Editing Presence (section)

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''So yeah, I snuck in late at night, only to find a whole load of people with picks and shovels, brushes and you know, the normal archaeological paraphernalia. Nobody seemed to notice I was even there, at least not at first. They were all too hard at work, and the odd thing for how late at night it was? They all seemed happy. Like drugged happy. 

''I got to see the hole they were digging. I got to see the big black sarcophagus - I guess obsidian, but whyâ€™s there an obsidian coffin in this part of the world? I wanted to get closer, but then this woman, she seemed to be leading the dig, stopped me. She wasâ€¦ I guess â€œbeautifulâ€ is a simple word when describing her poise, her confidence, and her clarity of voiceâ€¦ She asked why I wasnâ€™t working and I stuttered and stumbled over myself. I was bewitched. Is that the word? I couldnâ€™t look away from her. 

''Then her eyes narrowed. She told me I shouldnâ€™t be there. She looked unhappy. My heart broke. It sounds ridiculous, but somehow Iâ€™d fallen head over heels in love with her within a minute. I fell to my knees, but she commanded me to leave, and it was like she was a nightmare from my childhood all of a sudden. She wasâ€¦ She went from love to hate. 

''I couldnâ€™t help but get the hell out of there and never look back. I know where the dig is, and itâ€™s still going on, but Iâ€™m too terrified to return. What did she do to me?

Most vampires are creatures of grace and lethality. Associated with horrific violence and devastating beauty, Kindred embody opposites, alternating between nightmare and dream depending on the onlooker and the vampireâ€™s whims. Presence is a Discipline that expresses this bipolar existence. Used to attract victims or disperse them in fear, Presence allows crowd control, emotional manipulation, and enforced devotion. A mortalâ€™s greatest fear could stand before them and suddenly look like the most radiant creature on Earth. 

Many Presence practitioners use this Discipline to easily acquire feeding vessels, while others use it do stalk the night as creatures of horror, making weak-willed kine flee terrified, unsure of what theyâ€™ve just seen. Effective as a lure as well as a defense, vampires with Presence enjoy an easier nightlife at the expense of forgetting what feelings projected at them are normal and which are compelled.

===Characteristics===
Presence affects the emotions of those subject to it, not the minds. While this is useful in that victims are cognizant (unlike Dominate), they are not under the direct control of the user and are thus often unpredictable. In order to be affected by Presence, the subject must be in the physical presence of the user or at least within earshot. The Discipline does not transmit electronically unless the user possesses Star Magnetism (Presence 5). Detecting the use of Presence is very hard unless one has access to Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) and can even then be too subtle to notice unless one is looking for it specifically. 

Presence power effects do not stack, so someone using Awe and Entrancement on the same subject would only add their Presence rating once for any Social-based Persuasion rolls. In combat, only the Dread Gaze and Majesty powers have any effect, as charm is of little use when someone has decided they want you hurt.

'''Type: 
Mental<br>
'''Masquerade threat: 
Low-Medium. A subtle power, people seldom realize Presence has affected them at all. As with most Disciplines, its higher powers can leave puzzled witnesses behind, especially once the effects wear off.<br>
'''Blood Resonance: 
Sanguine. The beautiful and lustful, those completely infatuated with the vampire, models and actors and movie stars, compelling public and private speakers from politicians to car salesmen, YouTube sensations and Instagram influencers.

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==Level 1==
{{Disc_Template|Awe|Anyone in the presence of the vampire finds their attention inexplicably drawn to them. Those listening to the vampire speak might suddenly agree on subjects where they once held different viewpoints. While this power doesnâ€™t cause rapt infatuation, it is still strong enough to sway the minds of most mortals.|Manipulation + Presence vs Composure + Intelligence|Free|One scene or until intentionally ended|Add the Presence rating to any Skill roll involving Persuasion or Performance as well as to other Charisma-related rolls, at the Storytellerâ€™s discretion. Anyone aware that theyâ€™re being affected can try to resist with a contest of Composure + Intelligence vs the userâ€™s Manipulation + Presence. On a win, the target can resist the effects for one scene; a critical win makes the target immune for the entire night. Once the power wears off, victims revert to their previous opinions.|1}}

{{Disc_Template|Daunt|Instead of attracting people, the vampire uses Presence to repel. With this power the user appears threatening and exudes an aura of menace powerful enough to make most mortals avoid their attention and even vampires think twice about acting against them.||Free|One scene or until intentionally ended|Add the userâ€™s Presence rating to any Intimidation rolls. Attacking the user requires a Resolve+Composure roll at Difficulty 2. Vampires cannot use Awe and Daunt simultaneously|1}}


==Level 2==
{{Disc_Template|Lingering Kiss|The Kiss of a vampire induces near-ecstasy in mortals, but this power leaves other Kisses in the dust. Mortals fed upon by the user become addicted to the Kiss, obsessing over it and even seeking the vampire out for repeated feedings. Mortals often become anemic, self-harm, or even die from this addiction, but vampires find it a useful power for cultivating a herd.||Free|Until successfully resisted|The vampire can choose to use this power or not during each feeding. The user adds dice equal to their Presence to any subsequent Charisma Attribute-assisted pool against the bitten subject. A mortal fed upon with this power can make a Willpower test (Difficulty equals the userâ€™s Presence) every week to resist the effects. Winning this test for three consecutive weeks breaks the effect, as does a single critical win.|2}}


==Level 3==
{{Disc_Template|Dread Gaze|Briefly exposing their vampiric nature, the user instills a single subject with utter terror. Mortals are cowed, run, or freeze with fear, while other vampires either submit like whipped dogs or flee in frenzied RÃ¶tschreck.|Charisma + Presence vs Composure + Resolve|One Rouse Check|One turn|Displaying their fangs, their face twisted in a predatory grimace, the user rolls a contest of Charisma + Presence against their targetâ€™s Composure + Resolve.

â€¢Failure: Mortals are unable to act other than in their own defense, backing off for a turn. Vampires are unaffected.

â€¢Win: Mortals run in fear. Vampires are unable to act other than in their own defense for a turn unless they spend Willpower equal to the users margin of win (to a minimum of one).

â€¢Critical Win: Mortals freeze or crumple into a fetal position. Vampires must make a terror frenzy test (Difficulty 3). If they win, they are still affected as above|3}}

{{Disc_Template|Entrancement|The vampire focuses their unnatural allure on a single person, instilling in them a rapt fascination or infatuation akin to falling head over heels in love or meeting oneâ€™s lifelong idol. The person affected does their best to remain in the vampireâ€™s good graces, but stops short of causing themselves or their other loved ones physical harm.|Charisma + Presence vs Composure + Wits|One Rouse Check|One hour plus one per point of margin|The vampire only needs to gain the subjectâ€™s attention and win a contest of Charisma + Presence vs Composure + Wits. The effect lasts for roughly one hour plus one per point of margin on the win. The vampire can renew this effect indefinitely, but a failure ends the effect and makes the subject immune for the rest of the night. 

After succeeding, the user adds dice equal to their Presence rating to any Social dice pool against the entranced subject. Requests resulting in obvious harm to the subject or their loved ones, or that oppose the subjectâ€™s Tenets, fail and require an immediate power contest roll as above, or the Entrancement immediately fails.|3}}


==Level 4==
{{Disc_Template|Irresistible Voice (Amalgam: Dominate 1)|The Presence of the user becomes a conduit for Dominate. The vampire now only needs their voice to be heard in order to employ Dominate powers.||No additional cost|Passive|The user's voice alone is now enough to Dominate a target. This does not apply to voices transmitted through electronic media such as phones, television, or apartment door-buzzer speakers.|4}}

{{Disc_Template|Summon|The vampire can call to themselves any person, mortal or vampire, upon whom theyâ€™ve previously used Awe, Entrancement, or Majesty, or who has tasted their Blood at least once. The target knows who is summoning them and the userâ€™s current location. This calling lasts for a night. After that time, the effect subsides, but the user can repeat it night after night if required to reach the target or if the target is otherwise reluctant. Anyone Summoned feels a pull toward the summoner and tries to reach them, though without endangering themselves physically or financially. They wonâ€™t sell their house to buy a ticket or miss a vital meeting, but they might skip out of normal work or social commitments|Manipulation + Presence vs Composure + Intelligence|One Rouse Check|One night|The user needs to concentrate for five minutes and think of the person being summoned, then rolls Manipulation + Presence vs Composure + Intelligence. On a win, the target hears the summoning, but may or may not heed it. On a critical win, the target arrives as quickly as possible, barring immediate risk to their well-being.|4}}


==Level 5==
{{Disc_Template|Majesty|At this pinnacle of the Discipline the vampire can amplify their countenance to supernatural levels. Whether they appear as heartrendingly beautiful, monstrously terrifying, or wielding absolute command, everyone who views them is struck by their image, unable to act or even speak against the vampire. To experience Majesty is to be in the presence of the divine - or the infernal.|Charisma + Presence vs Composure + Resolve|Two Rouse Checks|One Scene|People in the presence of the user can only stare, slack-jawed, or avert their eyes in fear or submission. Anyone wanting to act in any way in opposition to the user, except for self-preservation, must successfully win a contest of their Composure + Resolve vs. the vampireâ€™s Charisma + Presence. A win allows one turn of freedom, plus one per point of margin; only a critical win resists the effect for the entire scene.|5}}

{{Disc_Template|Star Magnetism|The Presence powers of the user now effect people viewing them on live feeds or hearing them over the phone. Recorded images or messages do not retain the effect, however.||One additional Rouse Check|As power used|Awe, Daunt, and Entrancement can be transmitted through live feeds via screens or phones. If Entrancement is used, the victimâ€™s name must be spoken clearly, as that power only affects one person at a time. Anyone else viewing the same transmission only finds the user charming, but not supernaturally so.|5}}


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