Disciplines

Among the Sabbat, a growing number of Toreador antitribu who have learned the secrets of Vicissitude have discovered a way to infuse their own Presence into tattoos and body modifications placed upon others, Cainite and mortal alike. This is a relatively recent invention, developed by a nomadic pair of Toreador antitribu at the tail end of the twentieth century. In the nights leading up to a war party, packs get inked and pierced, covered in symbolic body modifications invoking Awe, Dread Gaze, or even Majesty. Raucous parties tend to coalesce around the ritual, as each member gets marked, and the pack gets more and more hyped and psyched up for the raid. The artist must invest her own blood into the process, whether that’s by bathing her tools in it or mixing it into her inks, so it’s considered good form for the pack to provide sources of blood for the artist during the revel, since she is investing so much for their cause. The modifications themselves are often elaborate and are themselves sources of pride for the packs and artists alike. Each piece of art is designed to unite the pack while complementing the individual, and packs will travel to find well-known artists just so they can sport an Elektra tattoo, or a set of silver crown piercings by Mikhail.

System: To place the Devil’s Mark, the artist must make an extended Dexterity + Expression roll every hour (difficulty 7), requiring a number of successes equal to twice the level of the Presence power being imbued. For example, marking a subject with Awe would require two successes, while Dread Gaze would require four successes and Majesty would need a total of 10 successes. The process of creating the Devil’s Mark costs one blood point, plus one point for every invocation she wants to imbue into the body modification. If the subject is a vampire, the modification heals as normal when the “charges” are expended. If the subject is a mortal, the tattoo or piercing remains, but loses its vampire puissance.

Alternately, a vampire subject can choose to spend a point of permanent Willpower to make the modification relatively permanent, giving him access to the specific Presence effect as if he had learned the Discipline power itself. However, another application of Vicissitude or severing of the body part will remove the body modification and the power from the vampire.

The artist applying the Devil’s Mark must know the level of Presence being imbued, and may only grant access to powers up to level five. The body modification itself is the focal point of the Presence evocation, so must be visible to the target of any use of the Presence powers imbued. Also, the target can’t use anything that would dull or neutralize the pain of the procedure.

This power costs 9 experience points to learn.