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L'amour

Presence ••••

  • Amalgam: Auspex 3

Most commonly wielded by the degenerates of clan Toreador, this power showcases the insidious potential of Presence. By reaching directly into a person’s psyche and expertly shaping their emotions and perception of the vampire, the user is able to establish a connection that, though fleeting, may rival the Blood Bond.

  • Cost: One Rouse Check, and one or more Stains at the Storyteller’s discretion.
  • Dice Pool: Manipulation + Presence vs. Composure + Intelligence.
  • System: The vampire must spend a scene interacting closely with the target (Star Magnetism allows this to be done remotely under similar constraints to Entrancement), and makes their roll at the end of the scene. Depending on the approach taken, the Storyteller may allow an appropriate specialty from Performance, Persuasion or Etiquette to apply a one-dice bonus to the roll. On a total failure, the target becomes immune to all of the vampire’s Presence powers for the rest of the story. On a win, the target falls under the vampire’s sway; this functions much like a Blood Bond (V5, pg. 234), with a Bond Strength of 1 + the margin of success (the maximum possible Bond Strength is 6 as normal). Whenever the subject succeeds on the Resolve + Intelligence vs. Bond Strength test to act against the vampire’s wishes, the Bond Strength is reduced by 1 or, if the subject is a vampire whose Blood Potency is higher than the user’s by 2 or more, it is reduced by their difference in Blood Potency instead. When they fail a resistance roll in the presence of the user, the subject cannot attempt another for the rest of the scene.

The emotions forged by this power are so believable that, even when the subject manages to defy the user’s wishes for a turn or a scene, any action that they take to harm the vampire has a penalty to the dice pool equal to the remaining Bond Strength. Though it mimics a Blood Bond, L’amour does not interact with Bonding merits and flaws or any other mechanics that refer specifically to Blood Bonds. If a person under the thrall of a real Blood Bond becomes affected by this power, conflicts between the wishes of the user and those of the person’s regnant will always favor the regnant; if the user makes a demand that the thrall must resist their Blood Bond to fulfill, a failure to resist it makes it so they can ignore the request, and the power’s Bond Strength drops as if they had succeeded on a resistance roll against it. A vampire can have this power active on a number of subjects equal to their dots in Presence + Blood Potency.

  • Duration: until the Bond Strength drops to zero or the vampire decides to end it. Attempting to use L’amour to renew the power on a subject who is already under the vampire’s sway will end the previous application on a failure, in addition to not renewing it.

Related Content

Credits

Author: Phaerlax

Other Credits: This power is inspired by the six-dot Love power as seen in V20.

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