MORTIS

This Discipline was developed by the Cappodocians in an attempt to uncover the secrets of death. It seeks to explore many aspects of death, from outright cheating it, to causing it with a single touch. Rumor has it that masters of Mortis are able to defy death itself. Practitioners of Mortis are often consumed with all aspects of death and the afterlife. 

 

Level 1--MASQUE OF DEATH 

This power allows the vampire or a chosen subject to assume a visage of death. Flesh becomes 
taut and sallow, and joints grow rigid and stiff. Assuming the appearance of a corpse can be 
quite useful if a hunter searches a mortuary for a vampire, he would be likely to ignore one 
under the effects of this power. The Discipline may also be used as a dreadful curse, causing 
another to appear as the walking dead. 

System: The character assuming this form must simply spend a Blood Point. If attempting to use 
the power on another, the intended victim must be touched, a Blood Point must be spent, and the 
player must make a Stamina + Medicine roll (difficulty equal to the victim's Stamina + 3). 
The effects of this power last until the next dawn or dusk. Characters under the influence of 
this power subtract two from their Dexterity and Appearance ratings (minimum of 1). A vampire 
affected by this power may spend two Blood Points to remove its effects. 

 

Level 2--BLIGHT 

This power allows the character to cause rapid aging in an opponent. The victim begins to 
suffer the effects of old age: skin becomes pallid and thin, bones become brittle, and the 
victim may even begin to experience advanced effects of arthritis or other ailments of the 
elderly. 

System: This power requires the character to touch his opponent. The player must then score a 
number of successes on a Manipulation + Medicine roll (difficulty of the opponent's Willpower) 
and expend one point of Willpower. Use of this ability causes the victim to suffer the effects 
of extreme old age (subtract three from all Physical Attributes, down to minimums of 1). 
Cainites are affected by this power just as mortals are; it is as if they were Embraced at a 
later age, though blood can still be spent to increase Attributes. 

A mortal who undertakes strenuous activity while under the effects of this power risks heart 
failure. For each round the mortal maintains such activity, she must make a Stamina roll 
(difficulty 6), or suffer a heart attack. The effects of this power last until the following 
dawn or dusk. 

 

Level 3--AWAKEN 

A character who possesses this power can pry himself from death's grip. The character can 
awaken himself or another vampire who is in torpor. 

System: By expending two Willpower Points, the character can attempt to awaken himself or 
another vampire from torpor. The character must then roll his permanent Willpower 
(difficulty varies depending upon the target's Via). To obtain the difficulty, subtract the 
target's Via from 10. Thus, the difficulty to awaken a character with a Via of 6 would be 4. 
If attempting to awaken another vampire, the character must touch the vampire he intends to 
awaken. If the subject of this power was driven into torpor due to blood loss, she awakens with 
one Blood Point. 

 

Level 4--DEATH S WHISPER 

For a brief time the character sloughs off Caine's curse. While the character is under the 
influence of this power he is not affected by any of the traditional banes against vampires. 
His body is not burned by sunlight, and holy water does not harm him in any way; however, his 
body becomes nothing more than a corpse. A character who is staked through the heart while 
under this power is still paralyzed once the power's effects wear off. This state is beyond 
that of even torpor; the character cannot use Disciplines of any kind, and is unaware of 
anything that transpires around him. For the duration of the power, he is truly dead. 

 

Level 5--BLACK DEATH 

By touching an individual, the character can cause the victim to experience an early death 
(or, in the case of vampires, to enter torpor). The victim, if mortal, begins to exhibit signs 
of plague: sunken and blackened eyes, swollen Iymphs and a sickly pallor of the skin. Within 
one day, all bodily functions cease. Cainite victims of this power enter torpor immediately. 

System: The vampire must touch the intended victim, and the player must roll Stamina + Occult 
(difficulty equal to the target's Willpower) and expend two Willpower points. Success 
indicates that the vampire has caused his target to expire (or go into torpor). 

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