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As with Tatemae, some powerful Sotoha Kindred keep this power in effect all the time.

Cost: —

Dice Pool: Wits + Socialize + Kamen. Composure + Expression + Kamen to resist supernatural attempts to pierce his lies.

Action: Instant

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The vampire appears to all around him as an impostor. If he is in disguise, everyone realizes that he is disguised, although they may not immediately realize who he really is, particularly if the disguise is supernatural. If he is not in disguise, everyone who interacts with him becomes convinced that he is either a supernaturally disguised impostor or is possessed by some spirit making his body behave strangely. This effect lasts for a scene.

Failure: The vampire must rely on his other resources to navigate the social reefs of a new environment or to support a deception.

Success: The Kindred can act as if he were long accustomed to his role for a period of time depending on the number of successes rolled.

While the power is in effect, the Kindred suffers no penalties to social dice pools that would normally apply to an outsider in the society. In addition, he knows what the accepted etiquette is. If he is in disguise, he instinctively knows how the person he is impersonating would be expected to behave and what would be the polite behavior for that person. The Kindred’s actions are not constrained. He can choose to be impolite or to be just barely polite enough to avoid giving an insult. However, such fine judgments do require a die roll, as they would for someone naturally familiar with the society.

Exceptional Success: The effect lasts for one night, as for four successes. In addition, the Kindred gets a +3 bonus to all social dice pools, reflecting the amazing ease with which he can manipulate the social expectations of the group.

••••• Masking the Beast

The final power of Kamen functions like The Wave Is the Man, above, but for involuntary frenzies. No matter how deep the vampire may be in frenzy, she can appear completely calm and rational, taking sensible steps to best achieve the ends of the frenzy.

Cost: —

Dice Pool: This power requires no roll. It automatically affects any involuntary frenzy the vampire enters.

This power requires some adjudication between the player and Storyteller. It does not make the vampire immune to

frenzy, although there are some Kindred who believe that it does. On the other hand, this power is a major advantage to a frenzying vampire. At the very least, a vampire with this power can use any of her other powers while in a frenzy, regardless of how much calm and concentration they take, and can always appear calm and in control. The vampire also has considerable control over her actions, within the limits of the frenzy.

A vampire in hunger frenzy must feed to satiation as soon as possible. If the only vessel around is her beloved, she drains him dry. On the other hand, if the two of them are in a hotel room, she can charge out and into the next room, looking for another victim. She cannot, however, decide to take her beloved home first and feed later in the evening. If the vampire enters hunger frenzy while feeding, she can still break off to feed from another vessel, as long as she believes that there is another easily available.

A vampire in fear frenzy must get away from the cause of the fear as quickly as possible. A vampire forced into frenzy by another vampire waving a lighter in her face at a social gathering may make a cutting remark as she turns to stalk haughtily from the room, rather than freaking out and running screaming, but she must still leave. A vampire driven to fear frenzy by a candle could blow it out. Similarly, a vampire terrified by the sunlight coming through a window could duck around the light to close the shutters. If they failed to completely block the light, she would have to leave the room. Fear frenzies are possibly the least restricted, as about the only thing the vampire cannot do is bravely endure the threat; and most Kindred would not risk their Requiems in that way in any case.

A vampire in anger frenzy must express her anger. She need not, however, do so through physical violence. If the frenzy was provoked as anger with a particular individual, it must be taken out on that individual. If, on the other hand, it was provoked by general frustration, the vampire can choose how to express it. In no case will a vampire with this power involuntarily attack her friends while in an anger frenzy, unless they are disguised as her enemies. A vampire provoked into an anger frenzy in a social situation could choose to take it out in a stream of highly polished verbal abuse, possibly challenging her opponent to a duel. A vampire who enters anger frenzy in combat gets the bonuses of being in frenzy, but otherwise may continue the combat as if nothing had happened.

Action: Reflexive

Tenure

The power of Tenure gives a vampire an uncanny awareness of his surroundings. He knows where people and things are, even if he can’t see them — including any intruders. Everything around him subtly cooperates

to help him and hinder his foes. A Kindred with Tenure simply becomes more effective at everything he does — and other Kindred find the very land turning against them, if they trespass on the Landlord’s Demesne.

Annunaku legends tell of elder Landlords who called up storms or earthquakes in their Demesnes, who could hear every word spoken by their tenants or who could appear anywhere in their fiefdom in an instant. Some of these powers may be higher-level expressions of Tenure, attainable only by elders of high Blood Potency. Others sound like Devotions. If such powers exist, they only work within a Demesne mystically bonded to an Annunaku (see the sidebar).

STORYTELLER’S OPTION:

TENURE FOR ALL

The ancient Annunaku bloodline takes the credit for inventing Tenure, a Discipline of power over one’s domain. Yet Tenure is rumored to have spread beyond the bloodline’s ranks. If the Storyteller agrees, other Kindred, especially in the Invictus, might sometimes learn the Discipline from an Annunaku mentor. The Annunaku bloodline is so old and so widespread that such mentors could feasibly be found in any city. Only an Annunaku can teach the powers of Tenure, however. The Discipline cannot simply be “unlocked” from within one’s own blood, and it cannot be learned secondhand.

Except for the Annunaku, however, not many Kindred learn Tenure. The Discipline is most effective for Kindred who possess established territory where they hunt and influence mortal inhabitants. Most Kindred simply haven’t the wherewithal to build personal domains larger than their own havens. Those Kindred who have, of course, often belong to the Invictus.

Tenure and Obfuscate

Tenure has aspects in common with Auspex. Like that Discipline, Tenure may sometimes penetrate the concealment of Obfuscate, or Obfuscate may sometimes hide a person or object from Tenure. When a character with Tenure attempts to find someone or something hidden by Obfuscate, make a contested roll of the Ten- ure-user’s Wits + Investigation + Tenure versus the Obfuscate-user’s Resolve + Stealth + Obfuscate. (See the “Clash of Wills” sidebar on p. 119 of Vampire: The Requiem for more about this kind of supernatural contest.) Whoever accumulates the most successes wins the mystical battle. Ties go to the defender. Most of the time, ties result in an Obfuscated object or person remaining hidden (as the Tenure user is the initiator). If a vampire tried using Obfuscate right in front of Kindred with Tenure, however, the hiding character becomes the challenger, since he’s trying to hide himself (or some object) in plain sight.

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• Whispers of the Chamber

A student of Tenure starts by gaining a mystical knowledge of a small area. If she concentrates on some known or well-defined object, she knows where it is and whether it’s lost, hidden or disguised. To the Kindred, it’s as if a tiny voice in her mind says, “Here I am!”

This is good for more than finding lost car keys. Whispers of the Chamber reveals the presence of intruders or another person’s hidden valuables. Only other mystic powers can hide someone or something from a vampire with Tenure. The better a character can define the target she seeks, the greater her chance of detecting it.

As a final benefit, a vampire who knows Whispers of the Chamber automatically knows if an unauthorized person enters her haven, at least while she herself is in it. She won’t track the comings and goings of Retainers (unless she wants to), but becomes instantly aware of intruders.

Cost: Whispers of the Chamber does not cost Vitae if used within the character’s own haven. Anywhere else, it costs 1 Vitae to search for one person or object.

Dice Pool: Wits + Investigation + Tenure

Action: Instant. (Reflexive for detecting intruders within the Annunaku’s haven.)

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The character receives a false indication of the target object’s location or believes the object is not present at all.

Failure: The character cannot sense the target object’s location.

Success: The character knows the exact location of the target object if it is within a distance defined by the successes achieved. (See below.)

Exceptional Success: An exceptional success grants no special benefits other than an extended range of insight. If this power is used within the vampire’s haven, an exceptional success automatically results in awareness of all the space within the haven, regardless of its Size.

Suggested Modifiers

—The target is fairly well known or definable, such as “any car keys,” “a diamond ring,” “a will” or “a Mekhet.”

Anything more vaguely or abstractly defined, such as “valuables” or “people” has no chance of success at all.

•• Home Ground

Annunaku are well known for the ease with which they act under conditions other Kindred find difficult. Students of Tenure never seem to trip on roots and stones, slip on ice or lose their prey in darkness, fog or clutter. Their enemies, on the other hand, may suffer such impediments to an uncanny degree. A vampire runs down a hall after an Annunaku, and the carpet slips underfoot; the vampire tries to hide in shrubbery, and a stray beam of light picks him out. Wise Kindred know not to challenge an Annunaku on his home turf, where this effect seems strongest and most omnipresent, but Annunaku can show this uncanny mastery of their surroundings almost anywhere.

Cost: Home Ground does not cost Vitae if used within a character’s haven. If used within his Demesne, the special territory he claims and rules (see sidebar), Home Ground costs 1 Vitae. The effects of this power last for a scene.

Dice Pool: Wits + Survival + Tenure

Action: Instant

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: For the rest of the scene, the character suffers a –3 penalty on every Physical action he attempts, if there is any way his surroundings could impede him. Storytellers are encouraged to be generous in devising environmental penalties. For instance, slippery floors, smoke or fog, rain, burnt-out bulbs and other such penalties can come into play almost anywhere.

Failure: Nothing happens. All actions for the next scene receive normal dice pools, with whatever modifiers the Storyteller has already defined for the environment.

Success: Each success rolled reduces an environmental penalty to the Annunaku’s actions by one. For instance, trying to run on wet ice might call for a Dexterity + Athletics roll with a –3 penalty. A player who scored two successes on her activation roll could spend successes to cancel out some of that penalty, reducing it to –1.

Alternately, the player can also increase environ- ment-based modifiers that favor her character. For instance, a clump of shrubbery might normally grant a +2 bonus to attempts to hide. The player could raise this to +4 for her Tenure-using character, or even increase her chances of spotting another character hidden behind similar shrubbery.

Modifiers from Home Ground apply to just one action, such as running through a garbage-packed alley, finding a concealed person, terrorizing someone in a park or making an attack. Applying Home Ground to

another action requires the power to be activated again. Note that this power does not have to be activated for each roll in an extended action.

This power cannot generate any effect without environmental factors to interact with. A featureless room, for example, gives the Annunaku little to work with.

Exceptional Success: Per a normal success, though the character has a remarkable ability to act despite the environment. For instance, with five or more successes, a character might be able to accurately fire a gun in a hurricane.

Suggested Modifiers

The environment itself can make Home Ground more difficult, by giving the power less to work with. Simple or empty surroundings just don’t supply many factors that could affect a task. For instance, an empty basketball court offers little or nothing suitable for taking cover. If the Storyteller thinks an environment is simply too bare or empty to help or hinder a particular task, he can impose up to a –5 dice penalty on the Home Ground roll or just decide the power cannot work at all. Players should be encouraged, however, to suggest ways a location could offer a Home Ground advantage to characters.

••• Voice of the Castle

As a student of Tenure gains mastery, she can extend her mystical perception over wider areas. Where before she could locate objects or people only in a few small rooms, now she can search an entire building. In olden times, vampires with Tenure really did own castles, and the stones spoke in their minds, warning of intruders. These nights, a Kindred with Tenure can search a skyscraper or shopping mall.

Cost: Voice of the Castle has no cost if used within a building containing the character’s own haven (even if the haven does not encompass the entire building). Anywhere else, Voice of the Castle costs 1 Willpower to search for one person or object.

Dice Pool: Intelligence + Investigation + Tenure

Action: Instant

The sensory range of Voice of the Castle extends out from the vampire for many yards in every direction. When used within a building, sewers, storm drains, subway tunnels and other enclosed structures that don’t technically form “buildings,” the Kindred receives even more precise mystic telemetry.

Once the power has been activated, the vampire can prolong her awareness of her target’s location for up to a scene. Every “double check” of the target’s location in a scene requires another action, but not another activation roll or Willpower point. If the target moves, the vampire knows about it. For instance, one character could follow another character’s movements through a skyscraper, even though they stayed several floors apart.

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The character receives a false indication of the target object’s location or believes it is not present at all.

Failure: The character cannot sense the target object’s location.

Success: The character knows the exact location of the target object if it is within a distance defined by the successes achieved. (See below.)

Exceptional Success: An exceptional success grants no special benefits other than an extended range of insight. If the vampire is within a building at the time this power is activated, however, an exceptional success expands the radius of power to include all the space within the building, no matter how large.

Suggested Modifiers

—The target is fairly well known or definable, such as “any car keys,” “a diamond ring,” “a will,” or “a Mekhet.”

Anything more vaguely or abstractly defined, such as “valuables” or “people” has no chance of success at all.

•••• Watching the Bounds

Experienced users of Tenure gain the mystic power to know if anyone uses active supernatural powers or spills blood within their Demesnes. The character senses if any other vampire expends Vitae or activates Disciplines. The character also detects the special mystic powers used by werewolves, mages, ghosts and other supernatural creatures, as well as enchanted objects. The character might not, however, know the intruder’s location or the nature of the power used — only that some supernatural creature is active within his territory. If one of the

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vampire’s Contacts, Allies, Retainers or other Demesnedefining social connections suffers lethal or aggravated damage, the vampire may sense that as well.

Watching the Bounds only works within a vampire’s Demesne, and only when the user is also within his Demesne. A supernatural creature that does not use active supernatural powers remains undetected.

As an added benefit, a vampire skilled in this power instantly knows if any unauthorized person enters his haven. The vampire does not have to be within his haven at the time, but must be within his Demesne at the time. If he is on less familiar ground, he becomes aware of the intrusion as soon as he returns to his haven (or his Demesne, if the intruder is still present).

Cost: None.

Dice Pool: Wits + Occult + Tenure

Action: Reflexive. The character does not need to be watching consciously for any supernatural intrusion.

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: A dramatic failure is not possible with this power.

Failure: The character does not sense the supernatural power at work.

Success: The character knows someone is using a supernatural power within his Demesne or harming his folk, but not the location or nature of the trespasser.

Exceptional Success: The character intuits the direction and distance to whoever (or whatever) is using supernatural powers or acting violent. He also knows if the magic is vampiric (Disciplines, blood magic, healing or physical augmentation) or something else. He might recognize the magic of other creatures as well, if he has previous experience with them, but he cannot recognize what he has never experienced before.

Suggested Modifiers

••••• Master of the Demesne

A master of Tenure can extend his mystical awareness throughout his entire Demesne, inside and out, above ground or below. If a particular person is within his Demesne, he can find her and knows her location down to the footprint.

If the vampire wants, he can track a person for an entire scene. Master of the Demesne surpasses previous Tenure powers in that the character knows the target’s actual surroundings, demeanor and bearing, not merely the target’s distance and direction. With greater effort, the vampire can even cause his Demesne to hinder or help targets he has located.

By the time a vampire is able to use this power, he knows his Demesne intimately. It does not work anywhere else.

Cost: 1 Vitae per scene (plus 1 Willpower for further effects)

Dice Pool: Intelligence + Investigation + Tenure

Action: Instant

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The character receives a false indication of the target’s location or believes it is not present at all.

Failure: The character cannot sense the target object’s location.

Success: The vampire knows the exact location of the target object if it is within his Demesne.

Exceptional Success: An exceptional success grants the vampire the ability to affect the area immediately surrounding a detected target with the vampire’s raw will. The vampire can now spend 1 Willpower point to activate the Home Ground power through his mystic connection to the target and alter the target’s environment for better or worse.

The vampire can impose an environmental penalty to the target’s next action equal to the successes achieved on the Home Ground activation roll. For the most part, this penalty applies only to Physical actions, but exceptions abound: a drifting fog might penalize Perception-based dice pools as well as Drive checks, for example. Alternately, streetlights might go out, stoplights might all turn red or cracked asphalt may become especially unstable.

Activating Home Ground in this way requires an action, as usual. The vampire may change the nature and location of the penalties he applies with another action, but his ability to influence his Demesne remotely lasts only as long as he focuses on the target. Once the vampire returns his attention to his own surroundings, this enhanced Home Ground power ends. Another Willpower point and another activation roll are required to invoke it again.

Web

Web, as befits the signature Discipline of the Lynx, is the power of human networks. The individual nodes that make up a network are a secondary concern to the practitioners of this Discipline. It’s the connections and flow between nodes that is essential to understand. A Kindred who masters this ability might know more about what your friends and allies think of you than you do, even if she has just met you.

For the purposes of the Discipline, a network is any social construct made up of nodes and the information that moves through the relationships between them. The pattern and type of connections, and the flow of information along the connections, is an important feature of the system. For example, a physical net, as used for fishing, is not a good metaphor for a Web network, because nothing moves along the connections between the nodes. The Internet is a network because information moves between the nodes. The Internet is a Web-com- patible network only when that information moves between human nodes according to the whims and wishes of human participants in the network. Thus, any two websites may not be a part of the same network, for purposes of this Discipline, unless their creators and modi-

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lead to Detroit, but the expressways are not part of the Chicago road network any more than Detroit is.

It is harder to intuitively understand a larger network, so Kindred with this Discipline tend to interact with smaller networks they believe that they can become intimately familiar with.

For the purposes of this Discipline, there are the following three types of networks:

Formal social networks are of great interest to most Lynx. These networks are made up of the people in an area who do business with one another. These links are primarily financial: who buys from whom, who borrows money from whom, who delivers to whom. These are also links of competition, determined by who competes with whom. Individual final consumers are generally not part of the network; rather, groups of consumers are considered together, as target markets. The substance that flows around the network is, typically, money. This is a cold network, informed by habit and practiced behavior rather than emotional ties. Even for the living, this is a vague, instinctual thing. Formal social networks exist between commuters on the train and regular customers at the store — they are the surface of human networks. In general, this can also be seen as the network of Mental Traits, though Social and Physical factors certainly contribute to the activity of and between nodes.

Personal social networks are composed of nodes of friends, lovers, sexual partners and enemies. In this case, the links are human relationships, and information, conversation, sex, favors, feelings and personal rivalries are the packets of data that flow around the network. This is a deeper, more private network than a formal social network — this is the heart of human networks. Generally speaking, this is the Social network, though Mental and Physical factors certain play a large part in social dynamics.

Spatial networks, such as road, rail and sewage networks, can also be interfaced with by a Lynx. These networks are typically more static and evidentiary than social networks, but that’s not always the case. Though a Lynx attuned to spatial networks may be able to infer the function and meaning of buildings, roads and pipes constructed by human agents, she is better able to mingle with the movement within those systems, slipping into crowds, influencing the flow of traffic and predicting where a human or car will change direction. This is the most Physical network of the lot, as it casts the actual human body as the information that travels between man-made nodes.

A Lynx can only use the powers of Web in the types of networks with which she is attuned. Every Lynx attunes to one of the three network types automatically upon developing the first dot of Web. Attunement to an additional network types can be acquired by spending five experience points. A Lynx cannot be attuned to more types of networks than she has dots in Web.

Most of these powers work with any creature who participates in human relationships, from ghouls to vampires to mages. As a general guideline, creatures with a Morality or similar Trait rated two or less cannot be affected by this Discipline. Spatial networks may contest eligible powers with a Resistance Trait value that reflects the average traffic through the space, as determined by the Storyteller.

• Scan

The most basic of Web powers, this allows a vampire to “scan” and read one node in a network. If a node could be thought of as a buoy in the sea, chained to numerous other buoys in the dark, then this power can be thought of as shining a light on that buoy, revealing the types of chains that lead away from it and a vague idea of the directions they’re headed.

This power doesn’t give a Lynx much information on the network in general, but it provides the tools for investigating networks and assembling a map of their nodes. The information the vampire gains is full of strong sensations and mental images, tempered by the biases and experiences of his subject node. Thus the information received is accurate only to a point. However, when tracing a lead on information to an adjacent node in the same network, the Lynx instinctually realizes that she has made contact with a specific associate node.

For example, when a Lynx attuned with personal networks “scans” a mortal woman, she might learn that she is currently infatuated with a blond man and experiencing what feels like a bad break-up with a co-worker. If the Lynx encounters the woman’s “blond man” and scans him, the vampire instinctually understands that she has found the man the mortal woman is infatuated with. The Lynx may also learn that the blond man does not love her back.

What constitutes a node of any particular network type is open to some interpretation by the Storyteller. A personal node is always a person, and the interface with a personal node must always be through direct social contact, whether that means a formal interview, flirtations at a crowded restaurant or small talk on the subway. A formal node requires direct observation of the subject by the vampire, though contact is not necessary — trailing the subject is typical. A spatial node must be a junction or intersection on some sort of physical network, such as a freeway interchange, a telephone junction box or a boiler room, and must be visited in person by the Lynx for the scan to work.

Cost: 1 Vitae

Dice Pool: Wits + Investigation + Web – subject’s Composure + Blood Potency

Action: Instant. Note, however, that while the actual moment of activation requires only an instant action, a character must observe or interact with a node for a number of minutes before this power can be used. In general, a Lynx may successfully scan with only one node

per scene. Thus, at the end of many scenes, a Lynx’s player might attempt this power on any one character she was interacting with throughout the scene.

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The character fails to interpret any useful information from the subject and is unable to use this power again for the rest of the night. Vitae spent to activate the power is wasted.

Failure: The character fails to observe anything useful.

Success: The character uncovers a few leads from the node’s behavior. For each success scored on the activation roll, one piece of information is gained about the subject’s relationship with its network. This information may seem to be gleaned by subtleties of behavior (“See the way he’s eyeballing that dress? He was just thinking about buying it for someone. Someone with red hair.”) or attitude (“He’s pissed. Look at him. He hates his boss.”), but that is often just a trick of the blood. The information is often gleaned directly by vaguely sensing the subject’s psychic presence.

Alternately, the character can learn something about the subject’s Social Merits. To use this option, the Lynx must select a Merit to gauge — Allies, Contacts, Herd, Mentor or Retainer, for example — and then compare the successes on her activation roll to the subject’s dots in that Merit. The Lynx gets an intuitive understanding of the Merit in question, up to a value equal to the successes scored. For example, if a Lynx scores three successes on her activation roll,

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•• Link

After a Lynx learns to read nodes, he comes to understand how to construct or enhance his own networks of blood. Though the rational mind of an intelligent Lynx might be able to parse the sociometrics of interpersonal relationships, it’s the blood that thrums in response to social networks and informs his perceptions. Therefore, a Lynx can only form artificial — or, truly, supernatural — networks through the medium of blood. Contrary to some beliefs, however, a Lynx can create links between any blooded creature, whether vampire, ghoul, mortal or other.

Cost: 1 Vitae per link. This cost can be paid by any mix of Vitae from the Lynx and any other Kindred subjects. To form a link with any subjects that are not Kindred, the Lynx must have at least one Vitae from each subject in his system when this power is activated. The qualifying Vitae may be spent to activate this power, but that’s not a requirement.

Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion + Web versus the subject’s Composure + Blood Potency (if resisted)

Action: Instant, if the subjects are willing; extended and contested if they are not. A number of successes must be accrued equal to the highest Willpower of all unwilling subjects. Each roll represents about one minute.

To activate this power, the Lynx must be able to see all the subjects directly — not through a video camera or photograph — in addition to fulfilling the requirements above. If the Lynx is unable to spend enough Vitae in one turn to activate this power, he must spend the Vitae as quickly as he can in the turns leading up to and including the activation roll.

A Lynx does not have to be a member of the blood networks he creates with this power.

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The vampire fails to form any links and finds his ability to perceive his attuned networks diminished — he suffers a –2 penalty on all Web activation rolls for the rest of the night. All Vitae spent to activate this power is wasted.

Failure: The character fails to form any links and all the Vitae spent to activate this power is wasted.

Success: The character successfully forges links of blood between the subjects. Each subject can now affect the others as if they shared a blood tie (see “Blood Ties,” on p. 162 of Vampire: The Requiem). If any of the subjects already shared a blood tie, its effects are doubled. This effect also allows all the subjects to feel the proximity and condition of the other subjects according to the rules for blood sympathy.

This artificial blood tie persists for a number of nights equal to the Link user’s Resolve. Subjects who want out after the first night can spend one Willpower point to attempt a Resolve + Composure roll to break their link to

the blood network; this Willpower point does not augment the dice pool but merely makes the attempt possible. The dice pool to break the link is penalized by the Lynx’s dots in Web.

A Lynx with this power may add his dots in Web to all blood sympathy dice pools.

Exceptional Success: If the Lynx scores five or more successes on the activation roll (or five more successes than necessary on the extended action), his connection to the subjects is so strong that he may temporarily see through their eyes. To do so, the Lynx simply spends one Willpower point per turn he wishes to spend spying through the subject’s eyes.

Suggested Modifiers

••• Insert/Delete

After a Lynx becomes comfortable reading nodes and understanding her own sanguine networks, she may learn to insert or delete herself from existing networks. To do so, the vampire must first successfully scan a subject node with Web. Once that’s done, the Lynx can use this power to pose as a node in a foreign network or diminish her profile in a network she is genuinely a part of. The Lynx becomes difficult to track and hard to ignore.

Cost: 1 Willpower per scene

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Persuasion + Web versus subject’s Resolve + Blood Potency

Action: Instant and contested; resistance is reflexive.

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The Lynx achieves the opposite of the result she wanted, getting a penalty instead of a bonus or vice versa.

Failure: The character fails to insert herself into a network or delete her presence from a network.

Success: The vampire successfully alters her place in the desired network. The Lynx’s dots in Web either become a bonus to dice pools for interactions with the network in question or a penalty to the actions of other nodes to interact with the Lynx through the network. A bonus represents the Lynx interacting the expectations and familiarity of other nodes within the network, while a penalty represents the Lynx shutting parts of herself off from a network she belongs to.

As an example of an insertion, consider a Lynx who uses this power to insert herself into a personal network: she might alter a node’s memory subtly so that he ac-

cepts her as a forgotten college classmate or friend of a friend. The malleability of the node’s interactions with the Lynx grants her power and flexibility within the network, represented by her bonus dice.

The exact dice pools that can benefit from this power vary with the individual networks; the Storyteller must decide on a case-by-case basis if a dice pool is eligible. An insertion into a personal or formal network could grant bonuses to Socialize, Persuasion and Subterfuge actions. Insertion into a spatial network could benefit dice pools for Drive (other drivers instinctually make cooperate with the Lynx), Computer (the Lynx gleans an intuitive understanding of the jargon and organization of the system) or even Stealth dice pools (the Lynx moves within the flow of daily traffic so as not to attract attention to herself).

As an example of a deletion, consider a Lynx who uses this power to dampen the emotional force put on her by a Kindred “relative” — the penalties applied to the relative’s actions more than counteract the effects of a blood tie.

The dice pools that can be penalized by deletion are more restricted, as the Lynx can only affect those that interact with her through her personal and formal networks. Therefore, dice pools that would normally be affected by Status dots may also be penalized by this power. Rolls to sense the link through the blood sympathy are always penalized when this power is active. Likewise, attempts to get information out of affected nodes about the whereabouts and business of the Lynx are penalized, even if the subject is attempting to search her own memory — the subject simply cannot recall all the information she could before.

This power must be centered on an individual subject node whenitisfirstactivated,butitseffectsechomysticallythrough the network as the Lynx moves deeper into the system. Each degree of separation between the Lynx and the subject node reduces the effectiveness of her bonus or penalty by one. Thus, the Lynx may enjoy a +3 bonus with the mortal she pretends to know from college, but this bonus is reduced to +2 when dealing with his roommate and +1 when dealing with the roommate’s friends. Likewise, the Lynx’s interface with a spatial network, like a highway, diminishes as she moves further from her entry point.

Exceptional Success: There is no benefit for an exceptional success when using this power.

•••• Edit

After a Lynx understands how to alter a network around himself, he can learn how to alter the relationships between nodes other than himself. With this power, a Lynx can edit the chains of information that flow out of a scanned node, altering emotional states and spatial rhythms with the mystic force of his will. A clever Lynx can use this power to set off much larger changes in a network: a frayed relationship may lead to lucrative political clash or a halt in

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