Chimerstry

Chimerstry
The Ravnos are heirs to a legacy of illusion, and none can say exactly why. The elders of their clan, when properly approached, speak cryptically of ghuls and rakshasas, and the shapeshifting antics of their Antediluvian founder are the subject of many a dark campfire tale among the clan. But whatever the source, the nomadic Ravnos have a potent weapon in the form of their Discipline of Chimerstry.

Chimerstry is an art of conjuration; the vampire may draw upon her inner reserves to bring phantoms to life. These false images can confound mortal senses and sensory equipment alike. If the Cainite's power is strong enough, illusions created by Chimerstry may even baffle the heightened senses of the vampire. The Ravnos are fond of using this power to seduce, swindle or enslave mortals, effectively purchasing their victims' souls in exchange for a sack of bouillon that isn't there.
Illusions created by Chimerstry may be detected by Auspex (see "Seeing the Unseen," p. 152). They may also be seen for what they are by a victim who "proves" the illusion's falsehood (e.g., a person who walks up to an illusory wall, expresses his disbelief in it, and puts his hand through it effectively banishes the illusion).

O Ignis Fatuus
The vampire may conjure a minor, static mirage that confounds one sense. For instance, he may evoke a sulfurous stench,
the image of a curtain, or the feel of raw silk. Note that although tactile illusions can be felt, they have no real substance; an
invisible but tactile wall cannot confine anyone, and invisible razor-wire causes no real damage.

System:
The player must spend a point of Willpower to create this illusion. It lasts until the Ravnos leaves its vicinity (such
as stepping out of the room) or until another person sees through it somehow. The Cainite may also end the illusion at any
time; this requires no effort, only the merest whim.

OO Fata Morgana
The Cainite can now create illusions that appeal to all the senses, although they remain static. For example, the vampire
could throw a mirage over a dank basement, making it appear to be a sumptuous boudoir, although she could not create
flickering candles or a flowing fountain. Again, the dweomer has no solid presence, although it's easy enough to make a
filthy mattress on two sawhorses feel like a four-poster bed.

System:
The player spends a Willpower point and a blood point to create the dweomer. These static images remain until
dispelled, in much the same way that an Ignis Fatuus illusion does.

OOO Apparition
Not really a power unto itself, Apparition allows a vampire to give motion to an illusion created with Ignis Fatuus or Fata
Morgana. Thus, the Ravnos could create the illusion of a living being, running water, fluttering drapes or a roaring fire.

System:
The creator spends one blood point to make the illusion move in one specific way. She may change the image's
movement only if she has done nothing but concentrate on the mirage since creating it.

OOOO Permanency
This power, also used in conjunction with Ignis Fatuus or Fata Morgana, allows a mirage to persist even when the vampire
cannot see it. In this way, Ravnos often cloak their temporary havens in false trappings of luxury, or ward off trespassers
with illusory guard dogs.

System:
The vampire need only spend a blood point, and the illusion becomes permanent until dissolved.

OOOOO Horrid Reality
Rather than create simple illusions, the vampire can now project hallucinations directly into a victim's mind. The target of
these illusions believes completely that the images are real; a hallucinatory fire can burn him, an imaginary noose can
strangle him, and an illusory wall can block him. This power affects only one person at a time; although other people can try
to convince the victim that his terrors are not real, he won't believe them.

System:
A Horrid Realty costs two Willpower points to set in motion and lasts for an entire scene (although its effects may
last longer; see below). If the vampire is trying to injure his victim, his player must roll Manipulation + Subterfuge
(difficulty of the victim's Perception + Self-Control). Each success inflicts one health level of damage on the victim; if the
player wishes to inflict less damage, he may announce a maximum amount of damage before rolling the dice. This power
cannot actually kill its victims (although a target with a heart condition may well die from fright); a victim "killed" by an
illusory attack loses consciousness or enters torpor. All injuries disappear once the victim is truly convinced that she wasn't
actually harmed by the Horrid Reality. Of course, such a cure may take a long time, or even psychological therapy. The
nightmarish power of Chimerstry is nothing to take lightly.

False Resonance (Chimerstry Level 6)
Illusions of living or unliving beings are all well and good untill someone decides to read the
illusion's mind or its aura. The automatic faliure to perceive any sense of the target's
thoughts or emotions will usually be passed off as bad luck or simple lack of concentration, or
whatever reason any Kindred might construct to explain why he didn't succeed in gleaning
information through supernatural means. A Ravnos can use False Resonance to overlay auras and
thoughts on illusions, as well as lay a trace that other emotionally resonant powers can detect
later.

SYSTEM: This power automatically applies to any other use of Chimerstry as the user wishes. In
effect, any attemp to use Auspex or the Dementation power, Eyes of Chaos, that generates five
or fewer successes will detect an aura, thoughts, Demeanor or whatever the power would normally
detect. Thoughts won't be exceptionally complex, and will relate to whatever is going on around
the illusion in a mundane and simplistic way. Auras will consist of colors related to specific
emotions (anger, sadness, hatred, love and happiness) and will not show much complexity beyond
that. Spirit's Touch can pick up the same emotional resonance until the next sunrise.

Fatuus Mastery (Chimerstry level 6)
A Ravnos with Fatuus Mastery has no restriction on how often she may use the first three
levels (Ignis Fatuus, Fata Morgana and Apparition) and can maintain or controll illusions with
minimal concentration or fatigue. Kindred who rely on the high cost of Chimerstry to limit a
Ravnos' ability to use illusions are in for a very rude suprise when they encounter a Ravnos
with this power.

SYSTEM: Fatuus Mastery negates the willpower and blood cost for using the first three levels of
Chimerstry. In addition, the Ravnos may direct movement for a number of illusions equal to his
Intelligence without intense concentration. Furthermore, the character can maintain the
illusion as long as it remains within his Willpower score in miles (although he may not make it
react to events around it if he has no way to perceive those events).

Shared Nightmare (Chimerstry Level 6)
Even though Horrid Realiy is visible to all onlookers, it can only inflict "damage" on one
victim. with Shared Nightmare, a Ravnos can inflict her tormented vision on a crowd.
SYSTEM: To use this power, the player must spend on blood point per target and two Willpower
points. The player rolls manipulation + Subterfuge once, but compares the results against each
target individually. The difficulty is still each victim's perception + self-control.

Far Fatuus (Chimerstry level 7)
This power is the province of the Phuri Dae, who use it in conjunction with highly developed
Auspex powers. It allows a Ravnos to porject illusions to any area he can see or visualize.
Under most circumstances, accomplishing this requires him to have visited the location in
question before he can project illusions there. Although more difficult, a Ravnos may project
illusions on the basis of a description, a photograph or a TV image.
SYSTEM: The difficulty for using Far Fatuus depends on the user's familiarity with the
location. The player must roll Perception + Subterfuge to affect the location. Once tis roll
is successful, the Ravnos may then use any other himerstry power on that location.
Difficulty Familiarity
6 As Familiar as one's haven; currently viewing with Clairvoyance or Psychic Projection
7 Visited three or more times
8 Visited once; viewing on a live feed camera
9 Described in detail
10 Never been there; seen it on TV, or have a photograph

Suspension of Disbelief (Chimerstry level 7)
A Ravnos with this power can imbue her Chimerstry with a reality that makes it easier for
viewers to believe in the illusion. No matter how strange or surreal the illusion is, an
onlooker will accept it as real. If the illusion is wildly unrealistic (fire-breathing dragons,
a pack of grey aliens), once it is no longer in sight, the observer will question what he saw
and eventually deney the event ever happened. A Ravnos can also use this power to make
something appear unbelievable, wether it is real or not. In this case, observers will write off
what they're seeing as some kind of trick or hallucination.
SYSTEM: The player rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge (diff 7). The number of successes determine
how many witnesses are affected. If the player uses the power to make something look
unbelievable, Auspex will show the thing in question to be an illusion unless the Auspex score
is high enough to penetrate the Ravnos' Chimerstry.
1 success Five people
2 Successes 10 people
3 successes 25 people
4 successes 50 people
5 successes Everyone who can see it.

Occlusion (Chimerstry level 8)
A Ravnos who master this power can shuffle others' senses around to suit his preferences. He
can select on target and inflict a serious, disorienting and all-encompassing case of
synesthesia upon her, making it impossible for her to interact meaningfully with the real world
for the power's duration. The Ravnos has complete control over how the target's senses work and
can manipulate them to suit. For example, he may decide that she smells all sounds as varieties
of nauseating stenches, or more subtly, he may exchange pain for pleasure. Against a crowd,
sensations are randomly shuffled, so one man will see what the woman next to him sees, but hear
what the man 15 feet behind him hears and feels what the child a block away feels. The end
result is extreamly disorienting for all victims.

SYSTEM: When used against a single victim, the player must spend one Willpower point and roll
Manipulation + Intimidation (diff of the victim's willpower). For use against crowds, the
difficulty is 7, and the power affects everyone within the Ravnos' line of sight and subtracts
one point from Perception per success rolled. Victims whose Perception has been reduced to zero
can only sit down and wait for the disorientation to end. Duration against a single victim is
determined below. Against a crowd, the power persists until sunrise.
1 success One week
2 successes one month
3 successes six months
4 successes one year
5 successes Permanent

Mayaparisatya (Chimerstry level 9)
Arguably the philosopher's stone for Shilmulo, this penultimate expression of Chimerstry
allows the Ravnos to directly alter or create real objects or creatures, although such changes
are of finite duration. A Ravnos with this power can transform the air around a rival Kindred
into fire or ender a locked door insubstantial. A more harrowing use of this power enables teh
Ravnos to force an object out of existence by transforming it into nothing more than a wisp of
its former reality.
Path of Paradox philosophers point to this power as the only "true" use of Chimerstry,
claiming all other are distraction or stepping stones to this profound understanding. Since the
week of nightmares, it's likely that no surviving Ravnos has mastered Chimerstry to this degree.

SYSTEM: To use this power, the player must spend 10 blood points and one permanent willpower
point and roll Manipulation + Subterfuge. Difficulty for the roll is 6 for affecting inanimate
objects, and the victim's willpower score for affecting characters. This power can affect
anything within miles of the Ravnos, as long as the character is aware of the target in some
way. IF used with Far Fatuus, the effects are centered on the chosen location. This power can
affect a number of conscious targets equal to the Ravnos willpower per use.
When dealing with inanimate objects, the number of successes determines how drastic the
alteration may be. No matter how many successes the player rolls, the duration is always a
scene. This power can affect any object of a type within the Ravnos' area affected.
1 success Renders an object harmless (swords won't cut, firearms won't shoot), creat a
large-volume of obscuring smoke
2 successes Change an object into other object (turn candles into tarantulas, ect.)
3 successes Render the object insubstantial, make smoke solid
4 successes Cause drastic changes (Stone becomes highly flammable)
5 successes Cause the environment to behave illogically (gravity twists sideways, rivers stand
still and hills flow upward)
6+ successes Delete any offending material object from existance. This effect is permanent
(to use this on conscious targets, follow the system described below).
When using the power on conscious targets, consult the table above for alterations
(such as forcing the victim into another form or transforming her into a different substance).
If using the power to negate teh victim's existence, the power nflicts two levels of unsoakable
aggravated damage per success. If the power doesn't kill the victim, subtract one dot of
Strength and Stamina per success. The damage must be healed normally, but the lost attributes
return at the end of the scene. Victimes of this power look hazy and insubstantial. Victims
destroyed with this power simply vanish.