Post by Phsycodelic on Nov 10, 2016 0:18:27 GMT
Fortitude
Gangrel, Ravnos, Ventrue
Gangrel, Ravnos, Ventrue
Elder vampires progress in Fortitude in the same way as Celerity. They can increase their basic mastery of the Discipline or to take an alternate power such as one of those detailed below.
[ 1 - 5 ] Fortitude Levels 1 - 5 ( Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition - Page 158 )
System: A character's rating in Fortitude adds to his Stamina for the purposes of soaking normal damage (bashing and lethal). A character with this Discipline may also use his dots in Fortitude to soak aggravated damage, though Kindred cannot normally soak things like vampire bites, werewolf claws, magical effects, fire, sunlight, or massive physical trauma.
[ 6 ] Alabastard ( Anarchs Unbound - Page 110 )
Prerequisite: Anarch
Derisively named after a tough-as-hell Baron, Alabastard allows the Kindred to ignore wound penalties for any injuries she suffers. At any point after the vampire activates this power, she suffers no dice pool penalties nor movement penalties that come as a result of suffering damage. In certain cases, the Storyteller may choose to impose logical situational penalties: A Kindred who has been cut in half should probably have some difficulty moving.
System: This power costs one blood point to activate, and remains in effect for the duration of the scene.
[ 6 ] Curse The Laurel ( Lore Of The Clans - Page 262 )
Prerequisite: Ventrue
An unusual application of Fortitude, this power allows a Ventrue who has been successfully staked to slowly restructure her very heart around the offending stake so that it ceases to paralyze the Ventrue.
System: The player spends a Willpower point and rolls Stamina + Survival (difficulty 9). The number of successes determines how quickly the stake can be negated, according to the chart below. Each use of this power affects a single stake. On a failed roll, the player can spend another Willpower and roll again, but he cannot combine successes from multiple rolls. Only the roll with the most successes applies. On a botch, the vampire may not attempt to neutralize the stake again.
Successes | Result |
1 | One month. |
2 | One week. |
3 | Immediate. |
The power only removes the stake from the heart, not from the body. It will remain trapped in the Ventrue's dead flesh until removed.
[ 6 ] Personal Armor ( Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition - Page 159 )
Nobody likes to get hit, not even Cainites. The easiest way to ensure that one is not hit (or shot, or stabbed) repeatedly is to take the weapon with which one is assaulted away from one's attacker and break it. That's where Personal Armor comes in. This application of Fortitude, derived from one popular in the 12th century, causes anything that strikes a Kindred who employs Personal Armor to shatter on impact.
System: With the expenditure of two blood points, a vampire can add preternatural hardness to his flesh. Every time an attack is made on the Kindred using Personal Armor (one which he fails to dodge), his player rolls Fortitude (difficulty 8). If the roll grants more successes than the attacker rolled, then the weapon used to make the attack shatters against the vampire's flesh. ("Magical" weapons may be resistant to this effect, at the Storyteller's discretion.) The vampire still takes normal damage if the attack is successful, even if the weapon shatters in the process, though this damage may be soaked. If the attack roll botches, any normal weapon automatically shatters. A hand-to-hand attack causes the attacker equal damage to that suffered by the defender when Personal Armor comes into play. If the attacker misses entirely, she still takes one level of bashing damage. The effects of this power last for the duration of the scene.
[ 6 ] Sensory Shield ( XXX - Page X )
A Gangrel using this power supernaturally hardens his senses against injurious input. The vampire cannot be blinded by spotlights or sudden bursts of radiance, or deafened by explosions or gunfire; even his capacity to withstand pain is improved. His eyes, ears, nose, and open wounds glow with an eerie light while this power is active.
System: Spending two blood points activates this power for a scene. Mundane sources of overwhelming sensory input, such as searchlights, muzzle flash, or pepper spray have no effect, even if sensory-enhancing powers like Heightened Senses are in use. The effects of supernatural sensory attacks or unusual circumstances (like being at ground zero for a massive explosion) may be soaked with the vampire's Fortitude dice, with each success reducing the effect or duration of the sensory damage, or negating it all together. In addition, the Gangrel's wound penalties are reduced by two; he feels no pain whatsoever until he reaches the Cripped level, when he runs into a three-dice penalty. At the end of the scene, wound penalties for all accumulated damage are applied as normal.
The phosphorescent glow streaming from the vampire's orifices and wounds is nearly impossible to hide, and inflicts a two-dice penalty on social interactions with mortals (other than intimidation).
[ 6 ] Stand Against All Foes ( XXX - Page X )
With this power, a vampire may plant her feet solidly on the ground and ensure that she cannot be moved by anything weaker than herself. Even being hit by the charge of a fully armored knight or being pounced upon by an enraged Lupine will not move or knock down the user. This power was first made well known by the Ventrue knight Johann Kriegsmeister, a warrior in the service of Lord Jürgen, who often found himself carried away from his coterie by the ebb and flow of battle. Now he stands firm, often acting as a bodyguard.
System: In order to use this power, the character must be on relatively stable ground — a solid plank floor, a tamped earth basement or even the forest floor is acceptable; a crumbling castle parapet or a soggy marsh is not. The player spends a blood point. Until the user decides to end this power, she is almost impossible to move by normal means. In any roll to avoid being moved or knocked down, the player gains a number of automatic successes equal to the character’s Fortitude rating.
[ 7 ] Armor Of Kings ( XXX - Page X )
This power allows a Cainite to become dangerous to enemies without even attacking them - her body has become so hard that anything striking it might break upon contact. With Armor of Kings, any attack on the character meets with disaster, as weapons are shattered and bones are broken. Interestingly, the name Armor of Kings comes from the Ventrue Baudouin Des Rôaux, who originally learned the power from the Saxon Gangrel Wymer. Wymer called the power Curse the Enemy, but rather than admitting to learning anything from a Gangrel, the Warlord changed the name to something more fitting.
System: Activating this power requires the expenditure of 2 blood points. It lasts for one scene. When an attack strikes the character, the player rolls Fortitude (difficulty 8). If she achieves more successes than the attacker rolled, the weapon shatters. Weapons made with magical powers (such as swords forged with the Potence power Forge) and magically treated or masterfully forged (made by a weaponsmith with at least Crafts [or Blacksmithing] 4) weapons receive a resistance roll. Generally, a master-crafted weapon has a “soak” of 3, a weapon made with Master of the Forge has 5, and a magical weapon can have anything from 4–10, depending on the power of the magic. If the number of successes on the weapon’s “soak” roll equals or exceeds the number of successes gained by the player using this power, the weapon survives. A botched attack roll against a character with Armor of Kings activated automatically shatters the weapon. The character must still soak the damage, but all soak difficulties are at -1 difficulty against a shattered weapon.
An attacker who makes an unarmed attack against a Cainite with Armor of Kings suffers lethal damage equal to the damage her player rolled, which can be soaked as normal. If an attacker suffers two or more health levels of damage in this fashion, it results in either a broken wrist (from a punch or claw attack), a broken ankle (from a kick) or a mouthful of shattered teeth (from a bite). The Storyteller can set any penalties she finds appropriate in such a case.
[ 7 ] Curse The Laurel ( XXX - Page X )
This fearsome power allows the Kindred to overcome one of the traditional banes of the undead: the feared stake. With this mastery of Fortitude, the Ventrue may subsume a stake that pierces her heart, reshaping that dead organ slowly and insulating it from the offending wood. Once a given stake has been turned away with this power, it remains within the Kindred's body, and it may even be visible beneath layers of clothing.
System: The player spends a permanent Willpower point and rolls Stamina + Survival (difficulty 9). The number of successes indicates the length of time that elapses before the Kindred's body rejects the stake, allowing her to rise from immobilization.
Each use of this power affects only one stake. If the Kindred suffers the same fate again, she may make a new attempt if the player chooses to spend the Willpower again. If the roll to use the power is a botch, the body does not expel the stake, and no further attempt may be made against that particular stake.
Successes | Result |
1 | One year. |
2 | Six months. |
3 | One month. |
4 | One week. |
5 | One night. |
After the stake has been turned away from the heart, it remains in the Kindred's body, overgrown by dead flesh and probably protruding at an unsettling angle. The Kindred may cut the stake out at any time she wishes thereafter, suffering two (unsoakable) health levels of aggravated damage in the process.
[ 7 ] Resilient Minds ( XXX - Page X )
Prerequisite: Gangrel
At this level of accomplishment, the Gangrel extends her preternatural resistance to the very depths of her personality. Upon acquiring this power, the vampire may suddenly shed centuries of paranoia, tics, quirks and other perturbations that have accumulated in the cobwebby recesses of her brain. Additionally, it becomes more difficult to use mental Disciplines against the vampire. Unfortunately, this mental stability comes at a cost to the Gangrel; upon learning this power; the vampire must acquire physical animal flaws exclusively.
System: Upon learning this power, the Gangrel makes a Willpower roll (difficulty 7). For each success, the vampire may choose to eliminate one derangement or two animal behavior flaws (any Social Attribute points lost due in whole or part to those flaws remain lost). This effect of the power occurs only once and is immediate.
The vampire permanently gains three extra dice to resist the effects of any mind-altering Discipline or magic. This bonus does not apply to Presence or other Disciplines that affect the emotions.
[ 7 ] Shared Strength ( Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition - Page 159 )
It's one thing to laugh off bullets, rather another to watch the ricochets mow down everyone around you. Many Kindred have wished, at one time or another, that they could lend their monstrous vitality to those around them. Those few vampires who have mastered Shared Strength can - if only for a little while.
System: Shared Strength duplicates a portion of a vampire's Fortitude (one dot for every point of blood the vampire spends) to another being. Activating the power requires a Stamina + Survival roll (difficulty 8, increased to 9 if the target is not a normal mortal), and the expenditure of a point of Willpower. Furthermore, the vampire must mark his target by pressing a drop of his blood onto the target's forehead. This stain remains visible as long as the power is in effect, the duration of which is determined by the initial roll. The target of this power need not be willing to accept the benefit to receive it, and the bestowing vampire can end the effect at any time for no cost. Particularly sadistic Kindred have come up with any number of ways in which a target's "devil's mark" and supernatural endurance can be used to land him in a great deal of trouble. A vampire can never bestow more levels of Fortitude than he himself possesses.
Successes | Result |
1 | One turn. |
2 | One scene. |
3 | One hour. |
4 | One night. |
5 | One week. |
6 | One month. |
7 | One year. |
[ 8 ] Adamantine ( Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition - Page 159 )
Adamantine functions as a more potent version of Personal Armor.
System: This power mimics the effects of Personal Armor, save that the vampire who uses it takes no damage from attacks that shatter on her skin.
[ 8 ] Eternal Vigilance ( XXX - Page X )
Though vampire legends disagree on a number of points, almost all support the theory that the undead must take rest each day from dawn until sunset. Even the most determined vampire cannot resist the arms of slumber during daylight hours. A Cappadocian looking to ensure his continued existence (and expand his research time) perfected this formidable power. A Cainite mastering this application of Fortitude can remain active during daytime, functioning almost as effectively as if it were darkest night. Note that this doesn't give any further protection from the sun's effects beyond Fortitude's normal benefits.
System: The player makes a Humanity/Path roll (difficulty 6); each success indicates how long the vampire may remain awake before another roll is needed, as shown below. Failure indicates that the character is still trying to rouse himself and may try again next turn (however, a second failure puts him back to sleep unless something else happens to awaken him later). On a botch, he sleeps the sleep of the dead straight through to the middle of the next night.
Successes | Result |
1 | One turn. |
2 | Three turns. |
3 | One hour. |
4 | Two hours. |
5 | All day. |
The player may instead have the vampire spend a Blood Point to awaken immediately (this is particularly useful if there are intruders in the Cainite's haven, intent on mischief). In this case, the character rouses instantly, fully alert for a number of turns equal to his Stamina + Humanity/Path. If he wishes to stay awake after that point, another Blood Point or roll is necessary, as above.
The player must choose which option he wants prior to taking action; he cannot choose to roll, fail and then decide to spend a Blood Point. This option may be switched at any time, however - initially spending a Blood Point, then going to rolls that are successful, or vice versa.
The player uses this system to determine wakefulness whether the character consciously decides he wants to stay awake in the coming day or is roused by activity near his haven.
Normally, a vampire awake during the day cannot have a Dice Pool greater than his current Humanity/Path rating. With this power, a vampire can have a Dice Pool maximum equal to his Humanity/Path + his current Wilpower.
[ 8 ] King Of The Mountain ( XXX - Page X )
The most formidable opponents are not only hard to hurt, they are also hard to even touch. This power combines some of the effects of the Personal Armor power with an aura of resistance that impedes attackers, making it trivially easy for the Gangrel to block the incoming attacks of numerous opponents.
System: The Gangrel spends three blood points to activate this power, which lasts for a scene. The vampire does not gain the benefits of this power when he actively attacks. Instead, the vampire must block or dodge all incoming attacks, and may use his full dice pool against each attack. Every time an attack is made with a weapon against the Gangrel, his player rolls Fortitude (difficulty 6) in addition to the Dexterity + Brawl roll to block. If the Fortitude roll grants more successes than the attacker rolled, the weapon used in the attack shatters on contact with the vampire (mystically imbued weapons may be resistant to this effect at the Storyteller's discretion). If the roll to block succeeds, the vampire suffers no damage from the attack (if the block fails, the vampire may soak the damage normally, using Fortitude).
Hand-to-hand attacks may also be blocked. Successful hand-to-hand attacks inflict the attacker's damage on both the attacker and the vampire using this power. Blocked hand-to-hand attacks inflict the attacker's damage only on herself. In both cases, the damage may be soaked normally. Additionally, the defending vampire does not suffer the standard multiple-attacker penalty, no matter how many assailants he faces.
[ 8 ] Repair The Undead Flesh ( XXX - Page X )
Traditionally, sunlight, fire and the fangs of Lupines and other vampires are the banes of Cainites. As the lesser effects of Fortitude protect against the infliction of such damage, a Cappadocian master of Fortitude long ago developed a way to repair the ravages of these attacks, possibly with the help of a healer Salubri. While that Cappadocian hasn't been heard from in years, the only logical assumption is that she still exists - what could possibly destroy her?
System: This power is always in effect. It makes aggravated damage much easier to repair - the need for Willpower and rest is waived and the player need spend only 5 blood points per aggravated health level.
[ 9 ] Arm Of Prometheus ( XXX - Page X )
Even with the protection afforded by the highest levels of Fortitude, some sources of damage cannot be resisted. With this power, a vampire may temporarily make one of her limbs immune to any and all sources of damage. It is believed that Lazarus of Clan Cappadocian first discovered this power and that it is needed in order to perform a mighty Mortis ritual, where the caster must hold an ingredient in a roaring fire for an hour.
System: The player spends 3 blood points and designates one of her character’s arms or legs. The character spends a turn in concentration. For the next 10 minutes, the chosen limb is entirely indestructible. Fire, sunlight, the bite of a mighty Lupine, a wizard’s most powerful magics - nothing affects it (though any armor or clothing may still be damaged). Spending another 3 blood points when the time is up extends the duration of Indestructible Limb. The supernatural hardness of the limb also allows it to be used as a weapon - a punch with such a limb inflicts Strength +1 lethal damage, a kick inflicts Strength +2.