The telepath can establish a permanent telepathic connection with the mind of another person, allowing the character to form a psychic link with the subject from anywhere in the world with the expenditure of a Willpower dot. This Merit can be taken multiple times to reflect having more than one rapport, up to a maximum number at one time equal to the psychic’s Intelligence. If the other party to a rapport dies, the dot spent is lost. The other party may never sever the rapport once it’s formed, but the telepath may voluntarily end it, still losing the Willpower dot spent. Only the character who possesses this Merit can freely initiate telepathic communication, and the other party must develop this Merit himself in order to initiate a link on his own, assuming he is even someone capable of doing so. A telepathic rapport cannot be forged with an unwilling target, or with someone the psychic doesn’t know closely.

Any telepath who meets the prerequisites can forge a new rapport, but the telepath must successfully use Mind Reading and Thought Projection on the other party and spend a permanent Willpower dot. Once the link is achieved, the telepath can activate the rapport without a roll. Also, if anyone with whom a telepath has a rapport experiences intense emotion, such as being in great danger, the telepath may be able to sense the emotion at any distance with a reflexive Wits + Empathy roll. This roll should be made by the Storyteller.

This Merit allows a character to forge a new rapport whenever she wishes, and a significant number of other Merits are required as prerequisites. At the Storyteller’s discretion, a character can develop a single Telepathic Rapport as a two-dot Merit at character creation, without possessing the prerequisite Merits or indeed any other psychic Merits. This rapport must be with some other person close to the character, such as a parent or twin sibling, and represents a paranormal bond not dependent on the character’s facility with telepathy. The character is not able to create any new rapports unless she acquires the full, three-dot Telepathic Rapport Merit and all its prerequisites.

Regaining Willpower dots lost from broken rapports costs eight experience points each.

Cost: 1 Willpower point per scene to activate communication with a single subject
Dice Pool: None to activate, as once the rapport is purchased, it can be turned on and off at will. Wits + Empathy (rolled by the Storyteller) to know when the other party is in danger or undergoes intense emotion.
Action: Reflexive

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure:
The telepath grossly misinterprets the emotions experienced by the other party.

Failure:
The telepath fails to sense the other party’s emotional state.

Success:
The telepath intuitively knows that the other party is experiencing pain, fear or some other intense emotion.

Exceptional Success:
The telepath gains limited insight into exactly what situation the other party faces, even if the subject is unable to communicate such information directly. For example, instead of simply knowing that the other experiences fear, the telepath knows he is afraid of a pack of guard dogs that pursues him. If the subject experiences pain, the telepath realizes he has just been stabbed. Also, the telepath has an intuitive idea of where the other party is.