Valeren

• Sense Vitality

  Level 1

  Life permeates the world, cycling with the ebb and flow of inevitability. With this power, you can tap into that source, feeling the pulse of the universe and tangibly perceiving the vital energy of individuals nearby.

  Spend 1 Blood and use a simple action to activate Sense Vitality. For the next hour, you gain the instinctive ability to perceive the health of any creature that comes within 10 steps of you. You automatically realize the following information: • Whether the target is alive, dead, or undead • The target’s current number of wounds and number of remaining health levels • The location and severity of any injuries she currently suffers • Whether the target suffers from any diseases or other maladies, and if so, which ones • Whether the target has any drugs or poisons in her system, and if so, which ones • The disposition of all organs, bones, musculature, and other physical structures of the body. You realize if any organs have been removed or shifted, and you can sense the signs of older, healed injuries or genetic anomalies.

  Sense Vitality overcomes supernatural powers that obscure an individual’s health level, such as Misleading Wounds or similar powers.

• Burning Touch

  Level 2

  You have a warrior’s spirit, and can inflict agony on those you assault. Any target who falls victim to your Burning Touch is consumed by pain.

  Use a standard action to Grapple a target. If you are successful, spend 1 Blood to inflict Burning Touch on a victim, as well as inflicting all the standard effects of the Grapple combat maneuver. Thereafter, the target suffers a -3 penalty to all actions until your next everyman initiative. If you are currently grappling your target, you can activate Burning Touch simply by spending 1 point of Blood and using a simple action.

  Burning Touch inflicts pain on anyone who is touching you, but individuals who are not grappled can simply fl inch away before suffering penalties. If another character is touching or grappling you when you spend 1 Blood to activate Burning Touch, that individual may choose either to let go or to suffer the effects of Burning Touch and receive its -3 penalty until your initiative during the next everyman round.

  Powers that allow an individual to resist pain do not overcome the pain caused by Burning Touch, unless specifically noted in that power’s description.

• Mens Sana

  Level 3

  Your vitae is an alchemical substance, carrying healing properties like those said to be possessed by sacred figures of myth. By centering your warrior’s chi and focusing your mind, you transmute the blood within your body, causing you to heal at an incredible rate.

  Once per turn, you can spend 1 point of Blood to heal 1 point of normal damage. Blood spent for Mens Sana does not count towards the maximum amount of Blood a character can spend per turn. You can only perform this action on yourself; you cannot heal other individuals with Mens Sana.

• Armor of Caine’s Fury

  Level 4

  When this power is activated, the user is surrounded by a shining crimson halo. This phantom armor is formed from the vampire’s spiritual essence and protects her against most physical injuries.

  Spend 1 Blood and use a simple action to activate Armor of Caine’s Fury. While this power is active, you gain a +3 bonus to all Dodge and Survival defense test pools. If at any point you use a standard action to do anything other than use a Melee attack, a Brawl attack, or move towards a character you intend to attack, Armor of Caine’s Fury ends immediately. Armor of Caine’s Fury is not mundane armor, and attacks that normally pierce armor do not pierce or ignore the effects of this power.

• Vengeance of Samiel

  Level 5

  When using this power, the Valeren user’s third eye opens and glows with a fierce, brilliant blaze. While under the effects of Vengeance of Samiel, the vampire’s blows become unerring, and their wrath is a fierce, nearly palpable thing.

  Once per turn, you can spend 1 Blood and use a standard action to make a Melee or Brawl attack against another character. That attack automatically hits, earning a normal success. Powers or effects that completely negate or avoid an attack can be used to avoid Vengeance of Samiel. However, those powers that give a defender bonuses to Dodge have no effect. Vengeance of Samiel can be used in combination with other powers, such as Potence or Feral Claws, but cannot be used in conjunction with ranged attacks. Also, combat maneuvers cannot be combined with an attack augmented by Vengeance of Samiel under any circumstances.

• Fiery Agony

  Level 6

  A Valeren user’s spiritual weaponry is powerful and incredibly intense when used by those who have mastered its elder powers. Through the use of Fiery Agony, you can expend the power of your chi to inflict pain upon anyone you can see, so long as you have touched your victim within the last hour.

  Use your simple action, and spend 1 Blood to activate this power. If you have touched your target within the last hour, you do not need physical contact to use Burning Touch, so long a s the target is within line of sight. Any sort of touch allows the use of Fiery Agony, including the use of a Brawl attack, being hit by an opponent’s Brawl attack, a handshake, or brushing up against someone in a crowded room. If you lose sight of your target at any point, you must touch her again before using Fiery Agony. A victim of Fiery Agony instinctively knows who is responsible for her torment.

• Perfect Stance

  Level 6

  A true martial artist recognizes that success or failure is often the product of angles, positioning, posturing, and balance. With the right alignment of factors, a defense that is seemingly impenetrable is overcome. Through your faith and intuition you can devise a combat style that overcomes your foes while protecting yourself from harm.

  Spend your simple action and up to 3 points of Blood to activate this power. For each point of Blood spent you may choose a single combat maneuver or equipment quality to guard yourself against. While this power is active, any attempt to employ the selected quality or combat maneuver against you is simply ineffective – your stance, posturing, and movement effectively nullifies them by targeting weak spots or protecting vital areas. You may not choose qualities or combat maneuvers that do not directly affect you, such as Rapid Reload or Burst of Speed.

  In addition to weapon qualities and combat maneuvers, you may choose supernatural qualities from fetishes or treasures granting you immunity from them. However, you must possess at least 3 dots in the Occult skill or an appropriate Lore specialization for the item used against you.

  While this power is active, anyone with at least 1 dot in the Brawl, Melee, or Athletics skills will be aware of which qualities and combat maneuvers are ineffective against you. However, your opponents will not know which supernatural qualities, if any, you are immune to unless they possess 3 dots in the Occult skill. Your immunity to the qualities chosen applies regardless of whether your opponent has access to them from equipment, through powers, or even from magic items such as fetishes or treasures. You may switch one or more of the qualities or combat maneuvers you are immune to by activating this power again.

• Rampart of Faith

  Level 6

  The concept of faith as a shield is found in many religions, as believers seek protection through devotion to a higher power. Regardless of what faith guides your actions, you have found strength in your beliefs and can channel your devotion to help ward off evil forces. Those who learn this power become obsessed with maintaining their spiritual purity and often seek council or confession to ease their burdens.

  Whenever you are defending in an opposed challenge with your Willpower as part of your test pool, you may activate this power immediately without spending an action. Spend 1 point of Blood as you call for divine protection, shouting your entreaty to the divine. Once done, you may add your current Morality score to your defensive pool, minus your current number of Beast traits.

  When determining your current Beast traits, you must subtract for any temporary Beast traits you might gain, such as from the power Revelry of the Great Beast.

• Warrior’s Eminence

  Level 7

  Your zeal and affinity for the combative arts is such that any who would fight in your name carry a portion of your power. By exerting your will upon the battlefield, you can cause grievous injury by the force of your presence alone and hinder any aid and relief to your enemies.

  To activate this power, spend 3 points of Blood and your standard action to invoke a powerful aura of righteousness and valor. Any damage done to your enemies by you or by any number of allies within your line of sight up to your dots in the Medicine skill is considered aggravated damage. Additionally, the cost of any powers or effects that would result in a healing are increased by 1 point of Blood, Gnosis, Glamour, or appropriate fuel type. For example, a vampire must now spend 2 points of Blood to heal 1 point of normal damage, and the Obeah power King’s Blessing requires 4 points of Blood. Passive regenerative effects, such as a werewolf’s regeneration, are rendered inert unless the subject spends a point of Gnosis or comparable fuel to allow her regeneration to function for the turn. While this power is active your countenance becomes menacing and impressive and all will recognize you as the source of these effects.

  This effect negates any power that would reduce damage to non-aggravated damage, except Healer’s Eminence. If one or more parties on opposite sides of a battle have both Healer’s Eminence and Warrior’s Eminence active, the effects negate one another, and damage and healing is handled normally.