15 XP
For hundreds of years, messengers were the only means of communication between the Damned; even colonial Lords in nearby cities often found it impossible to get couriers through the wilds between domains and past the daggers of their enemies. In the time of the Frankish kings, the Ventrue refined a power from their blood that gave their messengers at least a more favorable chance of reaching their destinations.
With this Devotion, a Ventrue can imprint his profound will onto one messenger, and thus onto those who might impede the courier’s mission. He who would raise a hand against the messenger must first overcome the will of the master.
Cost: 1 or more Vitae
Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + Dominate vs. Presence + Brawl, Firearms, or Weaponry (see below)
Action: Instant and contested; resistance is reflexive The activation roll is made when the power’s effect is placed upon the target messenger. Anyone who attempts to attack the messenger must first contest the activation roll with a reflexive roll of Presence + the Skill used to make the attack. If the attacker fails this contested action, he stops himself in the midst of his attack – his intention now clearly revealed to any who can see him. Hopefully, this gives the messenger a chance to escape.
This power can only contest a number of attempted attacks equal to the user’s Resilience dots, after which the power is exhausted and the subject is vulnerable as normal. The power’s effect, unless exhausted by attempted strikes, persists until the messenger speaks, until the messenger attacks anything human (or once human), or until the messenger dies, whichever comes first.
Billie’s note: No idea why the vitae price is “1 or more”