7 XP
While Ventrue and Gangrel have a reputation for surrounding themselves with animals, that doesn’t necessarily mean they want vermin or scavengers invading their havens or makeshift shelters while on the road. Rather than scare each one away as it’s encountered, this Devotion makes for a widespread banishment. The Kindred growls, the animals flee and the wanderer doesn’t have to worry about anyone local using animal pawns to spy on him.
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Animal Ken + Dominate versus Resolve
Action: Contested; resistance is reflexive
The Kindred growls and, if the roll is successful, instills a healthy respect for distance into the mind of any creature that falls under Animalism’s rubric. All such affected animals flee at top speed along the most direct route until they’re exhausted. Furthermore, they’re unwilling to approach the vampire again for a number of hours equal to the successes rolled. They can be compelled, but it takes a great deal of persuasion (more successes have to be rolled for the influencing force than were achieved by the frightening vampire).
The activation roll is contested by an animal’s Resolve (or the highest Resolve of a group of animals) if that creature is under the influence of the supernatural, such as an animal that has been made into a ghoul. An animal that is possessed by a supernatural creature is not susceptible to the power, however. Likewise, a creature that is wholly supernatural such as a shapechanger in animal form is not subject to this power. See p. 115 of Vampire: The Requiem under “Animalism” for more details on this.
The radius of Predatory Growl is equal to 10 yards per success. Furthermore, its effects seem to “echo” — animals that weren’t around when it was used are leery of the vampire and hesitant to approach him. This secondary effect lasts a number of hours equal to the successes rolled.