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Report #600 – Unnatural Speed

We have now observed on 37* occasions the unnatural speed of the blankbody. The species is capable of bursts of speed and grace, appearing before one of us, moving to the rear, and biting from behind in what is estimated to be fewer than two seconds. Additionally, some rare blankbodies have shown they can continue acting at this fast rate, appearing down the other end of a street in ten seconds when it should take 60.

There is no known remedy or defense against this quickness, which acts as one of the greatest threats to our termination of the species. It is supposed that they require blood in their systems to act in this way, but we do not know how much or how long said blood fuels their actions.

Current protocol is to record blankbodies of this type from a distance. If cornered by one, permission is granted to detonate a microbomb on the agent’s person, as even the fast types do not show resistance to areas of fire or shrapnel. Slowing or destroying one of these creatures is worth a single agent’s life.

*at time of report.

Nicknames: Bolting, Slipping, Velocitas

The ability to strike fast, dodge blows, and escape pursuers allows Kindred to become extremely effective predators. Celerity enables vampires to move faster than any natural creature, though it does more than grant a supernatural speed, with vampires employing it actually appearing to think almost as fast as they act. While some vampires use to slice and stab at enemies without fear of riposte, others simply use it to get from A to B faster than any other person on foot.

Characteristics

• Type: Physical
• Masquerade Threat: Medium-High. Most Celerity powers are clearly inhuman, the only saving grace being that they’re very hard to catch on film or photograph.
• Blood Resonance: Choleric. Fear and utter terror, runners, athletes, amphetamine and alkaloid users, habitual players of first-person shooters and other twitch games.

Level 1

Cat's Grace

The vampire gains a balance and grace equal to and surpassing world-class trapeze artists. They can walk and even run across ledges and wires effortlessly and can keep their balance on the slimmest of supports.

• Cost: Free
• System: The user automatically passes any Dexterity- or Athletics-based roll needed to keep their balance. Note that this power does not allow them to balance on support that cannot take their weight.
• Duration: Passive

Level 2

Fleetness

Their mastery of Celerity now allows the vampire to move and react with dizzying speed.

• Cost: One Rouse Check
• System: Add the Celerity rating to user's dice pool for non-combat Dexterity tests. Once per turn the user may also do this when defending with Dexterity + Athletics.
• Duration: One scene

How Fast is Fast?

Vampire does not ask players to move figures on a grid. We don’t provide precise meters-per-second equivalents for the speeds attained by Celerity, and even if we did, not every combat turn lasts the same number of seconds. The Storyteller decides how many floors of a staircase a vampire with Celerity climbs in a turn based on the results of the contest with its foes or based on dramatic necessity, not by using dots and multipliers.

But some players want to ground their game, at least slightly, in the specific. Usain Bolt, the fastest human being ever timed, runs nearly 45 km/hour. If you assume a dot in Dexterity equals 9 km/hour running flat-out, you have a thumbnail answer to the eternal question “Can my vampire catch that speeding car?” (“No.”) Of course in your game, a dot in Dexterity can mean whatever you need it to mean – but it mostly means an edge over those with one less dot in Dexterity.