Mind's Eye Theatre - Vampire The Requiem.pdf - RoseRed

the coils of the dragon • devotions
of Devotions. By their nature, they are far rarer than the common Disciplines are, and knowledge
of them is a bit more fl eeting than the understanding of the unique Disciplines that
sometimes accompany the creation of new bloodlines. Only a relative handful of Kindred
possess Devotions, and fewer still have been wise enough to create their own. Kindred may
learn of them through a “secret knowledge” a sire wishes to pass on to them, the confi dences
of a mentor, stolen wisdom in the hands of rebellious vampires, or by any other manner in
which they come up in a story.
Although any Kindred can potentially learn any Devotion as long as she has the Discipline
prerequisites, some measure of “creator’s pride” exists pertaining to each, depending upon
who claims to have developed the power fi rst. Most of the Devotions stemming from and
involving the Protean Discipline are known as Gangrel Devotions, for example, while those
involving Theban Sorcery are referred to as Lancea Sanctum Devotions.
The following are sample Devotions that vampires might encounter and learn. Remember
that if a Devotion is turned against or applied to a vampire with whom the user has a blood
tie (see p. 228), a +2 bonus is gained on the power’s activation draw. For information on
creating one’s own Devotions, see p. 380.
PERFECT STRANGER (AUSPEX ••••, OBFUSCATE ••••)
The Familiar Stranger is a versatile and useful ability, but its use can become frustrating when
the vampire’s rather generic identity or limited disguise talents aren’t suffi cient to allow him to
achieve his goals. Perfect Stranger serves as a short-term fi x to that problem, allowing the character
to transcend the rather generic identities The Familiar Stranger is normally limited to, and instead
create the façade of a specifi c individual. The character may use this power to mimic an existing
individual, or they may simply craft an illusory appearance entirely of their own devising.
This Devotion allows the vampire to circumvent the many of the restrictions of The Familiar
Stranger. The Kindred can make any changes to her appearance that she likes: alter her
apparent age, modify her voice to suit her needs, adopt a different illusory wardrobe, change
her facial features, switch apparent genders, etc. She can even appear as a radically different
body type than her actual form. Thus, with this Devotion a six foot vampire can appear to be
a small child. However, the form must still fall within basic human parameters — the vampire
can now mimic a hideous Nosferatu (even if she is not deformed), but she cannot disguise
herself as an animal, nor can she appear to be some sort of nightmarish four-armed demon
or other similarly outlandish or impossible shapes.
However, it should be noted that because this power does not work on quite the same
supernatural principles as The Familiar Stranger, it does not share all of that power’s benefi ts
either. While a vampire can appear to change her clothing with Perfect Stranger, she does not
have the ability to pass off one object for another. For example, if she appears to be a police
offi cer, a target will not see her driver’s license as a police badge as he might if she were using
The Familiar Stranger to assume the role of a police offi cer. On the other hand, with some
research or even some quick Telepathy she could potentially use this Devotion to take on
the appearance of a particular offi cer the target already trusts, which might avoid the need
to show a badge in the fi rst place.
A role adopted with The Familiar Stranger is thus typically less infl uential or imposing with
regard to onlookers, but it’s also a lot easier to maintain since targets are naturally inclined
to accept the vampire’s presence and don’t tend to expect much from her specifi cally. By
contrast, creating an identity or impersonating an individual with Perfect Stranger carries a
much greater risk of discovery, but in return it gives the vampire the capability to fool targets
in a much more precise and devastating way. Both powers therefore have advantages and
disadvantages to consider.
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