Discipline Powers

This terrible power enables a Setite to break down the mental barriers between the target’s Beast and libido. As a result, the victim becomes addicted to sadism as he takes pleasure in rage and aggression. The Setite can also reverse the connection, so that pleasure might rouse the Beast to frenzy. These two effects produce a spiral of desire, the decaying orbit to madness.

Once started, the decay cannot be stopped. The Inconnu might know how to remove a Corruption, as might a member of the Cult of Ra or Isis. The esoteric knowledge might be found in the writings of a dead Child of Osiris. However, killing the Setite in question certainly will.

System: To corrupt a victim, the player must pit the vampire’s Manipulation + Empathy vs. the victim’s Humanity (or Path of Enlightenment) in an extended roll. If the vampire can accumulate net successes equal to the victim’s Humanity or Path rating, the victim suffers the Decaying Orbit effect. A character with a Humanity greater than 3 will automatically lose a point of Humanity for using this power.

A corrupted victim must receive a frenzy check for anything that gives her pleasure, from sex to her favorite food. Like a frenzying vampire seeking blood, the victim will try to indulge her lust in the most brutal and immediate way. Conversely, a frenzying vampire might seek out more than blood in her rage. This may result in bizarre situations such as a maddened vampire smashing into a record store to hear his favorite music and killing anyone who tries to stop him.

The victim cannot overcome this corruption by expending Willpower (unlike most Presence powers – see V20, p. 193). The Decaying Orbit is no mere induced derangement, but a fundamental alteration to the Curse of Caine. Killing the Setite who laid the Corruption will immediately end its effects. The Setite who laid the Corruption could remove it at will, but the Setites would probably urge the victim to view the Corruption as an opportunity for self-discovery.