                                TRANSCENDENCE



   Transcendence is the power of mastering motion in it's many forms.
   Those with this discipline find it easy to scale surfaces, jump huge
   distances or walk across very narrow and weak structures without risk
   of slipping or the surface collapsing underfoot. Their actions become
   less laboured and smoother and some kindred may eventually learn to
   conquer gravity altogether or indeed, the very dimensions of space
   itself.

   * Leap of the Panther: Your power is still in its infancy but you are
   already able to leap distances which are considered utterly impossible
   by others.
   a threat to you than it does to your heavier brethren, being able as
   you are to slow your descent somewhat.

   System: Transcendence increases the normal jumping distance for each
   success on a Strength roll (plus Athletics if the character gets a
   decent run up). Horizontal jumps are at eight feet per success per
   level of Transcendence. Vertical jumps have half the range of
   horizontal ones.

   Horizontal leaps are made at the running speed of the character and
   thus it may take more than one turn to reach the desired destination
   for exceptionally long bounds.

   Falling is less hazardous to those with Transcendence, and a secondary
   benefit is that falling causes one less die of damage per level
   attained in this Discipline.

   ** Spider Climb: Your ability to overcome gravity has increased to the
   point where it is now possible for you to crawl up the steepest of
   surfaces without difficulty. It is no problem to climb a wall, shin
   across the ceiling and come back down to the ground on the other side.

   System: So long as three or more limbs are in contact with a surface
   at all times, the vampire can negotiate it at walking speed without
   the need for rolls of any kind. The smoothness of the surface is not
   important, however the Storyteller may impose a roll for lubricated
   surfaces.

   The vampire may wish to jump onto a vertical surface from another
   wall, this tricky manoeuvre requires a roll of Dexterity (plus Climb
   or Athletics) against a difficulty of seven. It also assumes that the
   vampire was able to jump far enough and actually reach the wall. If
   the roll is failed, the vampire simply fails to adhere to the wall....

   Should the vampire be physically interrupted whilst employing this
   power, she must make a Dexterity (+ Climb or Athletics) roll with a
   difficulty of twice the number of successes made against her by the
   opponent or fall.

   *** Cat's Grace: Those around you will by now notice a certain
   lightness of foot and ease of motion whenever you exert yourself. When
   you walk, you walk almost silently, barely seeming to touch the
   ground. And when you move, it is as if you are virtually weightless.
   Your body can be divested of much of it's mass, greatly easing
   movement and allowing you to walk across the flimsiest of surfaces or
   even at times, water itself.

   System: Difficulties for Acrobatics, Stealth (in motion), Athletics,
   Climbing and so forth are all reduced by two. Dodging and Initiative
   are considered as -1 difficulty. The vampire's mass may be reduced to
   around 10% of it's original value, allowing it to be supported by
   structures too weak to support others.

   The vampire can also now stand upon water by making a Willpower roll
   against a difficulty of six. This allows the vampire to walk or run
   across the surface of the water for the rest of the scene as if it
   were solid, albeit somewhat slippery, ground.

   **** Stridence: Your power is now such that on whichever surface you
   place your feet, hands, or whatever - be it vertical or upside down -
   it is as if you were upon level ground. You could walk up a lamppost
   or back-flip around a room from the floor to the walls and up onto the
   ceiling. This power now even works while you sleep.

   System: The character can now consider any surface she touches to be
   level ground so long as she stays within 12 inches of it thereafter.
   The only way the character can be knocked off is if she falls into
   torpor or is pulled more than one foot away from the surface, thus she
   could stick to a surface even when asleep.

   ***** Walk the Winds: You have now attained an incredible mastery over
   gravity. Leaping is second nature, and huge distances can be travelled
   in but a bound.

   But the most potent capability gained at this level is the ability to
   offset gravity completely even when away from a surface. This requires
   a successful Willpower roll against a difficulty of six, but allows
   you to jump inordinate distances, travelling effortlessly in a
   straight line at the same speed as you were moving before the leap ( A
   standing jump is made at jogging speed.) for up to one turn per
   success before slowly sinking back to earth.

   You can choose to land at any time by cancelling the power. For each
   additional 20 feet of elevation upon launching, the character may stay
   in the air for an extra round.

   If this power is invoked whilst a character falls, the character will
   take no damage from that fall, instead gliding slowly to the earth.
   Swift winds may carry the jumping character away if she is not
   careful.

   ****** Silent Wings: You have freed yourself from the burden of the
   earth and as such, gained one of the most prized abilities throughout
   all history; the ability to fly. You are now as much at ease in the
   air as you are on the ground and are in full control of your aerial
   motion.

   System: The character must spend but a single Blood Point to initiate
   the power for the rest of the scene. She is then free to leave the
   ground and travel effortlessly in any direction she wills.

   Each round (or action gained with Celerity), the character may turn up
   to 45 degrees and increase or decrease her speed by her running
   movement rate, to a maximum velocity of her running speed multiplied
   by her Stamina. If the character is flying at a rate slower than
   jogging speed then she has no turning restrictions. Manoeuvring when
   flying slower than jogging speed is an unconscious action, but if
   flying faster, any turn (but not a change in speed) will cost two dice
   from the character's pool.

   Due to their increased mobility, flying characters receive a -1
   difficulty bonus to attack and dodge difficulties whilst brawling or
   engaged in melee, but generally find it harder to gain cover against
   projectile weapons.

   ****** The Passing: Your ability to transcend normal physical reality
   has increased significantly. By pressing yourself against a barrier
   and concentrating, you are able to pass through and emerge on the
   other side. Alternatively, if the barrier is smaller than yourself
   then it instead passes through you.

   System: The Vampire must touch the surface and concentrate to activate
   this power. The player must then make a Willpower roll with a
   difficulty depending upon the strength of the barrier and a number of
   successes equal to the thickness of the barrier in feet (rounded up).

   If successful, the Vampire spends a Blood Point and is projected
   through the barrier and ejected on the other side. The vampire is in
   no way made aware of the prevailing conditions existing on the
   opposite side barrier.

   This ability works on any physical barriers or restraints, including
   handcuffs, jail bars


        Material          Difficulty

        Cotton and other soft materials         3
        Wood                                    4
        Clay                                    5
        Brick                                   6
        Stone / Plastic                         7
        Concrete / Glass                        8
        Reinforced Materials / Metals           9
        Toughened Steel / Titanium alloys etc.  10



   ****** Dissociate: Your powers of Transcendence are such that your
   body is begining to Dissociate from its surroundings. External factors
   affect you less than they used to as you begin to slip outside of
   'normal' reality.

   The degree of Dissociation depends upon your power of Transcendance.
   The higher your rank, the further from reality you slip.

   System: Once gained, this ability becomes second nature to the
   Transcendentalist. Her form becomes increasingly indistinct and people
   tend to overlook her. She impigns less and less upon reality as she
   gains in rank.

   This could be treated like a more powerful version of the Arcane
   Background except that all effects are modified by -1 die; Target
   rolls, damage, visibility, Disciplines et. al.

   This power can be suppressed at will but a shock to the system
   (physical or emotional) will require a Self control roll or the
   vampire 'slips out'. - If this roll is botched, the vampire cannot
   'slip in' again until she next awakens.

   Unfortunately for the vampire, this effect is two way. When - to use a
   Son of Ether term - 'out of phase' she lives in a world of muted
   sensation; muffled sounds, bleached colors and semi solid reality. All
   of her rolls when interacting with reality are reduced by one die as
   well.

   Unless surprised, it takes a complete round to slip in or slip out.

   Magi find this Discipline infuriating. To them, a vampire with
   Dissociate feels 'slippery' and difficult to 'grasp' with their
   Magickal effects. Thus, even they - the masters of 'reality' - suffer
   the -1 die penalty to all rolls which will directly affect the
   vampire.

   As the vampire increases in Transcendence rank, she is able to shift
   further out of phase, increasing all dice penalties by -1 per
   Trancendence level above Six. Once a dice pool is reduced to Zero due
   to this effect, she is totally dissociated from it.

   (Interpret dissociation as you will. A small bullet passing through, a
   slow blade slipping through the vampire without damage. whatever)

   This is too complicated an effect to document. ST discretion is
   advised.

   ******* Blink: You are no longer restricted to the normal mundane
   methods of travel. Those who have mastered this power are able to
   instantaneously travel to any nearby point without apparently
   traversing the space between.

   System: On activation, the vampire vanishes silently and reappears at
   the new desired location, spending some Blood in the process. The
   destination is limited to a point the vampire can directly see with
   her own eyes (or an Auspex related power) within (100 x Blood Points
   spent) metres per point of Stamina + Fortitude.

   This power put a massive strain upon the physical body of the vampire
   and on transit, she must soak five health levels of non aggravated
   damage against a difficulty of nine, or a difficulty of eight if the
   blink was less than half the maximum range, seven if less than one
   quarter and so forth.

   The vampire can Blink with other characters she is carrying, but they
   are disorientated (-5 to all dice pools) for one round on arrival.

   The Storyteller may deem a Blink suitable for the Obfuscate Level 2
   criteria. As with the Level 4 Obfuscate power, weak willed characters
   may forget they ever saw the character if she blinks away.
   Midnight Exodus

   You can now effortlessly glide through the air for any duration. In
   fact, you now only need to walk to preserve the Masquerade or as a
   courtesy to your crawled friends. With minimal effort, you are able to
   sustain high speed flight for extended periods, covering thousands of
   miles in the space of several hours.

   System: The vampire can fly as per Silent Wings without the
   expenditure of blood, flying becomes an unconscious activity, with a
   maximum speed limited to twice that of Silent Wings. It is actually
   possible (but not recommended) to levitate whilst asleep.

   With the expenditure of one Blood Point, the vampire's flying powers
   are magnified many times for one hour. She can sustain an acceleration
   of 180 km/h (three km/min) per round with a top speed of 20 km/min
   (Mach one) per point of Stamina + Fortitude at low altitude (less than
   one mile high) + 5 km/min per mile higher due to the rarity of the
   air.

   Altitude is limited to one mile per point of Stamina + Fortitude, but
   flying above Mach one at low altitude is not a good idea as the
   resultant sonic boom will be heard by people on the ground. The level
   6 Protean power Adaptability would allow the vampire to leave the
   Troposphere completely and fly at an effective rate of 100 km/min per
   point of Stamina + Fortitude in the Stratosphere.

   Mortals need to breathe air, and unless protected, are limited to one
   quarter of the maximum speed dictated by their Stamina as well as the
   one mile altitude restriction per point of Stamina.

   ******* Mass Transcendence: The vampire may affect a number of
   additional characters equal to her Stamina with any of the previous
   Transcendence abilities.

   System: The vampire selects which characters she wishes to affect. All
   members of the group must be located within five meters of the vampire
   and be willing.

   The Blood powered abilities require the requisite amount of blood to
   be spent by each and every member of the group (Willpower for
   mortals). For the blink power, nausea is suffered by the whole group,
   but damage is spread evenly between all members, rounding up.

   Any Willpower rolls must eventually be made by all involved, this
   latter eventuality may take several rounds as the passengers psyche
   themselves up.

   ******** Teleport: You are no longer restricted to Blinking to a spot
   you can perceive directly, instead you may teleport to any place you
   have visited, or have seen, even on a map.

   System: The character must already have purchased the Level 6 Blink
   power. The vampire may Blink to a remote location she has visited and
   can remember, but can no longer directly perceive. To do so
   successfully she must make an extended Intelligence + Alertness roll
   with a difficulty set by the Storyteller. Guidelines are given below,
   gathering successes as she visualises the area she was in.

   If the Vampire is currently engaged in another action, she must split
   her dice pool between the visualisation and that other action.

   A failure means she must start afresh, whilst a botch means that she
   cannot use this power again for the rest of the night.
   successful, the vampire may then start spending Blood Points on a
   continuous basis (at least one per round) until the required amount is
   spent. The Teleport will then take place. Whilst this Blood is being
   spent, the vampire may resume whatever activity she was previously
   engaged in without penalty.

   If for some reason one round passes without the expenditure of at
   least one Blood Point for this power, the Teleport fails and all spent
   blood is lost.

   The vampire must resist damage on transit as per the Blink ability.

   Range: one km per point of Stamina + Fortitude. Doubled for each Blood
   Point spent after the first.


Familiarity with Destination                   Difficulty

Intimate knowledge: Own Home                            4
Well Known: Friend's house                              5
Familiar: Local streets                                 6
Unfamiliar: Been there several times                    7
Glimpsed: Seen it once or twice in passing              8
Map Reference: Have seen it on a map                    9
Heard about it: You are sure it exists!                 10
Was there less than 10 minutes ago              3 Successes reqd
Was there less than one hour ago                4 Successes reqd
Was there less than 24 hours ago                5 Successes reqd
Was there less than one week ago                7 Successes reqd
Was there less than one month ago               8 Successes reqd
Was there less than one year ago                9 Successes reqd
Over one year ago                               10 Successes reqd



   She will arrive one die in yards away from her desired destination,
   but never within a space occupied by a solid medium.

   If no such destination exists then the Blink fails and all the Blood
   is lost.
