Disipline: Dementation

The special legacy of the Malkavian Clan, Dementation allows the vampire to channel madness, focus it and pour it into the minds of those around him. Though in former nights this power was practiced primarily by the Malkavians of the Sabbat, in recent years it has spread throughout the Clan. Some kindred speculate that this "infection" might be yet another move in the Jyhad; a few vampires, of particularly paranoid bent, even whisper that the Malkavians are to be the harbingers of the Final Nights.
The practitioner of Dementation need not actually be mad himself--at least initially--although madness seems to grant a certain insight into the key tenets of this Discipline. Few vampires ask the Malkavians to teach them this Discipline, although the Lunatics are always eager to "enlighten" others. In fact, some say that one cannot learn the secrets of Dementation without eventually going mad.
Eerily enough, Dementation doesn't seem to inflict insanity on its victims per se. Rather, it seems to catalyze madness, breaking down doors into the hidden reaches of the mind and releasing whatever it finds there. The Malkavians claim that this is because insanity is the next step in the evolution of the mind--a necessary progression if one is to behold the truths of the Universe. As such, they say , it is inherent to all minds, and evident only in the more highly evolved specimens of human or vampiric thought. Other Kindred pray the Malkavians are wrong, but find it difficult to dismiss such thoughts out of hand, particularly because Dementation works as well on vampires as it does on Mortals.



LEVEL 1
*Passion The Vampire may stir his victim’s emotions, either heightening them to a fevered pitch or blunting them until their target is completely desensitized. The Cainite may not choose which emotion is affected; but merely amplify or dull emotions already present in the target. In this way, a Vampire can turn a mild irritation into a frothing rage or dull true love into casual interest.

The player rolls Charisma + Empathy (difficulty of the victim's Humanity score). The number of successes determines the duration of the altered state or feeling. Effects of this power might include one or two-point additions or subtractions to difficulties of frenzy rolls, Virtue rolls, rolls to resist Presence powers, etc.
1 success ~~One turn 2 successes ~~One hour 3 successes ~~One night 4 successes ~~One week 5 successes ~~One month 6+ successes ~~Three months


LEVEL 2
*The Haunting The Vampire may stir the sensory centers of the victim’s brain, flooding the victim’s senses with visions, sounds, scents or feelings that aren’t even really there. The images, regardless of the sense to which they appeal, are only "fleeting glimpses", barely perceptible to the victim. The Vampire using this discipline cannot control what the victim perceives, but may choose which sense is affected.

The "haunting" effects occur mainly when the victim is alone, and mostly at night. They may take the form of the subject's repressed fears, guilty memories, or anything else that the Storyteller finds dramatically appropriate. The effects are never pleasant, or unobtrusive, however. The Storyteller should let her imagination run wild when describing these sensory impressions; the victim may well feel as if she is going mad, or as if the world is.
System : The player spends a blood point and rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty of his victim's Perception + Self-control). The number of successes determines the length of the sensory "visitations". The precise effects are up to the Storyteller, though particularly eerie or harrowing apparitions can certaintly redue dice pools for a turn or two after the manifestation
1 success ~~One night
2 successes ~~Two nights
3 successes ~~One week
4 successes ~~One month
5 successes ~~Three months
6 + successes ~~One year


Mind Tricks The vampire is able to induce hallucinations within the victim's peripheral vision. The images appear to be fully real, but they can only be seen for a second or out of the comer of the eye. The victim will have a hard time convincing others of what she sees. The vampire causing this effect has no control over what the victim sees. The unnerving effects from the use of this power can last from one night to months. The effects occur sporadically but mostly at night, and usually when the person is alone. They usually take the form of the victim's subconscious fears, but the Storyteller should let his imagination run free when describing them. System: The vampire rolls his Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty equal to the victim's Perception + [Self-Control or Instincts]). l success One Night 2 successes Two Nights 3 successes One Week 4 successes One Month 5 successes Three Months

LEVEL 3
*Eyes of Chaos This peculiar power allows the Vampire to take advantage of the fractured wisdom hidden in insanity. The Vampire may scrutinize the "patterns" of a person’s soul, the convolutions of a Vampire’s "inner nature" or even random events in nature itself. The Vampire with this discipline can discern the most well-hidden psychoses, or gain insight into a person’s true self.

System ~
This power allows a vampire to determine a person's true nature, among other things. The vampire concentrates for a turn, then her player rolls Perception + Occult. The difficulty depends on the intricacy of the pattern. Discerning the Nature of a stranger would be a difficulty 9; a casual aquaintance would be an 8, an old friend a 6. The Malkavian could also read the message locked in a coded missive (difficulty 7), or even see the doings of an invisible hand in such events as the pattern of falling leaves (difficulty 6). Almost anything might contain some hidden insight, no matter how trivial or meaningless. The patterns present in most thins, but are often so intricate they can keep a vampire spellbound for hours while she tries to understand their "messages

LEVEL 4
Voice of Madness
Simply by speaking aloud to your victims, you can reduce them to howling fear or anger. You address your targets in a reasonable tone, encouraging then to succumb to their own inner demons. Those terrors then come to the fore, driving your victim to blind, uncontrolled panic. Mortal affected in this manner instantly flee in terror.
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System ~ The player must spend a blood point and makes a Manipulation + Empathy roll (difficulty 7). One target is affected per success, although all potential victims must be listening to the vampire's voice.
Affected victims fly immediately into frenzy or a blind fear like Rötschreck. Kindred or other creatures capable of frenzy, such as Lupines, may make a frenzy check or Rötschreck test (Storyteller's choice as to how they are affected) at +2 difficulty to resist the power. Mortals are automatically affected and dont remember their actions while berzerk. The frenzy or fear lasts for a scene, although vampires and Lupines may test as usual to snap out of it.
The vampire using Voice of Madness must also test for frenzy or Rötschreck upon invoking this power, although his difficulty to resist is one lower than normal

Confusion
The vampire can make her victim feel totally disoriented just by looking him in the eye and talking to him. The victim will be aware of only bits and pieces of his memories. He will constantly feel confused and wander around in a daze. The victim must spend a point of Willpower to break out of the daze and perform any coherent action for a turn ( including, but not limited to, any action employing a Dice Pool).

System: The effects last for at least one turn, but can last much longer depending upon the number of successes the vampire rolls using his Manipulation + Intimidation ratings (difficulty equal to the target's Perception + [Self-Control or Instincts] ) .

1 success One Turn
2 successes One Hour
3 successes One Night
4 successes One Week
5 successes One Month


LEVEL 5
Total Insanity
Madness lies around the nearest corner of everyone’s mind. Pulling insanity from the recesses of your victim’s deepest memories and beliefs, you cause the hapless victim to succumb to a wash of overpowering lunacy. You may evoke this discipline after gaining your victim’s total attention for a short time.