Vampire/Theme/Bloodlines/Mystikoi

General Information

 Parent Clan/Covenant: Gangrel

 Sobriquet: Illuminated, Bureaucrats (Archaic)

 Source: Ancient Bloodlines pg 130

 Disciplines: Auspex, Animalism, Protean, Resilience

Bloodline Gift: Embracing the Invisible Other

By reflexively spending one Vitae, one of the Illuminated may attempt to ride the wave of frenzy even if she would normally be unable to do so, such as if she were already in a frenzy or under the effects of Dominate. Additionally, add the Illuminated's Auspex dots to rolls to ride the wave of frenzy.

Bloodline Bane

A Mystikos may never spend Willpower to add dice to a roll to resist frenzy (though she may do so to ride the wave). The Mystikos may not spend a Willpower point to resist a Discipline or other supernatural power that would force her into frenzy. The Coil of the Beast, too, works slightly differently for the Illuminated; Leash the Beast does not waive the Willpower point requirement to ride the wave.

Devotions

Eyes of the Inner Archon (Auspex •••, Resilience ••)

The Illuminated closes her eyes, opening her soul to the wisdom of the Beast. When she opens her eyes again, they have filled with the rage of the Beast, transforming into a pair of slits, not unlike a great cat, that reflect red when they catch the light. While in this frenzy, she casts down the lies of the demiurge in order to perceive the purer spiritual truth of the world.

 Cost: 1 vitae, 1 willpower

 Dice Pool: Resolve + Composure + Auspex

 Action: Extended. Each roll represents one turn of concentration. Five successes are required. If the character possesses Leash the Beast, activating this power requires only three successes. Due to the Mistikoi’s bloodline weakness, it still costs a Willpower point.

 Dramatic Failure: The character fails utterly, accidentally loosing the Beast upon herself. She immediately enters an uncontrolled frenzy. She may not use Embracing the Invisible Other to resist or exit it.

 Failure: The character enters an uncontrolled frenzy.

 Success: Upon accumulating the required successes, the character enters a form of half-frenzy in which she can perceive entities in Twilight and communicate through speech with them for the remainder of the scene. She rides the razor's edge of frenzy and must make a reflexive Resolve + Composure roll for each minute of conversation she engages in. If she fails, the power ends and she enters an immediate uncontrolled frenzy. Otherwise, the player may end the power voluntarily, choosing whether the character rides the wave or abandons frenzy entirely.

 Exceptional Success: As above, save the character and her Beast act as one. She need not roll to resist frenzy during the course of the power, and she receives a +2 bonus to all Perception rolls.

This Devotion costs 2 Experience.

Communion with the Higher Realms (Auspex ••••, Resilience ••)

The Illuminated learns to let go of her Beast, allowing it to roam free and join the sacred breath of the Holy Spirit. As her Beast communes with the divine, she falls into a deep sleep reminiscent of torpor from which she cannot be awakened. When she opens her eyes again, she has gleaned information from the cosmos and garnered truth from the Holy Spirit.

 Cost: 1 vitae, 1 willpower

 Dice Pool: Resolve + Composure + Auspex

 Action: Instant

 Dramatic Failure: The character fails utterly, accidentally loosing the Beast upon herself. She immediately enters an uncontrolled frenzy. She may not utilize Embracing the Invisible Other, Leashing the Beast or Chastise the Beast to resist or exit it.

 Failure: The character enters an uncontrolled frenzy.

 Success: The character enters a death-like trance and casts her Beast into the void. She remains in the trance for an hour minus five minutes per success rolled.

 Exceptional Success: Additional successes are their own reward.

The character must specify a particular question or concern she wishes information on before activating the power. If successful, the character awakes with memories of a surreal vision that offers insight into the question. These can be prophetic, but more typically offer abstract clues to help the character resolve the situation at hand. The Storyteller may be as obtuse with this information as she wishes, but is encouraged to make it useful.

Mechanically, the character gains a +2 to all rolls to investigate the dream imagery (including rolls to investigate the subject of the vision). Furthermore, she acquires a +3 bonus to apply to a single roll that works towards resolving the situation (as she comes to understand some of the imagery in a sudden flashing moment of insight). The character may benefit from only one vision at any given time. Using this power a second time removes all mechanical benefits garnered from the first use.

Suggested modifiers:

• The character meditates successfully prior to the ritual (+2)
• The character is in the vicinity of a powerful Wyrm's Nest (+2)
• The character is in the vicinity of a weak Wyrm's Nest (+1)
• The character is Hungry (-1)
• The character is Starving (-2)
• The character is in a distracting environment (-1 to -3)

This Devotion costs 3 Experiences.

Accepting the Mantle of the Divine (Auspex ••••, Protean ••••)

Elder Illuminated profess not only to an understanding of the nature of reality above that of any other Kindred, but also defend that knowledge with powers beyond the pale of the average vampire’s experience. Such savants become changed by their encounters with the divine, their forms shifting and gaining features that are at turns angelic and demonic.

Through this power the Mystikos allows her Beast to rise to the surface of her flesh, blending her body and spirit into a single terrible whole. She gains subtle inhuman features, often based in part on the Disciplines she knows. A character’s skin may seem to thicken into a gray or hairless hide or chitenous shell (Resilience), become translucent, or develop chameleon scales (Obfuscate). More exotic Disciplines result in stranger changes: she may develop animalistic features such as tufted ears or elongated fingers tipped with sharp claws (Protean) or gain unusual or unpleasant mutations that seem utterly alien to this world (Spiritus Sancti). Such changes risk the Masquerade, so Mystikoi under the influence of this power take pains to hide their deformities.

Worse yet, the character’s Beast becomes infused in her flesh, making it impossible for the character to utilize the other Mystikoi Devotions. The advantages, however, are considerable, and a character who has accepted the Mantle of the Divine becomes a terrible foe to her enemies.

 Cost: 1 vitae, 2 willpower

 Dice Pool: Resolve + Composure + Auspex

 Action: Extended. Each roll represents thirty minutes of prayer. Six successes are required. If the character possesses Leashing the Beast, activating this power requires only four successes.

 Dramatic Failure: The character fails utterly, accidentally loosing the Beast upon herself. She immediately enters an uncontrolled frenzy and remains in it for the rest of the scene. She may not utilize Embracing the Invisible Other, Leashing the Beast or Chastise the Beast to resist or exit it.

 Failure: The character enters an uncontrolled frenzy.

 Success: The character makes progress towards her goal. Upon accumulating the necessary number of successes, the character garners an Investment (see below). This Investment remains part of the character's person for one night per success on the activation roll. The power may not be ended early

 Exceptional Success: As above, save the power can be ended early at the character’s whim.

While this power is active the character loses access to all other Mystikoi devotions, and gains the benefits of the Protean •• and Protean •••• abilities, as if she had activated those powers normally, but can select different options for the duration of this activation without needing to sleep a full day and night in her Unmarked Grave to change them. In addition, she can select one Investment from the list below, which functions like an additional Unnatural Aspect, or may choose a second option from the list of Unnatural Aspects instead.

Finally, she gains the Unseen Sense Merit for all supernatural entities who can enter maddened rages (vampires and werewolves, for example) as well as for entities who exist primarily in Twilight (such as spirits and ghosts). By spending one Vitae, the character can perceive Twilight entities for twenty-one seconds (seven turns).

Investments:

Focused Will: The character gains the 9 again rule when spending Willpower for extra dice. When using Willpower to avoid being hit or otherwise resist a power, she enjoys a +4 rather than a +2 modifier.

Furious Strength: The character gains a bonus die to all physical dice pools. Furthermore, she benefits from the 9 again rule on such rolls. Finally, her attacks cause Knockdown

Incredible Hide: The character gains an Armor rating of 1 (this stacks with other forms of Armor and is not reduced by Armor piercing weapons) and ignores wound penalties.

Mandate of the Archons: The character may utilize the Dominate power Mesmerize (whether or not she has it) on spirits and ghosts. The Illuminated adds her Auspex rather than Dominate, and the Twilight entity resists with Power + Resistance. The character need not establish eye contact, but both the target and the Illuminated must be able to perceive one another. The power otherwise functions as normal, but the character may not use this Investment to control the actions of entities other than spirits or ghosts.

Predator's Awareness: The character gains a +1 to all Perception rolls. Furthermore, she benefits from the 9 again rule on such rolls. Finally, she benefits from the Danger Sense Merit.

Primal Appearance: The character gains the Striking Looks Merit at two dots for the duration of the Investment.

Resolute Heart: All attempts to influence the character’s mind, by Dominate, Majesty or other means, suffer a -3 penalty. Rolls for the character to resist or throw off mental influence receive a +3 dice bonus.

Vicious Bite: The character’s fangs elongate and sharpen, but can never be retracted while she benefits from this Investment. She need not grapple before making a bite attack and her fangs inflict aggravated damage.

This Devotion costs 4 Experience.