisite: Interrupt •••, Interrupt ••••
Cost: 1 Rouse check, plus 1 extra Rouse check per action taken. Reduce this Rouse cost by 1 at Blood Potency 6+.
Uncommon Devotions
Burning Tread
This Devotion functions like Burning Tread ••••, except the vampire’s fires don’t gutter out after several seconds. Until they’re extinguished by an external source, they keep burning. For obvious reasons, this Devotion can be extremely dangerous for any vampire to use. Slower vampires can find it even more dangerous to face, though.
Burning Tread ••••: The vampire can start fires from the friction of their footfalls when they run. The vampire has no control over these fires after they start, but they burn out after only several seconds. Among other uses, this Devotion can be used offensively in combat, to destroy surfaces or objects the vampire runs over, or to simply drive away other Kindred (which trigger frenzy as normal). The vampire doesn’t risk frenzy from these fires unless they’re prevented from running away.
Prerequisite: Burning Tread ••••
Cost: 1 Rouse check at Blood Potency 0-5. Free at Blood Potency 6+.
Duration: Scene
Flight
The vampire can fly through the air in any direction, including upwards. The vampire doesn’t need to be within reach of a solid surface and can fly in a straight line from the ground to thousands of feet in the sky. The vampire can fly as fast as they run. When combined with Alacrity, this Devotion lets the vampire rapidly travel vast distances, and even cross oceans if they time their flight and have a means of navigation. This Devotion is also extremely useful at escaping fights—it takes a Clash of Wills and a Brawl roll for opponents to restrain the vampire if the vampire has room to maneuver. Opponents incapable of vertical flight take Disadvantage on the former roll. Another popular use for this Devotion is to drop enemies from vast heights.
Ghouls can’t take this Devotion.
Prerequisites: Slow Fall •, Levitate ••, Hover •••, Glide ••••
Cost: Free
Penumbral Sprint
The vampire can run into extradimensional realms that overlap with mundane reality, such as the Shadowlands, the Spirit World, or the nearest regions of the Hedge. The vampire can only take whatever people or objects they can carry. This Devotion can only be used to access a single extradimensional realm, determined when the Devotion is first taught to the vampire. The vampire can learn this Devotion more than once to access additional realms, but such is rare.
Cost: 1 Rouse check per local Gauntlet rating, Shroud rating, or other applicable rating to determine how thick the barrier between worlds is. Reduce the Rouse cost by 1 at Blood Potency 6+.
Disciplines Portal
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by:
False_Epiphany