Presence

Presence is the Discipline of emotional manipulation. Vampires with this power can inspire passionate fervor or unreasoning terror in mortals and Kindred alike. In addition, unlike most Disciplines, some of Presence's powers can be used on entire crowds at one time. Presence can transcend race, religion, gender, class, and (most importantly) supernatural nature. As such, this subtle power is one of the most useful Disciplines a vampire can possess.

Anyone can resist Presence for one scene by spending a Willpower point and succeeding on a Willpower roll (difficulty 8), but the affected individual must keep spending points until he is no longer in the presence of the vampire (or, in the case of Summon, until the effect wears off). Vampires three or more Generations lower than the wielder need only spend a single Willpower to ignore the Presence for an entire night and need not roll Willpower to do so.

Dots in Charisma, Intimidation, and Empathy are very useful for using Presence, as they all help with cowing and inciting emotion.

Presence Cheat Sheet - This sheet is a quick chart of what rolls are needed for what abilities. Keep in mind that the sheet and this page is a cut down version of the V20 page we use on subnet to make it easier to reference. For all of the details regarding Presence, please go here.

[1] Awe
Those near the vampire suddenly desire to be closer to her and become receptive to her point of view. Awe is extremely useful for mass communication. Despite the intensity of this attraction, those so smitten do not lose their sense of self-preservation. Danger breaks the spell of fascination, as does leaving the area. Those subject to Awe will remember how they felt in the vampire's presence, however.

System: The player spends a blood point and rolls Charisma + Performance (difficulty 7). The number of successes rolled determines how many people are affected, as noted on the chart below. If there are more people present than the character can influence, Awe affects those with lower Willpower ratings first. The power stays in effect for the remainder of the scene or until the character chooses to drop it. Those affected can use Willpower points to overcome the effect, but must continue spending Willpower every scene for as long as they remain in the same area as the vampire. As soon as an individual spends a number of Willpower points equal to the successes rolled, he shakes off the Awe completely and remains unaffected for the rest of the night.

Degrees of Successes
One Success - One person

Two Successes - Two people

Three Successes - Six people

Four Successes - Twenty people

Five Successes - Everyone in the vampire's immediate vicinity (an entire auditorium, a mob)

Failure - Does nothing

Botch - Those in the area actively turn away from the caster, refusing to listen.

[2] Dread Gaze
While all Kindred can frighten others by physically revealing their true vampiric natures, this power focuses these elements to insanely terrifying levels. Dread Gaze engenders unbearable terror in its victim, stupefying him into madness, immobility, or reckless flight. Even the most stalwart individual will fall back from the vampire's horrific visage.

System: The player rolls Charisma + Intimidation (difficulty equal to the victim's Wits + Courage). Success indicates the victim is cowed, while failure means the target is startled but not terrified by the sight. Three or more successes means he runs away in abject fear. Moreover, each success subtracts one from the target's action dice pools next turn. The character may attempt Dread Gaze once per turn against a single target, though she may also perform it as an extended action, adding her successes in order to subjugate the target completely. Once the target loses enough dice that he cannot perform any action, he's so shaken and terrified that he curls up on the ground and weeps. Failure during the extended action means the attempt falters. The character loses all her collected successes and can start over next turn, while the victim may act normally again. A botch at any time indicates the target is not at all impressed -- perhaps even finding the vampire's antics comical -- and remains immune to any further uses of Presence by the character for the rest of the scene.

[3] Entrancement
This power bends others' emotions, making them the vampire's willing servants. Since this is done willingly, instead of having their wills sapped, these servants retain their creativity and individuality. While these obedient minions are more personable and spirited than the mind-slaves created by Dominate, they're also somewhat unpredictable. Further, since Entrancement is of a temporary duration, dealing with a lapsed servant can be troublesome.

System: The player spends a blood point and rolls Appearance + Empathy (difficulty equal to the target's current Willpower points); the number of successes determines how long the subject is Entranced, as per the chart below. (Subjects can still spend Willpower to temporarily resist, like any other Presence power.) The Storyteller may wish to make the roll instead, since the character is never certain of the strength of her hold on the victim. The vampire may try to keep the subject under her thrall, but can do so only after the initial Entrancement wears off. Attempting this power while Entrancement is already in operation has no effect.

Degrees of Successes
One Success - One hour

Two Successes - One day

Three Successes - One week

Four Successes - One month

Five Successes - One year

Failure - Subject cannot be entranced for the rest of the night.

Botch - Subject cannot be entranced for a week.

[4] Summon
This impressive power enables the vampire to call to herself any person whom she has ever met, across any distance within the physical world. The subject of the Summons comes as fast as he is able, possibly without even knowing why. He knows intuitively how to find his Summoner -- even if the vampire moves to a new location, the subject redirects his own course as soon as he can. The subject thinks mainly of reaching the vampire, but does not neglect his own well-being. The individual retains his survival instincts, and while he won't shirk physical violence to reach the vampire's side, he won't subject himself to suicidal situations. The Summoning dissipates at dawn.

System: The player spends a blood point and rolls Charisma + Subterfuge. The base difficulty is 5; this increases to difficulty 7 if the subject was met only briefly. If the character used Presence successfully on the target in the past, this difficulty drops to 4, but if the attempt was unsuccessful, the difficulty rises to 8. The number of successes indicates the subject's speed and attitude in responding.

Degrees of Successes
One Success - Subject approaches slowly and hesitantly.

Two Successes - Subject approaches reluctantly and is easily thwarted by obstacles.

Three Successes - Subject approaches with reasonable speed.

Four Successes - Subject comes with haste, overcoming any obstacles in his way.

Five Successes - Subject rushes to the vampire, doing anything to get to her.

Failure - Subject cannot be Summoned for the rest of the night.

Botch - Subject cannot be Summoned by that vampire for a week.

[5] Majesty
At this stage, the vampire can augment her supernatural mien a thousandfold. Majesty inspires universal respect, devotion, fear -- or all those emotions at once -- in those around the vampire. People affected find the vampire so formidable that they dare not risk her displeasure. Raising their voices to her is difficult; raising a hand against her is unthinkable. Wise Kindred use this power with caution against mortal and immortal alike. While Majesty can cow influential politicians and venerable Primogen, the vampire must be careful that doing so doesn't come back to haunt her.

System: No roll is required on the part of the vampire, but she must spend a Willpower point. A subject must make a Courage roll (difficulty equal to the vampire's Charisma + Intimidation, to a maximum of 10) if he wishes to be rude or simply contrary to the vampire. Success allows the individual to act normally for the moment, although he feels the weight of the vampire's displeasure crushing down on him. A subject who fails the roll aborts his intended action and even goes to absurd lengths to humble himself before the vampire, no matter who else is watching. The effects of Majesty last for one scene.