Though the Passionate have an undeniable tendency to embrace religion and despite the fact that their Discipline adopts aspects of Catholic ritualism, the proprietary Discipline of the Septemi does not necessitate faith on the part of the user. Indeed, the bloodline founder learned to focus the esoteric forces of his own blood to protect himself and others against the depredations of his vampire kin. The fact that his abilities proved equally effective against the other monsters of the World of Darkness came as a surprise to him. Most Kindred know that elders seem to garner a resistance to powers of the blood that goes beyond their resolute wills. Some vampires have even discovered that such power grants a defense against the attacks of witches and Lupines, and that those entities prove similarly un- affected by vampire Disciplines as their faculties grow. Though few Passionate truly understand it, their founder learned to focus that power, using it as a defense against his enemies.
In game terms, most supernatural characters possess an Advantage (such as Blood Potency for vampires) that defends them against the supernatural powers of other characters. The Septemi use that facet of their being in a manner more efficient and focused than most. As a result, their Discipline only functions against supernatural powers. It cannot aid them in contested rolls that only utilize mundane Skills, even if those are aided by a supernatural power (such as a punch enhanced by Vigor).
With a word of prayer and a quick ritual of protection (usually the Passionate crosses herself), the Septemi can focus her supernatural defense against outside forces, heightening it for a brief moment.
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: This power involves no roll. Upon activating Buttress the Soul, the character gains a bonus to her defense equal to her rating in the Abjurism Discipline (whether rolled by the Septemi or subtracted from her attacker’s pool) against any powers that target her for a single turn. This power is reflexive and needs to be activated only once in a given turn to defend against all powers used against the character during that turn. The bonus remains until the end of the turn during which it was activated, though it can be activated as a defensive action (like going prone or Dodging, the character can use the power prior to her own point in the initiative roster). This power can be activated after an enemy declares that he will use a power against the Septemi but before the roll is resolved.
Buttress the Soul involves some small ritual that can always be seen by onlookers but involves no blatantly supernatural display. Use of this power almost never constitutes a Masquerade violation, and only enemies with a strong knowledge of the Septemi will identify this power for what it is.
Action: Reflexive
The Passionate performs a ritual, usually with religious significance (Septemi often pray over a rosary, sprinkle holy water or swing a censer in lazy arcs, wafting smoke across the target of the power), banishing the lies of the Adversary from the truth of God’s Creation.
The Septemi destroys illusions created by other supernatural beings (though the Passionate has no dominion over natural optical illusions).
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Resolve + Investigation + Abjurism
Action: Extended. The number of successes required to dispel an illusion is equal to the number of successes garnered by the crafter of the illusion. Each roll represents a turn spent in ritual.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character fails utterly, convincing himself of the reality of the illusion. He may not attempt to dispel the illusion again until the next sunset.
Failure: The attempt fails.
Success: The character accumulates successes towards his goal.
Exceptional Success: The character makes substantial progress towards the target number of successes. Exceeding the target number by more than five, results in the immediate destruction of any other illusions present within a number of yards equal to the character’s Abjurism + Blood Potency.
Once the target number is reached, the illusion is banished and utterly destroyed. No character present is affected by it thereafter. In the case of multiple illusions, the weakest is banished first (when the character reaches the appropriate number of successes for the illusion with the least successes, it dispels); once an illusion has been dispelled, a character must expend another Vitae and begin the extended roll again to banish further illusions.
An “illusion” includes any effect intended to disorient or mislead a character’s senses. The effect must be established (the power does not prevent effects from coming into play, it only dispels extant effects) and independent (it must be focused on a space, item, or area, not an individual — false walls, illusory flames, and one dollar bills magically masquerading as one hundred dollar bills, for example). Powers that directly affect a character’s mind fall under Buttress the Soul, above, or Cleanse the Mind, below). Due to these restrictions, this power cannot reverse the effects of any level of the Obfuscate Discipline.
The Light of Truth grants no ability to see an illusion for what it is, but does not require a character to be cognizant of the presence of an illusion to function. A character who suspects a nearby illusion can utilize the power in an attempt to overcome it (the range of the power is equal to the character’s Abjurism + Blood Potency in yards).
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier - Situation
+3 - The character is certain that an illusion is present and has identified it.
+2 - The character suspects the presence of an illusion and its general nature.
+1 - The character knows the identity of the entity who created the illusion.
-1 - The character lacks an appropriate item of religious significance (such as a rosary, censer, thurible, holy water or incense).
-3 - The character suspects the presence of an illusion but not its nature or location.
The Passionate speaks a quiet prayer before kissing a companion upon the forehead (or, in some cases, placing a prayer strip on his brow). Through the power of her blood, she banishes the dark taint of the unnatural from the target.
The character must touch the target’s forehead to use this power.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Empathy + Abjurism
Action: Instant
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The attempt fails, instead inflicting a mild derangement on the target that remains until the end of the scene. The target cannot benefit from further uses of this power by any Septemi until after the following sunset.
Failure: The attempt fails.
Success: The character removes a single supernatural effect from the target. The effect must be something that directly affects the mind. Examples include Dominate commands, all Majesty powers and the powers of Obfuscate. (Cleansing a character of the effects of Obfuscate allows her to see an otherwise hidden character, even if her companions cannot. Attempts by the cleansed character to point out the Obfuscated individual fail, but if she interacts with the creature, by attacking him, for example, she can draw their attention to him.) Cleanse the Mind only cancels ongoing effects; powers that have a permanent effect after they have been completed (such as The Forgetful Mind and Conditioning powers of Dominate) are not affected. Septemi may not use this power on themselves.
Exceptional Success: The character removes two supernatural effects from the target, if two simultaneously exist.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier - Situation
+2 - The character knows precisely what effect she is trying to undo and who inflicted it on the target.
+1 - For each dot of Blood Potency the character possesses over that of the character who established the supernatural effect. Count the supernatural tolerance trait (Primal Urge, Gnosis, etc.) of other supernatural entities and the Resistance of spirits and ghosts as Blood Potency for the purposes of this power.
— - The character knows either what effect she is trying to undo or who inflicted it on the target, but not both.
-1 - For each dot of Blood Potency the character possesses less than that of the character who est ablished the supernatural effect.
-2 - The character knows neither the specific effect she is trying to undo nor the individual who inflicted it on the target.
-3 - The character attempts to cleanse her target of an Obfuscate effect. This penalty adds to any applicable penalties above.
The denizens of the World of Darkness often traffic with ghosts and demons, binding them to their will and using them as tools against the living. Others create entities out of thin air or call to themselves animals to guard them, twisting nature to their foul whim. The Septemi reject such abuses of both the material and spiritual realms.
The Passionate ritualizes loudly, vocally commanding an entity from beyond this world to leave the inhabitants of God’s creation be. If successful, she can choose to drive a possessing spirit or ghost from a body (whether living, dead or undead) or banish it from the Passionate’s presence. Similarly, she can command an animal either created through a supernatural power or under a supernatural compulsion to flee the area.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Presence + Occult + Abjurism vs. Power + Resistance (if a spirit or ghost) or Resolve (if an animal)
Action: Extended and contested. Each roll represents one turn of ritual. The character attempts to garner successes equal to the target’s Willpower. The target’s goal is equal to the character’s Abjurism + Blood Potency.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The attempt fails and the target being becomes immediately hostile towards the Septemi, ignoring other characters in order to harass or assault the Passionate for the remainder of the scene. Even worse, the Septemi’s powers of Abjurism no longer affect the entity (or any effect the entity establishes) until after the following sunset.
Failure: The character garners no successes towards his goal. If the target achieves the goal first, it remains unaffected by the power.
Success: The character garners successes towards his goal. If he overcomes the being’s Willpower before it overcomes his Abjurism + Blood Potency, he either drives it from a body it is possessing (immediately ending any applicable Numina) or banishes it. A banished spirit returns to the spirit realm and a banished ghost is locked within one of its anchors. This effect lasts for one night per success the Passionate achieves on the roll (though destroying a ghost’s anchor while the ghost is locked within frees it, assuming that the ghost possessed another anchor, otherwise, it vanishes). If the target is an animal, it flees the scene, even if other magic (including a Vinculum or uses of Animalism) affects it. A swarm of small creatures (such as insects, rats or fish) is considered a single animal for the purpose of this power.
Exceptional Success: As above, save the entity remains banished for one week per success on the character’s roll, or, if an animal, it turns against its former master.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier - Situation
+2 - The character knows the target’s true name.
+1 - The character utilizes tools appropriate for an exorcism and knows how to perform one (see p. 214, The World of Darkness Rulebook).
+1 - Per success on a Feral Whispers roll targeting the creature (if it is an animal) in the turn directly preceding the use of Banish the Summoned.
-1 - The character does not know the nature of the possessing entity (for example, whether it is a ghost or spirit).
-2 - The character believes that the entity is of a type that it is not (for example, he assumes a possessing spirit is a ghost).
-3 - The target (if it is an animal) is under the Vinculum of an individual present in the scene.
The most potent of the powers of the Septemi, Break the Weave immediately ends a single supernatural effect. Characters whose effects are broken in this manner do not regain any expended Willpower, Vitae or other supernatural traits. The Septemi shouts a simple prayer (no more than three words), unleashing a powerful wave of energy that disrupts other supernatural powers.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Resolve + Occult + Abjurism vs. target’s Composure + Blood Potency
Action: Instant and contested. Alternately, the target may choose not to resist this power. The target is always considered the character afflicted with or benefiting from a power (which is not necessarily the one that established the effect). If the Septemi uses Break the Weave to destroy an effect on an inanimate object or locale, the roll is not contested.
Magic Items and the Broken Weave
Permanently magical items (such as blessed items, a werewolf’s fetish or a mage’s Artifact, or permanently imbued or enhanced items) cannot be divested of their magic through the use of this power any more than a vampire can be made incapable of spending Vitae. Effects created through the use of the item, on the other hand, are fair game (meaning that while a Passionate cannot render an Artifact non-magical through this power, he can undo spells cast through it). If the item is only temporarily enhanced, on the other hand, this power takes effect as usual, contested by the Composure + Blood Potency of whoever currently has the item in her possession.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The Septemi fails, resulting in a massive backlash of energy through her own form. She immediately loses any supernatural effects that she was benefiting from and cannot use Abjurism again for the duration of the scene.
Failure: The character fails to undo whatever unnatural power she attempted to overcome.
Success: The targeted supernatural effect immediately ends.
Exceptional Success: As above, save all supernatural effects on the targeted character, item or locale immediately end.
This power can target all Kindred Disciplines and their remaining effects as well as the powers of other supernatural entities. Furthermore, it can break the Vinculum and even cure Vitae Addiction (these are considered two different effects, necessitating two separate applications of the power), though breaking a Vinculum costs a permanent dot of Willpower on the part of both the Septemi and the target (the targeted character must truly wish to overcome her dependence on her regnant). It cannot undo healing of any kind, though it can reverse changes made to the body for any other purpose. The presence of ghosts or spirits is not considered a supernatural power (unless summoned into the scene, in which case the specific effects of the power used to summon the entity is undone, possibly including the entity’s ability to be present), though Numina that allow an entity to manifest in the physical world are. This power cannot remove a template from a character (meaning that it cannot undo the Embrace, First Change, Awakening, etc.) or destroy a character’s Advantage pool (Vitae, Essence, etc.). This power cannot revert a ghoul to human state.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier - Situation
+2 - The targeted effect is Kindred in origin.
+2 - Character spends a turn chanting and ritualizing prior to the activation of the power. The character can do nothing else during that turn (though does retain her Defense).
— - The targeted effect is non-Kindred in origin.
-1 - The character targets a character, place or thing rather than a specific effect. The Storyteller chooses which effect is ended by the power.