Aura Reading blurs the distinction between telepathy and ESP, as Aura Reading represents a form of psychic perception, but also has elements of mind reading. According to telepaths who have this Merit, all living things (and some “unliving” things) are surrounded by a nimbus of energy that is perceptible by psychic means or by Kirlian photography. Aura Reading allows a psychic to perceive this otherwise invisible halo, and with experience interpret its constantly changing hues to gain insights into a subject. Vampires and mages have access to a similar power known as Aura Perception. Aura Reading, however, does not carry with it the same level of sophistication. And yet, a talented psychic can deduce a target’s general emotional state and perform such feats as determining whether the person is lying.

With the five-dot version, a knowledgeable telepath may use this power to recognize supernatural entities. To a trained telepath, vampires are recognized by their extremely pale auras, werewolves by their vibrant intensity and mages by sparkling lights that appear in the patterns. Dematerialized ghosts and spirits are also visible with this power, as are astral projectors, but only faintly, and a psychic cannot communicate with them without use of other powers. Regardless of the type of supernatural subject, a telepath must have some familiarity with a sort of being to identify it. A psychic who has had opportunity to perceive the auras of vampires might know that a mage is “not right” and also knows that she is not a vampire, but he would not specifically realize that she is a mage unless he also had some familiarity with the auras of willworkers.

Both versions of this Merit require the expenditure of one Willpower point and an Intelligence + Empathy roll, contested by a target’s Composure + Supernatural Advantage; resistance is reflexive. The two-dot version requires the psychic to scrutinize the target for a number of turns equal to the target’s Composure prior to the roll, and a target may be suspicious of someone staring intently at her if a reflexive Wits + Composure (or possibly Wits + Occult) roll for her succeeds. The two-dot version automatically fails against supernatural beings. The five-dot version can be used against supernatural beings, but otherwise functions as the two-dot version. Once a psychic successfully reads a target’s aura, the psychic can continue to view it so long as she maintains concentration, allowing her to observe the target for possible deception or even to predict an imminent attack.

A failure on an attempt at Aura Reading means that the psychic is unable to discern an aura at all, while a dramatic failure means she receives false or misleading information. Thus, the Storyteller should always roll for the player when the possibility of a dramatic failure applies. A telepath who successfully reads the aura of someone in the act of lying may recognize that the subject speaks falsely by rolling Intelligence + Empathy + [the successes gained on the initial Aura Reading roll] versus the subject’s Composure + Subterfuge in a contested action. If the psychic wins the roll, he recognizes the lie.

Applied toward reading the mood of potential combatants, this power grants its user a bonus to Initiative equal to the number of successes rolled in activating the effect, provided the telepathic is actively reading the aura of a target at the time that person initiates an attack.

Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Empathy versus target’s Composure + Supernatural Advantage (resistance is reflexive)
Action: Reflexive (though a subject may have to be studied in advance of making a roll)

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure:
The character gleans utterly misleading and wholly inaccurate information. The Storyteller may wish to make any chance-die rolls for a player, to keep the true results secret.

Failure:
The character can distinguish no information at all.

Success:
The character can determine the target’s general mood and nature, possibly picking up details about a supernatural being’s nature or whether a particular target is lying.

Exceptional Success:
The character gains all the benefits of a normal success. In addition, the character gains an additional +2 dice on all Social rolls made against the target for the remainder of the scene due to his being so in tune with her personality.