Discipline Powers

Blood Brothers share a hive-mind; this ability was one of the guiding principles behind their creation. The Gestalt power is that hive-mind, the ability of the Frankensteins to coordinate silently and perfectly in battle, to avoid mind-controlling powers, and to act in unison.

System: This power confers several benefits on the Blood Brothers. For this power to work, however, every Blood Brother in the circle must spend a blood point. If even one member cannot or will not spend a blood point, this power fails. Once a Blood Brother has met the Final Death, he is no longer a part of the circle, so the power continues to function among the still-undead members of the group. Gestalt lasts for one scene. While this power is active:

• Dominate, Presence, and the like take effect against the highest Willpower rating in the circle. For example, if a vampire attempts to Dominate a Blood Brother under the influence of Gestalt, she must roll against the highest Willpower rating any of the vampires in the circle possesses, even if her subject has the lowest Willpower rating in the circle. Additionally, a Blood Brother affected by powers in this manner drops out of the Gestalt, though Gestalt remains active for others. This mental “fuse” was supposedly created to prevent the entire circle from being Dominated by a vampire looking into the eyes of one Blood Brother.
• Perception difficulties for all Blood Brothers in the circle decrease by three, as they share the sensory input of other vampires in the circle.
• By taking no action other than concentrating, a Blood Brother may “loan” an Ability to another brother. For example, a wounded vampire with Melee 4 may step out of combat and loan a circle-mate with Melee 2 his mastery of that Skill. The “borrowing” vampire makes Ability checks against the loaned Trait as if it were his own.
• The Blood Brothers in the Gestalt may communicate through telepathy, allowing them to coordinate actions. In game terms, only one initiative roll is made for the circle, based on the character with the highest initiative rating (see p. 271).

Not all Blood Brothers in the circle need to have this level of Sanguinus to benefit from the Gestalt. If a given character does not know this power, though, the player rolls Wits + Occult (difficulty 7) when the power is enacted. If this roll fails, the character can still receive loaned Abilities, but gains no other benefits from the Gestalt.