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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 why’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 was… I guess “beautiful” is a simple word when describing her poise, her confidence, and her clarity of voice… She asked why I wasn’t working and I stuttered and stumbled over myself. I was bewitched. Is that the word? I couldn’t look away from her.

Then her eyes narrowed. She told me I shouldn’t be there. She looked unhappy. My heart broke. It sounds ridiculous, but somehow I’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 was… She went from love to hate.

I couldn’t help but get the hell out of there and never look back. I know where the dig is, and it’s still going on, but I’m too terrified to return. What did she do to me?

Nicknames: Superstardom, Enthrallment, Sublimitas

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 vampire’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 mortal’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 they’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
• 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.
• 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.
  

Level 1

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 doesn’t cause rapt infatuation, it is still strong enough to sway the minds of most mortals.

• Cost: Free
• Dice Pools: Manipulation + Presence vs Composure + Intelligence
• System: Add the Presence rating to any Skill roll involving Persuasion or Performance as well as to other Charisma-related rolls, at the Storyteller’s discretion. Anyone aware that they’re being affected can try to resist with a contest of Composure + Intelligence vs the user’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.
• Duration: One scene or until intentionally ended

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.

• Cost: Free
• System: Add the user’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.
• Duration: One scene or until intentionally ended

Level 2

Lingering Kiss

The Kiss of a vampire induces near-ecstasy in the victim, but this power leaves other Kisses in the dust. Victims fed upon by the user are temporarily empowered, but also 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. Addicting other vampires is also possible, with the caveat that obsessed vampires demanding to be fed from quickly lead to the user becoming Blood Bound. Once Blood Bound, a vampire becomes unable to use this power on other vampires, being limited to employing it on mortals.

• Cost: Free
• System: The vampire can choose to use this power during each feeding where they sate at least one Hunger. The victim gains a bonus equal to half the user’s Presence (round up) to one Social Attribute of their choice. This benefit lasts for a single night. Once it fades, withdrawal strikes and all the victim’s actions not spent working toward acquiring a new fix receive a dice penalty equal to the initial bonus. A victim in withdrawal can spend Willpower to ignore the penalties for a scene, and the penalties go away after a number of nights equal to the user’s Presence rating.
  This power cannot be used on other vampires by a user who is under the thrall of a Blood Bond. Also, vampires with the Unbondable Merit cannot acquire this power.
• Duration: A number of nights equal to the user’s Presence rating