AUSPEX
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Malkavian, Toreador, Tremere, Tzimisce


This Discipline bestows uncanny sensory abilities upon the vampire. While Auspex initially heightens all of the Kindred's senses significantly, that is merely the beginning. As she grows in power, the vampire can perceive the psychic auras that flow around her and even project her mind into another being's thoughts. Furthermore, Auspex can pierce the disguises that Obfuscate creates; see "Seeing the Unseen,", for more details.
Such sensory command gives the vampire a distinct advantage over mortals and even many supernaturals. Whether these talents let her view a distant haven, sense the prince's mood or pluck secrets from a rival Kindred's ghoul, Auspex is a powerful tool.
Still, the vampire must be careful lest this heightened sensitivity cause her to be distracted by beautiful things, startled by loud noises or overwhelmed by foul smells. Sudden or dynamic events can disorient an Auspex-using character unless she makes a Willpower roll [difficulty 4] to block them out. The more potent the source of distraction, the higher the difficulty. Failure overwhelms the character's senses, making her oblivious to her surroundings for a turn or two.
Malkavians and Toreador are most susceptible to such distractions. Kindred from the Tremere and Tzimisce clans seem better able to regulate their sensory input, but they are not immune to the occasional distraction.
A high Perception Trait is a great boon to using Auspex powers. The better the roll, the greater the degree of sensory information the character gains.

Level. I: Heightened Senses This power sharpens all of the vampire's senses, effectively doubling the clarity and range of sight, hearing and smell. While her senses of taste and touch extend no farther than normal, they likewise become far more acute; the vampire could taste the hint of liquor in a victim's blood, or feel the give of the board concealing a hollow space in the floor. The Kindred may magnify her senses at will, sustaining this heightened focus for as long as she desires. At the Storyteller's option, this may make hunting easier.
Occasionally, this talent provides extrasensory or even precognitive insights. These brief , unfocused glimpses may be odd premonitions, flashes of empathy or eerie feelings of foreboding. The vampire has no control over these perceptions, but with practice, can learn to interpret them with a fair degree of accuracy.
Expanded senses come at a price, however. Bright lights, loud noises and strong smells present a hazard while the vampire uses this power. In addition to the possibility for distraction mentioned above, an especially sudden stimulus-like the glare of a spotlight or a clap of thunder-an blind or deafen the Kindred for an hour or more.

System: This power doesn't normally require the use of dice, instead being defined through the Storyteller's descriptions and the player's imagination. In certain circumstances, use of this power requires a die roll: for a normal Perception roll [the Storyteller may reduce the difficulty by the character's Auspex rating], to notice a subject using Obfuscate, or to perceive a threat [the Storyteller privately rolls the character's unmodified Auspex rating, applying whatever difficulty he feels best suits the circumstances]. For example, in the last instance, sensing that a pistol is pointed at the back of the character's head may require a 5, while the sudden realization that a rival for primogen is planning her assassination may require a 9.
This power does not let characters see in pitch darkness, as does Eyes of the Beast, but it does reduce difficulty penalties to act in pitch darkness from +2 to +1, and the character may make ranged attacks in pitch darkness if she can hear, smell or otherwise detect her foe.

Level. 2: Aura Perception Using this power, the vampire can perceive the psychic "auras" that radiate from mortals and supernatural beings alike. These halos comprise a shifting series of colors that take practice to discern with clarity. Even the simplest individual has many shifting hues within his aura; strong emotions predominate, while momentary impressions or deep secrets flash through in streaks and swirls.
The colors change in sympathy with the subject's emotional state, blending into new tones in a constantly dancing pattern. The stronger the emotions involved, the more intense the hues become. A skilled vampire can learn much from her subject by reading the nuances of color and brilliance in the aura's flow.
Aside from perceiving emotional states, vampires use Aura Perception to detect supernatural beings. The colors in Kindred auras, while intense, are quite pale; mage auras often flare and crackle with suppressed power; werebeasts have strikingly bright, almost frantic, halos; ghosts have weak auras that flicker fitfully like a dying flame; and faerie creatures' radiance is shot through with rainbow hues.

System: The player rolls Perception + Empathy [difficulty 8]; each success indicates how much of the subject's aura the character sees and understands [see the table below]. A botch indicates a false or erroneous interpretation. The Storyteller may wish to make this roll, thus keeping the player in the dark as to just how good [or bad] the character's interpretation is.
1 success Can distinguish only the shade [pale/bright].
2 successes Can distinguish the main color.
3 successes Can recognize the color pattern.
4 successes Can detect subtle shifts.
5 successes Can identify mixtures of color and pattern.
The Aura Colors chart offers examples of some common colors and the emotions they reflect.
The character may view a particular subject's aura only once with any degree of clarity. Any subsequent attempts that result in failure should be considered botches. It is very easy for the character to imagine seeing what she wants to see when judging someone's intentions. After a full month, the character may try again at no penalty.

Afraid

Orange

Hateful

Black

Aggressive

Purple

Hateful

Black

Angry

Red

Idealistic

Yellow

Bitter

Brown

Innocent

White

Calm

Light Blue

Love

Blue

Compassionate

Pink

Obsessed

Green

Conservative

Lavender

Sad

Silver

Depressed

Gray

Spiritual

Gold

Desirous or Lustful

Deep Red

Suspicious

Dark Blue

Distrustful

Light Green

A Vampire

Pale Color

Enraged

Crimson

Confused

Mottled Shifting Colors

Envious

Dark Green

Daydreaming

Sharp Flickering Colors

Excited

Violet

Diabolist

Black Veins In Aura

Generous

Rose

Frenzied

Rapidly Rippling Colors

Happy

Vermillion

Psychotic

Hypnotic Swirling Colors

Level. 3: The Spirit's Touch When somone handles an object for any length of time, he leaves a psychic impression on the item. A vampire with this level of Auspex can "read" these sensations, learning who handled the object, when he last held it and what was done with it recently.
These visions are seldom clear and detailed, registering more like a kind of "psychic snapshot." Still, the Kindred can learn much even from such a glimpse. Although most visions concern the last person to handle the item, a long-time owner leaves a stronger impression than someone who held the object briefly.
Gleaning information from the spiritual residue requires the vampire to hold the object and enter a shallow trance. She is only marginally aware of her surroundings while using The Spirit's Touch, but a loud noise or jarring physical sensation breaks the trance instantly.

System:The player rolls Perception + Empathy. The difficulty is determined by the age of the impressions and the mental and spiritual strength of the person or event that left them. Sensing information from a pistol used for murder hours ago may require a 5, while learning who owned a set of keys found two days ago might be a 9.
The greater the individual's emotional connection to the object, the stronger the impression he leaves on it-and the more information the Kindred can glean from it. Also, events involving strong emotions [a gift-giving, a torture, a long family history] likewise leave stronger impressions than does short or causal contact. Assume that each success offers one piece of information. While one success tells the character only that "a man held this pocket watch last," three reveal that he was petty, middle-aged and afraid. Four successes discover his name, and five or more reveal his connection to the watch as well as some of the things he did with it in his possession.

Level. 4: Telepathy The vampire projects a portion of her consciousness into a nearby mortal's mind, creating a mental link through which she can communicate wordlessly or even read the target's deepest thoughts. The Kindred "hears" in her own mind the thoughts plucked from a subject as if they were spoken to her.
This is one of the most potent vampiric abilities, since, given time, a Kindred can learn virtually anything from a subject without him ever knowing. The Tremere and Tzimisce in particular find this power especially useful in gleaning secrets from others, or for directing their mortal followers with silent precision.
System: The player rolls Intelligence + Subterfuge [difficulty of the subject's Willpower]. Projecting thoughts into the tarfet's mind requires one success. The subject recognizes that the thoughts come from somewhere other than his own consciousness, although he cannot discern their actual origin
To read minds, one success must be rolled for each item of information plucked or each layer of thought pierced. Deep secrets or buried memories are harder to obtain than surface emotions or unspoken comments, requiring five or more successes to access.
Telepathy does not commonly work upon the undead mind. A character may expend a Willpower point to make the effort, making the roll normally afterward. Likewise it is equally difficult to read the thoughts of other supernatural creatures.
Storytellers are encouraged to describe thoughts as flowing streams of impressions and images, rather than as a sequence of prose. Instead of making flat statements like "He's planning on killing his former lover's new boyfriend," say "You see a fleeting series of visions; a couple kissing passionately in a doorway, then the man walking alone at night; you suddenly see your hands, knuckles white, wrapped around a steering wheel, with a figure crossing the street ahead; your heart, mortal now and hammering with panic as you hear the engine rev wildly; and above all, a blazing anger coupled with emotional agony and a panicked fear of loss."
Such descriptions not only add to the story, they also force the player to decide for herself what her character reads. After all, understanding minds-especially highly emotional or deranged minds-is difficult and often puzzling task.

Level. 5: Psychic Projection The Kindred with this awesome ability projects her senses out of her physical shell, stepping from her body as an etitity of pure thought. the vampire's astral form is immune to physicakl damage of fatigue, and can "fly" with blinding speed anywhere across the earth-or even underground-so long as she remains below the moon's orbit.
The Kindred's material form lies in a torpid state while her astral self is active, and the vampire isn't aware of anything that befalls her body until she returns to it. An ephimeral silver cord connects the Kindred's psyche to her body. If this cord is severed, her consciousness becomes stranded in the astral plane, the realm of ghosts, spirits, and shades. Attempting to return to the vampire's physical shell is a long and terrifying ordeal, especially since there is no guarantee that she will accomplish the journey successfully. This significant danger keeps many Kindred from leaving their bodies for long, but those who dare can learn much.

System: Journeying in astral form requires the player to expend a point of Willpower and make a Perception + Occult roll. Difficulty varies depending on the distance and complexity of the intended trip; 7 is average, with 10 reflecting a trip from familiar territory [a first journey from North America to the Far East; trying to shortcut through the earth]. The greater the number of successes rolled, the mosre focused the character's astral presence is and the easier it is for her to reach her desired destination.
Failure mens the character is unable to separate her consciousness from her body, while a botch can have nasty consequences-flinging her astral form to a random destination on Earth or in the spirit realm, or heading for the desired destination so forcefully that the silver cord snaps.
Changing course or continuing to another destination requires another point of Willpower and a new roll. Failure indicates tha the vampire has lost her way and must retrace the path of her silver cord. A botch at this stage means the cord snaps, stranding the character's psychic form in the mysterious astral plane.
An astral form may travel at great speeds [the Storyteller can use 1ooo miles per hour as a general guide] and carries no clothing or material objects of any kind. Some artificats are said to exist in the spirit world, and the character cannot bring such relics to the physical world when she returns to her body, however.

Interaction with the physical world is impossible while using Psychic Projection. At best, the character may spend a Willpower point to manifest as a ghostlike shape. This apparation lasts one turn before fading away; while she can't affect anything physically during this time, the character can speak. Despite lacking physical substance, an astral character can use Auspex normally. at the Storyteller's discretion, such a character may employ Animalism, Dementation, Dominate, Necromancy, Obtenebration, Presence and/or Thaumaturgy powers she has, though this typically requires a minimum of three successes on the initial Psychic Projection roll.
If two astral shapes encounter one another, they interact as if they were solid. they may talk, touch and even fight as if both were in the material world. since they have no physical bodies, astral characters seeking to interact "physically" substitute Mental and Social Traits for Physical ones [Wits replaces Dexterity, Manipulation supplants Strength, and Intelligence replaces Stamina]. Due to the lack of material form, the only real way to damage another psychic entity is to cut its silver cord. When fighting this way, consider Willpower points to be Health Levels; when a combatant loses all of her Willpower, the cord is severed.
Although an astrally projected character remains in the reflection of the mortal world [referred to as the Penumbra in other World of Darkness games], she may venture further into the spirit realms, especially if she becomes lost. Other beings, such as ghosts, werewolves and even a rare magi, travel the astral plane as well, and can interact with a vampire's psychic presence normally. Storytellers are encouraged to make trips into the spirit world as bizarre, mysterious and dreamlike as possible. The world beyond is a vivid and fantastic place, where the true nature of things is stronger and often strikingly different from their earthly appearances.
Note:For Storytellers familiar with White Wolf's other games, the "astral plane" to which the vampire travels is a reflection of the Umbra in general, not one specific level.

Level. 6: *Clairvoyance By using Clairvoyance, a Vampire can perceive distant events with using Psychic Projection. By concentrating on a familiar person, place or object, a Vampire can observe the subject’s immediate vicinity while staying aware of his or her own surroundings. Visions seen through the use of Clairvoyance last only for a very short amount of time. The vampire may see and hear events in a distant place of her choice. She may also use other Auspex powers in conjunction with this one, but each such use is rolled separately.

*Prediction Some people are capable of finishing their friends’ sentences. Elder Vampires with Prediction sometimes begin their friends’ sentences. Prediction is a constant low-level telepathic scan of the minds of everyone the character is in proximity to. While this discipline does not give the Vampire the details of his neighbor’s conscious thoughts, it does provide a wealth of cues as to the subjects’ moods, surpassed reflexes and attitudes toward the topic of conversation. This power does not count as an action during combat

*Telepathic Communication Telepathy allows a Vampire to pick up only the surface thoughts of other individuals, and to speak to one at a time. With Telepathic Communication, a Vampire can form a link between his mind and that of other subjects, allowing them to converse in words, concepts and sensory images at the speed of thought. Vampires with this level of Auspex can act as "switchboard operators", creating a telepathic web that allows all participants to share thoughts with some or all other members of the network as they choose.

The Dreaming The vampire may dream about her surroundings, or any circumstances that might affect her, when in torpor or asleep.

Eagle’s Sight The vampire may psychically scan a bird’s eye view of an area of a radius of two miles, from an apparent view of about 250 feet up. If she also has Clairvoyance, she may close in on a smaller area.

Level. 7: Karmic Sight The discipline Aura Perception allows a Vampire to take a brief glimpse at the soul of a subject. This discipline takes Aura Perception several steps further, allowing a Vampire who has mastered Aura Perception to probe further to the inner workings of a subject’s mind and soul. Knowledge acquired in this fashion can be used in many ways, and a Vampire who has developed this power is undoubtedly familiar with all of them.

*Mirror Reflex Mirror Reflex is similar to Prediction in that it is in essence a low-level telepathic scan of an opponent, but this discipline taps into the physical (rather than social reflexes, allowing the Vampire to anticipate an enemy’s moves in personal combat. This power does count as an action during combat.

Soul Scan The vampire may locate a target, anywhere in the world. The difficulty to use this power is 8 if the target has Obfuscate.

Level. 8: * Psychic Assault Nothing less than a direct mind-to-mind attack which uses the sheer force of an elder’s will to overpower his target. Victims of Psychic Assault show little outward signs of stack, save for nosebleeds and expressions of intense agony; all injuries by means of this psychic pressure inflicted are internal. A medical examination of a mortal victim of a Psychic Assault invariably shows the cause of death to be a heart attack or aneurysm, while Vampires killed with this power decay to dust instantly, regardless of age. The Vampire must touch or make eye contact with the target. One invoking of Psychic Assault on anyone will cause them immense internal pain and agony. Two more successive attacks can kill mortals, while a total of 5 Psychic Assault attacks can kill almost any Vampire.

Level. 9: *False Slumber Possibly the source of many Malkavians' conviction that their Sire is alive and well on the astral plane, this power allows a Methuselah's spirit to leave his body while in torpor. While seemingly asleep, the vampire is able to project astrally, think and perceive events normally. This power is considered to be automatic whenever the possessor's body is in torpor, and astral travels are handled as per the rules for Psychic Projection. The Cainite may not be able to awaken physically at will however -- waking from torpor is handled per the normal method for such an action. A Cainite with this power whose silver cord is severed in astral combat loses all Willpower, as per the rules for astral combat under Psychic Projection, but is not killed. Instead, he loses the use of this power, and half of his permanent Willpower. both of these loses can be regained, but only through the experince being repeated to gain them. The vampire's soul slowly returns to his body over the course of a year and a day, during which time he may not be awakened from torpor by any means.

Precognition The vampire may see the future of any location with which she is familiar. These visions are based on the assumption that none of the current circumstances will change, and they do not take into account the plans of those who might act to change the future. The length of time by which the vampire can see ahead is as follows:
1 suc. one hour.
2 suc. one day.
3 suc. one week.
4 suc. one month.
5 suc. one year.

Level. 10: Pulse of the Canaille This ability is a more powerul version of precognition that not only allows the Cainite to sense what might happen at a certain place and time, but actually sense the current moods, trends, attitudes, and directions in which entire groups of mortals are heading.
The vampire may learn about a group of people. The difficulty varies according to the size of the group being studied, as follows:
dif. 6 an organization.
dif. 7 a city.
dif. 8 a region.
dif. 9 a country.
dif. 10 the world.
If the group of people is being controlled, then all aspects of all controlling forces will be seen, with enough successes. What the vampire learns from using this power is as follows:

1 suc. The vampire senses moods and attitudes.

2 suc. The vampire also senses the potential and future of the group.

3 suc. The vampire also sense the degree to which they are being controlled.

4 suc. The vampire also senses the aura of the controlling force.

5 suc. The vampire also knows who is controlling them, and why