Id

by Robert Mayberry

Only Alexandrians know this discipline. This is the Discipline of the subconscious. While Dominate invades the conscious mind, and Presence controls its victims' emotions, Id manipulates the subconscious. Like Dominate, commands must be given verbally (although the actual wording is not important, as the commands directly invade the subconscious) and the commands must address one person at a time. Victims will not actually hear what is said to them (though those around them might). Like Presence, eye contact is not necessary. Indeed, suggestions may be made over the telephone (+1 to the difficulty). Willpower can be spent, as in Dominate or Presence, to resist the effects. Since this power bypasses the conscious mind, though, victims, even those who should know better, will not suspect. A botch causes the target to realize what is happening to him. Needless to say, few people like being manipulated, but this power causes especially strong feelings of violation.

[1] Mistake: At first, the vampire's command of someone's subconscious is limited. The subject can be made to carry out a single command given mentally. This is a pure action of the subconscious, and cannot be used to change a subject's actions, only to modify them. A cashier will 'accidentally' give the vampire a twenty dollar bill instead of a one, a running attacker will be persuaded to fall, and an actor will forget his lines. Note that since the conscious must not know what is happening to it, the effects tend to manifest as 'mistakes.'

System: The vampire must roll his Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty equals the target's Wits + Alertness). With one success, the target may realize what she is doing as it happens, and spend a Willpower point to prevent the mistake. With three, the target may not realize her mistake until much later, while with five, the target may not realize her error at all, depending on the circumstances. The vampire may not do anything else while using this power. This power may be used in combat, but each success adds a '1' to an opponents attack roll (These subtract successes as if they were rolled, and can be used to make an opponent botch.)

[2] Object of Desire: At this point, the vampire may use this power to lull or stir subconscious fears in the victim. With each use, the vampire may alter a target's perceptions of one individual or object. The target won't know why she trusts or suspects the individual, but he will 'just have a feeling' about him/it. For this power to affect the subject's perceptions of anyone but himself, the vampire must whisper advice to the target regarding the individual (The individual (or object) need not be present).

System: The vampire rolls his Charisma + Intrigue (difficulty equals the target's Willpower). Successes indicate the intensity of the feeling for objects, while each success adds to or subtracts from the relevant social rolls if the advise deals with a person. At least two successes are required before the target is affected if the subject is not present. This power normally lasts until something causes him to question his feelings, but continued use of this power makes it easier to reawaken such feelings.

[3] Contingency: By whispering a command, the Kindred may give a single command to the subject, along with a condition which will trigger the command. Complex commands, or commands which endanger the subject are possible, but more difficult. Once the command is carried out, the command fades from the subject's mind. If the command is not carried out (due, for instance, to failure, accident, or expenditure of Willpower), the command will remain buried until the next time the conditions are met.

System: The vampire rolls his Manipulation + Leadership (difficulty is the target's Willpower.) Complex commands or commands which are against the target's Nature raise the difficulty by up to two. If the trigger does not occur, the command fades on its own after the amount of time on the chart below. More than one command may be given at a time, but each requires a separate roll.

[4] Loose Toungue: When asked a question, the subject will instinctively blurt out the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The vampire need only ask a question, and the subject will answer it to the best of her ability.

System: The target must roll his own Self Control (difficulty is the vampire's Charisma + Empathy) every time the vampire using this power asks a question. Success means that the subject has successfully caught himself, however, less than three successes mean that he has blurted something out (with one success, the beginnings of an answer are given; with two, only the first part of the first word is spoken.) Just as in Presence 4, where the requirement that the user be in plain sight is waived, this power does not require speech.

[5] Friendly Advice: Those who posess this power have a unique control over the beliefs of others. Friendly Advice enables a vampire to convince a target of one fact. The target will not usually question why he believes what the vampire tells him unless the fact is questioned by someone else, and even then the target may become angry and confused when confronted with the truth.

System: The vampire rolls his Charisma + Leadership (difficulty is the target's Intelligence + Enigmas). Note that the difficulty is reduced by one if what the target is being convinced is actually true.