Daimoinon

• Sense the Sin

  Level 1

  The most dangerous enemy is, of course, the one within your own spirit. By speaking with an individual, the user of this power can discover her deepest vices, revealing her spiritual weaknesses to the user’s keen perception.

  Spend 1 Blood and use your standard action to gaze into your target’s soul. You must make an opposed challenge against your target, using the Daimoinon test pool. If you are successful, you discover how many Beast traits the target currently possesses, as well as the current level of her Morality. Additionally, you discover exactly how your target gained each Beast trait she possesses: specifically, when, where, under what circumstances, and for what reason.

• Fear the Void Below

  Level 2

  Those who learn the powers of Daimoinon soon begin to see the souls as of others as items to be chained, traded, and utilized for their own ambition or amusement. With this power, the user binds a target’s given word or promise to her primitive terror of ultimate destruction. Those who make such a compact know instinctively and utterly that breaking a promise bound by this power means sacrificing a part of their souls to the void below

  When another character makes a promise to you, you can spend 1 Blood and use a standard action to bind that promise with Fear the Void Below. If your target then breaks the promise bound by this power, she must contest against the infernal entities of Hell or be punished by their retribution. Activating this power requires an opposed challenge using the Daimoinon test pool. The target must make the promise of her own free will, and she cannot be coerced through threat or by use of supernatural powers. Further, breaches of this promise must be willing and cannot be similarly coerced.

  If an individual bound by Fear the Void Below is Dominated (or otherwise supernaturally forced) to break her promise, Fear the Void Below is not triggered. If the target thereafter breaks the promise of her own volition, Fear the Void Below will still take its toll, as per the normal effects of this power. Further, if an individual bound by your Fear the Void Below is supernaturally forced to break the promise, you are immediately aware of the circumstances under which the target has been forced to break their word.

  An individual who willingly breaks a promise bound by Fear the Void Below must make a static challenge using her Mental attribute + Survival against a difficulty equal to your Mental attribute + Academics. Because this is a static challenge and your character is not directly involved, you cannot use retests. Your victim may retest, as per a normal static challenge. If your victim fails this challenge, she loses a point of Willpower and must immediately repeat the challenge. Losing again incurs another lost point of Willpower and another static challenge. This chain of static challenges continues until the target wins a challenge (either by tying or winning the appropriate tests) or until the target runs out of Willpower. If the effects of Fear the Void Below cause a character to lose Willpower when she has no remaining Willpower, infernal spirits descend. The target’s soul is drawn out of her body and dragged forever into hell. The character immediately dies. Such a character can never be resurrected (not even temporarily), nor can any supernatural power or ability make contact with the damned soul.

  A promise bound by Fear the Void Below must be explicit. The target must speak out loud, saying something as direct and clear-cut as “I promise to never tell anyone your name,” or, “I swear never to attack you,” or, “On my word of honor, I will always tell you the truth.” Fear the Void Below cannot be used to enforce vague statements, confirmatory assertions, or general agreements such as, “Sure,” “I agree,” or, “Whatever you say.”

  Fear the Void Below cannot be used to enforce promises made to multiple people, such as those made in a public speech, only promises that are made directly and individually to you. For example, if a politician announced her campaign promise to “put a chicken in every pot,” you cannot enforce that pledge. You could, of course, meet with the politician later and ask her to make you that promise personally — and then use Fear the Void Below on that personally-made obligation.

  Once used, this power will persist for two games or one month, whichever is longer. After that duration ends, the subject is free to break her promise without any fear of reprisal, and the instinctive fear of doing so will dissipate and no longer haunt her.

• Conflagration

  Level 3

  Not all of the powers of Daimoinon are subtle. Some are intended to strike fear into the innocent, and to fulfill the threat of pain and destruction against those who defy your will. By invoking this power, the user calls up searing green fire from the realms of her infernal patrons, exulting in the cruelty of the damned.

  Spend 1 Blood and use your standard action to launch a bolt of hideous green flame at your target. This fire is clearly infernal in origin. To strike your foe with fi re, you must win an opposed challenge using your Mental attribute + Academics versus the target’s Physical attribute + Dodge. If you are successful, your target takes 2 points of aggravated damage as she is consumed by the damned flame.

  Conflagration is a Mental power and, as such, cannot be used during Celerity rounds. You may repeatedly activate Conflagration against a target; this is an exception to the rule that prohibits a character from using a Mental power on the same target immediately after failing. If you fail a Conflagration challenge against an opponent, you may try again against that same opponent (or someone else) during the next turn.

  The infernal flames of Conflagration are fleeting, and fires ignited by the use of this power dissipate within three rounds.

• Psychomachia

  Level 4

  With this frightening power, the Daimoinon user combines her ability to read the spiritual faults of a victim with her ability to summon up the energy of the infernal planes. Psychomachia gives life to an individual’s deepest psychological wounds, pitting their target against the most dangerous, shameful parts of her own subconscious.

  Spend 1 Blood and use your standard action to make an opposed challenge against your target, using the Daimoinon test pool. If successful, an illusionary manifestation of your target’s anguish and sin appears within arm’s reach of the subject of your power. This incarnation may be the subject’s abusive father, a long-dead lover, a childhood bogeyman, or some other manifestation of her inner wounds. Whatever its form, the malefic anima immediately turns upon your target and seeks to do her harm.

  The target of Psychomachia can interact with and be wounded by her malefic anima as if it were a normal creature. You can also see the Psychomachia manifestation, but you cannot interact with it. Other individuals cannot see or interact with this spiritual incarnation and have no means of determining if it is there or targeting it with attacks or powers.

  A malefic incarnation created by Psychomachia is a 5-point Stock NPC with 10 points of Blood. It possesses the powers Feral Claws and Heightened Senses, but does not have access to other Auspex or Protean powers. It has specializations in your choice of two of the three standard Physical disciplines (Potence, Celerity, and Fortitude). Additionally, you may select three other skill focuses for the manifestation to possess. Psychomachia cannot be activated during Celerity rounds, but a malefic incarnation that possesses the Celerity focus can take Physical actions during Celerity rounds.

  When Psychomachia ends, the manifestation dissipates into foul-smelling, sulfurous smoke, which only you and the target can sense. This occurs after five minutes, when the malefic incarnation takes 5 points of damage, or if your target is torpored or rendered unconscious. You can only have one Psychomachia manifestation in existence at any one time. Using the power a second time, even if on another target, dissipates the first incarnation of this power.

• Condemnation

  Level 5

  The user of this power levies a curse upon a victim, invoking the name of her demonic ally to invest the curse with infernal authority. Legend states that some Baali wield curses so foul that the victim is willing to commit suicide rather than face inevitable doom.

  Spend 1 Blood and use your standard action to loudly curse your target. Make an opposed challenge against your target, using the Daimoinon test pool. If successful, you curse the subject with one of the following rebukes: • The victim cannot spend Blood to boost her Physical attribute. • The target suffers a -2 penalty to one attribute of your choice. • The target suffers a -5 penalty to test pools involving a skill of your choice. • Anytime the target fails a static challenge, she automatically suffers the results of a critical failure.

  Curses levied by Condemnation last for the rest of the night. No character can be under more than one use of Condemnation at a time. If a new curse is applied, the old one fades. Characters who possess Condemnation are infernalists.

• Walking Atrocity

  Level 6

  You have paid a terrible price for power, and while others may think you a slave to your unholy master, you can lord over all who oppose you. By calling upon your own inhumanity you can become the manifestation of all your evil deeds, causing your Beast and the infernal to join forces.

  Once learned, this power is always active. When you learn this power, you gain a bonus attribute dot in the category of your choice for each dot your Morality score is below 5. You also gain a bonus attribute dot each time your Morality score drops. You do not need to purchase these bonus attribute dots with XP. This power does not allow you to have more than 5 bonus attribute dots in any category, including any bonus attribute dots from the Generation or similar backgrounds. Should you somehow improve your Mortality score, even temporarily, you must choose a bonus attribute dot to forfeit. Once chosen, you may not reassign the forfeited bonus dot unless you permanently raise and then permanently lower your Mortality score.

  Despite being always active this power is an exception to the rule that says your aura shows signs of infernal taint while utilizing demonic powers.

• Infernal Compact

  Level 6

  Evil is not a solitary creature. It hunts in packs, sharing its benefits and damnations, and dragging as many souls as it can into the corridors of hell. With this power, you can induct others into the good graces of demons, initiating them into your infernal alliance, for the benefit of all.

  By sharing the affections of your damned patron, you can grant infernal powers to others. To receive a benefit from this power, the target must accept the affection of your infernal patron of her own free will. Further, she must sacrifice something she cares deeply about (a lover’s memento, a loyal retainer, or so forth) to your patron, through you. Once presented with a suitable sacrifice, the Daimoinon user spends 3 Blood and invokes a mystic ritual of benediction for five full turns, during which the subject must be present.

  If the target has second thoughts before the end of the invocation, this power automatically fails. If the target remains willing through all five turns of the ritual, the supplicant’s sacrifice is consumed in green flame, and she receives an infernal blessing. The target gains the Infernal Power merit without paying any XP cost, and without this merit counting towards the maximum number of merits she can purchase. The target chooses which effect she receives from the application of the Infernal Power merit. You are considered to be the target’s infernal master for the purpose of this effect.

  Infernal Compact’s effects last until either you or the target die. In either case, the target loses access to the Infernal Power merit, unless she chooses to purchase the merit normally, using the merit system.

• Bring Forth the Plague

  Level 6

  History is rife with tales of malicious creatures who possessed the power to summon plagues and pestilence. Your dark gods have seen fit to bless you with this ability, enabling you to bring your enemies to their knees by using the maladies that run rampant among the herd. By invoking the power of your demon master, with a single touch you can infect others, exposing them to the true power of your maleficent gods.

  Spend 2 points of Blood and use your standard action to manifest a powerful and deadly plague. If you are not in combat, you must be in physical contact with your target at the time of activation or make physical contact with your victim within the next 5 minutes. Non-combat physical contact with your victim must last 3 seconds; failure to break contact within 3 seconds inflicts your target with the plague. You may infect any number of targets during the 5-minute period, who will not immediately realize they have been infected. NOTE: While it is okay characters to touch characters, it is never appropriate for players to touch players without consent.

  During combat, individuals that physically attack you through use of the Brawl skill, or who Grapple or are Grappled by you, are considered to have made contact with you and are affected by this power. Further, if you succeed in striking your victim with a Brawl attack you inflict your normal damage in addition to the effects of this power. Multiple victims may be infected during combat so long as physical contact has been made with the victims prior to the expiration of the activation period.

  Victims who meet the physical contact and time requirements as set forth above must resist a virility 20 toxin. However, the plague takes effect at the end of the turn in which the contact was made with the victim rather than in 3 turns. Unlike standard toxins, infected victims who are engaged in combat with you must test again at the end of every turn. Outside of combat, victims of your plague must test every 2 minutes. This disease damages all creatures regardless of type, including vampires. For more information on toxins, see MET VTM, Chapter Six: Core Systems, page 286. Finally, when you activate this power you may choose one additional quality for your plague from the following list:

  Once a victim has made the first test for this power, she will realize she has been infected. She may then attempt a static Awareness challenge at a difficulty equal to your number of Mental traits plus your Subterfuge skill to realize she contracted the infection from you.

  This disease can be treated through the Medicine skill, subject to the rules governing toxins provided at least an ambulance worth of medical supplies are available. Using the Medicine skill in this way takes 5 uninterrupted turns.

• Revelry of the Great Beast

  Level 7

  By speaking in ancient and profane tongues you exude a dark aura of perverse and wicked evil that draws the attention of all who bear witness to your infernal blessing. The power of your infernal connection causes humans to become overwhelmed by Gluttony, Fear, or Rage and causes supernatural entities that behold your depravity to fall to the Revelry of the Great Beast.

  To enact Revelry of the Great Beast, spend 1 point of Blood and a simple action as a visibly black aura surrounds you. Choose one of the following emotional states: Gluttonous, Fearful, or Enraged. People in the nearby area will feel the growing influence of the Great Beast which grows stronger as they approach you, and they can identify a slight inclination toward the emotional state you have chosen even if they do not understand what is happening or do not have the appropriate lore.

  This power affects everyone who can draw line of sight to you, even if they can not necessarily see you. Unawakened mortals erupt into base behavior as their emotions are overcome. Awakened mortals and supernatural creatures can resist these initial compulsions but should one of them enter frenzy it will be the type according to the aura you choose. Revelry of the Great Beast lasts 15 minutes. The Storyteller is the final arbiter of how mortals react to this power, and any creatures with True Faith are immune to it.

  Subjects that can draw line of sight to you immediately respond based on your selected emotional state your aura emanates as set forth below:

  In addition, whenever anyone attacks you, she must immediately test for frenzy even if she is not normally susceptible to frenzy. She must make a frenzy check each time she initiates an opposed challenge against you until she fails the frenzy test. If your attacker is a vampire, she also gains a temporary Beast trait that fades at the end of combat and cannot cause Humanity loss. If she fails the frenzy challenge, she is immediately affected by the above chosen frenzy type and, in addition, may not attack you as part of her frenzy. If she succeeds in the frenzy challenge, she may resolve her attack on you normally but must test once more if she initiates an opposed challenge against you again.