Everything

Stopping a fight before it begins, a Mind-savvy martial artist can instill calm or terror in his would-be opponent:

• Channeled through soft words, a serene demeanor, or other placating gestures, the “calming gaze” feat uses a coincidental Mind 2 Effect to discourage antagonists from fighting. Essentially, that mage sends out an em-pathic impulse that – if successful – gets the target to chill the fuck out already.

• A similar impulse can send the would-be opponent into trembling fear, screaming terror, reckless fury, and other convenient emotions. This “predator’s eye” pushes the antagonist to an emotional state that hinders her effectiveness while giving the martial artist an edge. While the opponent behaves irrationally (which tends to mess with tactical planning or focused techniques), the martial artist takes advantage of that disruption.

Both techniques use the same Mind 2 Effect, and are coincidental unless the mage is being stupidly obvious about his magick. The difference comes from the emotions, not the magick, involved. Difficulties

• The difficulty for this feat – as detailed in the Uncanny Influence section, p. 116 – is that opponent’s Willpower Trait, if the opponent is a normal human being, Willpower + 3 if the opponent is a mage or other Night-Folk critter (vampire, werebeast, etc.). Hence, it’s easier to influence normal people than it is to have the same effect on Black Suits, vampires, and other unusual antagonists.