Updated: 8 October 1998

Sensualis

                    The Kindred needed the power to instigate precise feelings in others. Adept at seduction, it was found that Presence wasn't specialized enough for them. Instigating fear and awe, or calling someone from the other side of the world wasn't these Kindred's style. The difference between Presence and Sensualis lies in the source of what an affected person feels:
Presence directly affects the mind of the victim, creating mental feelings like awe or fear.
Sensualis is a Discipline of Seduction, no matter the mean. And even the dead (or undead) can now feel what they believed to be mortal feelings who died with their body.


As Sensualis is similar to Presence, one can resist Sensualis in the same way. The "Blasé" Merit --See the Toreador Clanbook, however, provides no immunity to Sensualis, even if it could help resist the Sensualis powers (modification of +1/-1 to dice rolls, at the whim of the Storyteller). Iron Will and Unbondable Merits are ineffective against Sensualis, as they are against Presence.

Unless stated otherwise, sexual preferences don't change the effects of Sensualis. Still, this Discipline can be very dangerous, for its effect can resurrect feelings and needs a vampire (be it the Black Widow, or the victim of Sensualis) believed to have lost along with her mortality. Indeed, the simultaneous use of two powers even permit the closest thing to sexual intercourse a Vampire can have...

Thanks to Deirdre Brooks For the Hetaerae Bloodline and most of all, the Ekstasis Discipline, which inspired Sensualis.

* : Living Appearance

                    By using some of her Blood, the Kindred can give life once more to her unliving body: Body heat raises, Blood start once more to flow in the arteries, etc. She can even eat solid food, as long as this power is active. she can sweat, cry normal tears, etc.. So she can enter the embrace of a potential lover without arrousing suspicion about her cold skin, or the lack of heartbeat, or breathing. The only thing that could betray her is her Aura, that is as any Kindred's one.

                    System: 1 Blood Point, 1 Scene
This power act as a temporary Baby Face & Eat Food Merit. The Kindred must use one Blood point and still have remaining Blood on her system for the heart to beat and for her skin's temperature to rise, and coloration to be normal.
Note that by using 3 Blood Points, this power lasts until the next sunset.

** : Sensual Caress

                    The touch of the Kindred is so soft and so pleasing that her caress is a delight for her... victim. Used with all power, this touch can even paralyse the victim as he becomes overrun by waves of pleasure. This power is very effective with Toreador or those using enhanced senses (as Auspex).

                    System: Dexterity+Seduction, Diff:Wits +3 (or +1)
This power is always active in the first form. Anyone touching or touched by her will want to touch her or be touched by her once more; the urge is not overwhelming but powerful nevertheless. It's a mostly a role-playing effect, but, as a rule of thumb, decrease difficulty by 1 for any roll toward seduction.

If the Kindred really wants to affect her victim, she can, with one caress, paralyse her victim with exquisite pleasure. She rolls a Dexterity+Seduction against the Wits of the victim +3 (or +1 if it is a Toreador, or if the victim was using Auspex at that moment). Each success is a die drawn out from the Dice Pool (up to a maximum equal to the Kindred's Appearance+Seduction rating) of the victim, who will win back 1 dice per Turn not subjected to this power.

Note that the second form of this power can be highly addictive, and that some people would do anything to feel it once more, needing Self-Control successes to resist it, the difficulty growing with each failed roll!

*** : Embrace of Vitae

                    With this power, the Kindred is able to "drink" blood from a victim with but a simple contact. The feeling is as pleasurable as the Kiss, but in someway different. Combined with Living Appearance this is a close as a sexual act a Kindred can have with a mortal... Or a Kindred. There is no marks, and no blood apparent, even if the victim and the Kindred are violently separated. Of course, the victim will feel exhausted after the act (he lost Blood points, after all!) unless he is Kindred (the Kindred will soon realise Blood disappeared).

                    System: Permanent
The number of bloodpoints absorbed in one turn (not combat turn) is function of the surface of contact:

In every other aspect, for the victim and the Kindred, this power acts like the Kiss. Moreso by using a Willpower point with this power, the Kindred is able to give a portion of her Blood, thus starting a Blood Bond.

**** : Charms of the Temptress

                    This power means subtle alteration of the Kindred's surroundings, similar to Coincidental Effects of True Magick. Anyone seeing a Kindred using this power will see things that he wouldn't see normally. Wind will make her hair float in graceful curves in the air, or make her dress fly enough to reveal long shapely legs; he will lose himself in her gaze, charmed by the details of her iris; he will be in the right place to see a little more of her breasts (but not enough, if you asked him...) when she will bow to him; be in the right place to feel her perfume, transported by the wind.

All these effects are created by this power, effectively making her appear more charming, more beautiful. Charms of the Temptress is what makes some details more important and more charming. It's the power that make the Kindred a living, moving "Oeuvre d'Art". There will always be some external factor, apparently caused by chance (or by subconscious actions of the victim), and one sense to see and memorize the scene (for he won't forget it, for sure...)
Here's two examples:

Catherine without Charms of the Temptress:

                    The Toreador saw Catherine walking away from the Kindred and go to the balconies. When he reached her, she was motionless, in the middle of the balcony, looking the stars. He drew profit from this time to admire her silhouette which was enhanced by the white silk of her gown. She had long black hair.
                    "Catherine?"
                    "Yes?"
She turned to him. She had beautiful blue eyes, and her traits were worthy of the most beautiful model.
The Toreador turned his eyes to admire the stars, too.


Catherine using Charms of the Temptress:

                    The Toreador smiled as, after minutes of impatience, he saw Catherine walking to one of the balconies. He followed her with a pressed pace, his eyes looking at her magnificient silhouette whose curves were enhanced by the translucent white silk of her flowing gown. she disappeared between the curtains flowing close to the open doors.
He waved the satin curtains aside with but a finger, and stopped. Catherine was here in the middle of the white marble balcony, her long black hair flowing with the wind she kept from her face with her delicate hand.
Her silk gown style combined Greek and Egyptian, and she wore it like a queen. split to the middle of her thighs, the silken veils raised by the wind showed with a clearer and clearer transparence the sweet peach skin of her shapely leg.
The Toreador decided to approach her, fearing to be caught as a young enamoured teenager.
                    "Catherine?"
She turned slowly, with grace, and the Toreador breathed in deeply as he admired now the statuesque curves of the young woman with the silhouette of a goddess.
She looked him at him intently, silently, and the Toreador was surprised by his desire that this moment should last forever.
The wind ended the magic, and a lock of hair flew in front of the face of the beautiful woman, as the Toreador felt suddendly a sweet pain in his breast.
                    "Yes?"
Her voice was a whisper, but the Toreador felt he would remember its sweet timbre until the end of his existence. He could only admire... No: Could only worship the movements of her blood red lips, her delicate nose, the traits of her face, so perfect that he could only envy the talent of the artist who had drawn it.
But her eyes...
Her eyes of a so perfect mix of blue, like the Lapis-luzuli the Egytpians were so fond of, and violet speckles... Where the Toreador could admire the reflects of the stars...
...where he drowned himself...


                    System: Automatic, or 1 Blood Point, Appearance Roll, Diff:6
This power enable the Kindred to increase the effectiveness of her Appearance, but without actually raising it: The base power is automatic and replaces one dice in all Apperance Roll by an automatic '10'.
The Kindred can elect, once per night, to actively increase this number of dices until the next sunset, by using a Blood Point. The Kindred then make a normal Appearance Roll, Diff:6, and each success will replace one Dice in any Appearance Roll by one automatic '10'. A Botch will had one '1' to any Appearance roll for the same duration!
Note that this power is conveyed through any medium. A photography taken when the Kindred was using this power will be considered a great success, possibly an Art chef d'oeuvre!

***** : Dreaming about the Succubus

                    The Kindred has now such mastery of Sensualis she can affect people as far as in their own dreams. The victim does not need to have seen her before: He will not, then recognize her in his dreams. The Kindred can choose if the person affected will be victim of a pleasant, sensual (and most of the time sexual) dream, or if it will be a pure nightmare.

In the case of a dream, the Kindred will tease her victim, and posibly succumb to his phantasms. The victim will awake exhausted, with a bittersweet remembrance of the dream. The real presence of the Kindred will trouble him even more, making him more vulnerable to her charms and suggestions. Most of the time, the victim will rationalize and won't believe to have been affected by some supernatural power, as the dream is created by himself, from his deepest and most secret phantasms. The Kindred won't know what happened in the dream, and it can sometimes be dangerous, as teasing someone whose twisted desire rival Jack the Ripper's could well lead to a confrontation the Kindred (and her her internal organs) would have liked to avoid...

The Nightmare is more of less the same. The victim will be exhausted, as per a real violent nightmare, the nightmare can be so real it will leave, perhaps mental damage, as the willpower of the victim will be drained down...

                    System: Appearance+Seduction or Manipulation+Empathy, resisted by Wits+Dreams, Diff:6.
The Difficulty of the Appearance+Seduction / Manipulation+Empathy Roll repends on the range:

The normal effects of this power will last 24 hours only (unless exception, see the Nightmare below, or unless the Victim botches his resistance Roll --which means the effects will last for the whole story), can only be used once per 24 hours, and against only one creature. But the roll is extended, and so, the results can be cumulative (unless failed --the 24h effects wears of-- or botched --The victim is immunized for th rest of the story unless he botched his own roll). The Kindred must have seen her victim for at least one Scene in order to affect him. The reverse is not necessary.

Note that this power can enhance the creativity of an artist, giving him, at Storyteller's discretion, bonuses to any Creation roll. This creativity has its price, and can lead to the auto-destruction of the artist as he neglects his own wellfare to pursue his creation (the same bonus becomes now a Malus to any other Dice Pool!). Needless to say, Toreador are very susceptible to that power, and some Poseur would do anything to Create something once in their unlife...




Dreams: The Kindred rolls Appearance+Seduction against the Victim Wits+Dreams, all at difficulty 6. If successful, the victim is affected by: He removes 1 dice from all his Dice Pools, unless he wants to please the Kindred (if he recognized her). The Kindred (if she had been recognized) adds one dice per success to any positive Social Dice Pool used ''against'' the victim (Seduction, Etiquette, etc.) Note that the ''Dream power'' is so subtle that it will be rationalized as a --quite passionate-- dream. So few, if none, will actually resist it: Most, mortal and immortals, will believe to have fallen in love with the Kindred. And the others, if immortal, will probably be so happy to feel something once more they won't try to resist. As a rule of thumb, unless the victim is proficient in Dream manipulation (i.e.: Has the Dream Skill), he won't resist unless a good reason.





Nightmares: The Kindred rolls Manipulation+Emapthy against the Victim Wits+Dreams, all at difficulty 6. If successful, the victim is affected by: He removes 1 dice from all his Dice Pools, unless he wants to flee the Kindred (if he recognized her). The Kindred (if she add be recognized) adds one dice per success to any negative Social Dice Pool used ''against'' the victim (Esprit, Intimidation, Subterfuge or Etiquette, used to mock or ridiculize him, etc.) The victim's Permanent Willpower is decreased by one (or two if the victim Botches his resistance Roll) when he tries to use it against the Kindred or to protect himself of the Kindred's influence. If the victim's Permanent Willpower reaches zero (see above), then the victim will be permanently affected: Any mental power he will use against the Kindred will fail, and any mental power used by the Kindred against him will have its difficulty decreased by two. If the victim is of a more powerful Generation than the Kindred's, then the Kindred can now Dominate him, but without any bonus to the difficulty. While the Nightmare power can be rationalized, it is normally too violent, too horrible not to think about trying to resist it. But resisting it actively can be dangerous as the victim delves into the Nightmare more fully. If he resists and fails, then every effect above will last for the whole story instead of the whole night (The victim won't be able to shrugg it as a simple realistic nightmare, but will realize he tried to fight it, to no avail).




The decreased Willpower is both the Temporary and Permanent rating, but only when confronted to the Kindred.
For example, Ethan, of the Clan Tremere, has a Permanent Willpower of 7, and currently 5 Temporary Willpower points. He looses 3 points after three nights affected by Dreaming about the Succubus, and he finally confronts her and her friend.
The Tremere casts a Spell against the Kindred's friend: His Willpower Roll is 7. The Tremere casts a Spell against the Kindred: His Willpower is considered 7 -3 (Because of the Nightmare) -1 (Because of the malus in all Dice Pools the night following a Nightmare) = 3.
The Kindred's friend tries to Dominate Ethan, the Difficulty is Ethan's Permanent Willpower: 7. If the Kindreds try to read Ethan's mind (Auspex ****), the Difficulty is Ethan's Permanent Willpower (against her): 4.
In the end of the fight, Ethan used 3 Temporary Willpower Points. He can use one if trying to affect the Kindred's friend (as he still have 5-3=2 Temporary Willpower points), but can't against the Kindred (as he is considered to have 2-3=-1 Willpower points).

***** * : Sensual Gaze

                    The eyes of the Kindred become etrangely beguiling. People find they are strangely attracted by it, and soon lose themselves in her eyes. Moreso, By looking someone (the victim need not to return the stare, or even to be aware of the Kindred), the Kindred can induce sensual pleasure, similar to the Sensual Caress effect, at distance...

                    System: Permanent/1 Blood Point (See Sensual Caress)
The normal effect of this power is permanent: People tend to look the Kindred in the eyes. It is a role-playing effect only. It could decrease the difficulty of Seduction, or Empathy roll by one, as well as decrease the difficulty of Dominate by one in most cases.

The real power effects is similar to Sensual Caress, but has a range in meters equal to the Kindred's Seduction Rating. This power uses, then, 1 Blood Point per turn.

***** * : Suggestion by the Caress

                    The Kindred can now use one Dominate/Presence power only by touching the victim, instead of using her voice, or being seen. The Kindred must master this Dominate/Presence power, and the said Domminate/Presence power must be of a level from 1 to 5, and is chosen when buying this Sensualis power, and can't be changed since. In the case of Dominate, the victim understand the mental order of the Kindred

                    System: Automatic.
The roll of the Dominate/Presence power must still be made.

***** ** : Sensual Impression

                    Sensual Impression enable the Kindred to imprint one Sensualis power (Sensual Caress is the more common) on an object of art representing her, giving to this object a new dimension it didn't have before. Of course, even with this power, the object is but the shadow of its model if she shows up around it, using the same power...

                    System: Automatic
It's an automatic power. If the power imprinted needs a dice roll, the dice roll is done when Sensual impression is used and stay so forever. If Catherine uses this power in conjonction of the level two (Sensual Caress) on a greek-like statuesque representation of herself, she rolls the Dexterity + Seduction. As the difficulty is variable, the dices results are noted, and then compared to the Wits+3 (or +1 if a Toreador) of the one touching the statue. To remove this power, the object must be destroyed or altered so the image of the Kindred is no longer recognisable. Because of this, some modern-like representations of the Kindred can't obviously be used to be powered by Sensual Impression (Cubism is right out!).

© 2000 White Wolf, Inc. All rights reserved. © 2000 Black Widow Intellectual Property. All rights reserved.