Vampire: the Requiem discipline: ahimsa. Too anti-thematic?

[Idhan]

Do you think this discipline idea is too much at odds with the ideas of V: tR, and has too much "sparkly shiny friendly vampire" nonsense? I think it might be fun to have a character (maybe a megalomaniac Ventrue) who thinks that he's figured out the trick to being a vampire without being a monster. He makes great progress in terms of making up this discipline, but he ends up being an insane murderer anyway, because there's more than just the blood addiction that he's dealing with, and he doesn't realize that.

AHIMSA DISCIPLINE

*Soften the Predator's Growl: You have the ability to mask your predator's taint. You may choose three states: naked, masked, and concealed. Naked is the same as the default for vampires without this discipline. Masked conceals the beast partially, but not fully: vampires encountering you are aware of your nature, but need not make any check to avoid frenzy or rötschreck (note that, unless the other vampire is also concealing the beast, you must still check to avoid frenzy or rötschreck). Concealed goes a step further, attempting to hide the beast entirely. It is still possible for an attentive vampire to penetrate this disguise and become aware of your predator's taint. To determine whether this occurs, make an opposed check of presence + subterfuge + ahimsa against the detecting vampire's perception + empathy + auspex (if any) (difficulty 7 for both parties).

**Mercy of the Beast: The ahimsa discipline does not seek to give the Man more power over the Beast: rather, it attempts to change the nature of the Beast itself. During a frenzy, you may make a humanity check (difficulty 7) whenever you are about to kill, maim, or otherwise seriously harm others. Success means that, while you do not regain actual control, you refrain from the action -- perhaps acting in an alternative manner which is still consistent with the frenzy, but not as harmful. (For instance, a wassailing vampire might drink some blood from a mortal, but avoid taking enough to kill, a vampire in rötschreck running from a fire will still move away from the fire as quickly as possible, but without hurting those in her way, etc)

***Sanguinary Fermentation: In the body of a vampire or ghoul, the vitae of a kindred can catalyze healing -- the regeneration of tissues, including blood itself: a drop of potent vitae, in a ghoul, can accelerate the ghoul's creation of blood to create far more blood than that consumed, at least momentarily. Sanguinary fermentation extends this process outside the body. First, a slurry of water and nutrients -- sugar, hydrolyzed amino acids, iron compounds, and other fairly inexpensive materials -- is created, in a controlled, laboratory-like environment. A point of the vampire's own vitae is infused into the mix, which catalyzes its transformation into a kind of blood substitute. The blood substitute only feeds vampires: it would be useless, and likely harmful, if transfused into a mortal suffering from blood loss. The transformation takes a number of days equal to 15 - blood potency. Every day, each batch of blood-substitute being fermented must be attended by someone with at least one dot of science for at least 15 minutes to test it, make adjustments to temperature, pH, etc. The amount of blood created is determined by a check of intelligence + science + ahimsa, with the batch being worth one point of blood for each success. Difficulty is determined by the quality of blood: animal blood (satisfactory for blood potency 1 or 2 vampires) has a difficulty of 2. Mortal blood (satisfactory for potency 3-7 vampires) has a difficulty of 5. Kindred blood (satisfactory for blood potency 8-10) has a difficulty of 9. Regardless of quality, the blood has no ability to form blood bonds.

I don't know about four or five dots. Ideas?

[Grinner]

I can see how the Ordo Dracul could have a mild interest in it. It's alright.

[silphael]

About the third level, I would drastically reduce the length of the transformation, to something like 7- blood potency (negative become 0) days.

For the second level, if it isn't automatic, it should be totally harmless on a succes, or at least havong scaling effect (such as 1-2: non permanent, 3-4: not hurting anyone, 5+: stop frenzy)

[Leeham]

I think this is quite good, and I can certainly see it making sense in the setting. Mechanically? Hell, I dunno...

[Baalthazaq]

5 dots? Daywalker?

You're basically making your vampire mimic humanity right?

[Leeham]

5 dots? Daywalker?

You're basically making your vampire mimic humanity right?

It's not so much mimicking humanity, but just leashing the Beast, so that you have more control over your crazy animal side.

[silphael]

Oh, I just realized that... there is no such thing as difficulty modification in nWoD. The difficulty is 7, ever.

[Idhan]

Thanks everyone!

About the third level, I would drastically reduce the length of the transformation, to something like 7- blood potency (negative become 0) days.

Maybe 7 - (blood potency/2), daycount rounded up?

For the second level, if it isn't automatic, it should be totally harmless on a succes, or at least havong scaling effect (such as 1-2: non permanent, 3-4: not hurting anyone, 5+: stop frenzy)

Hmm... good call.

5 dots? Daywalker?

You're basically making your vampire mimic humanity right?

I would say that, in common parlance, retaining humanity is the idea of the discipline. However, in a deeper sense, it's not, because humans themselves are not that great (at least, that what I imagine the creator of this discipline saying).

Basically, the average vampire is a huge jerk, but the average human is a minor jerk. The aspiration isn't to be merely as good as a typical human (although, for a vampire, that is a pretty great achievement). It's to be the best you can be. Humans are not really the role model here. As such, the morally neutral aspects of humanity vis-à-vis vampirism (such as "sleep at night, be awake by day" vs. "sleep in the day, be awake at night") are not really the objective of the discipline.

Moreover, my problem with the Daywalker idea is that it's basically about the vampire gaining power, rather than the vampire finding ways of not harming (and maybe helping) others.

Oh, I just realized that... there is no such thing as difficulty modification in nWoD. The difficulty is 7, ever.

Aw... I knew 7 was the default unless otherwise specified, but I didn't realize it was always 7. I guess the three dot power needs some modification, then. Maybe it's just always a substitute mortal blood?

[silphael]

About the length of the power, as lover of oWoD, I see no problem with nWoD vampires with a blood potency of 10 being able to instantly create blood, and een powefull enough to sustent them.

If you now some things about oWoD, you may have to look the Bardoh discipline, truly focused on keeping high Humanity (you have to have at least 8 to learn it, and your level in it is limited by your humanity. All powers have at least some bound with humanity (restoring it, smiting things with lower than thou, ...))