The Bohagande regard their inheritance in much the same way that a man living on the frontier might have viewed his rifle. Used properly, it can be the difference between unlife and Final Death. To others, it’s a weapon that seems to inflict harm indiscriminately. Sunnikuse (or “medicine”) is the bloodline’s unique ability to direct the hand of Fate, as dangerous as this practice is. Gifted in the art of stealing luck from others, twisting the outcome of situations to their advantage, and even hoarding good fortune, Bohagande are as deadly and feared as any gunslinger of old. They have an uncanny ability to sense the presence or absence of luck in an individual, and use that knowledge for their own good.
Every application of Sunnikuse, whether it involves a simple touch (as with Jinx) or a momentary gaze (Evil Eye), leaves a victim with a discernible sense of doom. The victim may not always know the source of the sinking feeling (most Bohagande seek to camouflage their depredations with some justifiable charade, such as a game of billiards or Three Card Monty), but she always experiences a terrible sense of unease and impending failure. The greater the potential loss, the more powerful the impression received. Successive uses of Sunnikuse against the same subject only amplify her sensation, eventually convincing any but the most obtuse victim that a Jonah is somehow responsible for her bad luck.
Each time Sunnikuse is used, Wits + Occult is rolled for the subject to recognize that the Jonah is somehow behind her sense of doom. A normal success suggests that there is some vague connection between the Bohagande and the bad luck. An exceptional success fully exposes the Bohagande’s complicity. Perhaps the vampire is even caught with a hand in the proverbial cookie jar, actively doing something strange near or in regard to the intended victim.
There are ways in which a potential victim can protect herself from this Discipline. Most cultures believe that certain items, expressions or practices provide a measure of defense against bad luck. The more involved or complicated the charm, the greater the protection granted. It’s important that the individual truly believes in the power of the charm, however. It is this belief that staves off disaster, not the object itself.
To a Bohagande’s benefit, a host of events, items and circumstances — crossing the path of a black cat, breaking a mirror, walking under a ladder — are ascribed with the power to cause bad luck. If a subject of Sunnikuse is in the vicinity of such circumstances or performs such actions, she is easier to affect with the Discipline. Some Jonahs exploit these superstitions and try to arrange for such ill omens to be present when they use this power, both to increase its usefulness and to provide sources of blame for the ill fortune that befalls a victim.
The following is a list of some factors that might make it easier for a Bohagande to use Sunnikuse, as well as examples of charms that can undermine the Discipline.
Suggested Modifiers
Bonus Condition
+1 A black cat or broken mirror is nearby
+2 Target is under a ladder
+3 It’s Friday the 13th
+4 A fortune teller told the victim that something terrible would happen this evening
+5 The victim is already convinced he is jinxed or cursed
Penalty Charm
–1 Target has a lucky rabbit’s foot or mouths a protective prayer
–2 Target received a blessing from a holy authority that same day
–3 Target knows the truth about what the Bohagande can and cannot do
–4 Target has a rare artifact that legend ascribes with miraculous powers
–5 Target knows the Bohagande’s secret name
Luck stolen through use of Sunnikuse cannot come from or later be used for Humanity or degeneration rolls made for either the Bohagande or a target. In essence, while the Storytelling System may call for a dice roll to determine Humanity and degeneration, luck does not play a factor in whether a character retains his morality or sanity.
A Bohagande can snatch small amounts of luck from others that he can then use for himself. By making physical contact with another — even the lightest touch is sufficient — the character can activate this power. If successful, the victim’s next action fails, while the Bohagande’s next action automatically succeeds. The power of Jinx lasts only one scene, so if the Bohagande takes no further actions that scene, the benefit is forfeit. Consult the rules for “Touching an Opponent” on p. 157 of the World of Darkness Rulebook to determine if a Jonah successfully makes contact with a resisting target when this power is used. If a target does not resist, assume that contact can be made automatically under some context, such as through a handshake, sleight of hand or seeming to stumble.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Wits + Subterfuge + Sunnikuse
Action: Instant to touch target; reflexive to activate power
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character’s Jinx is turned back on him. The next action the Bohagande performs in this scene is failed automatically.
Failure: No effect. A successive attempt to use the power may be made, but contact is required again, as is another Willpower point.
Success: A subject is jinxed upon being touched. The next roll made for the subject is automatically a failure, regardless of how improbable that might be. If the action normally calls for a chance roll, the victim automatically suffers a dramatic failure. The Bohagande fares much better. The next roll made for him is an automatic success. If he attempts no further actions for the remainder of the scene, he receives no benefit from Jinx. If the subject attempts no further actions in the scene, he is spared failure.
Exceptional Success: Similar to a normal success, except the stakes are much higher. The victim’s next action results in a dramatic failure, while the Bohagande’s next action is automatically an exceptional success.
A subject can be under the influence of only one use of Jinx at a time, and a Bohagande can have no more than one “unused” success at his disposal at one time. Once it’s fulfilled, this power must be activated again to acquire a new guaranteed success.
This cursed ability can wreak all manner of havoc on a victim. By drawing on the power of her Vitae, a Bohagande no longer needs to touch her victim to affect him. So long as she is in close physical proximity and can see him directly, even if only momentarily, she can turn the Evil Eye on him. (Looking through a TV or at a photo doesn’t apply.)
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + Sunnikuse
Action: Instant
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The intended target is unaffected and all rolls made for the Bohagande against that individual suffer a –2 penalty for the remainder of the scene.
Failure: The power has no effect, but successive attempts to use the power on the subject may be made as long as he is in direct sight.
Success: The victim suffers a –2 penalty on all rolls. In addition, the 10 Again rule to re-roll 10’s doesn’t apply to the subject. Both of these effects apply for the remainder of the scene.
Exceptional Success: The victim suffers a –3 penalty on all rolls for the remainder of the scene, in addition to the proscription against the 10 Again rule.
A victim can be subject to only one use of this power at a time.
A Jonah has honed his abilities such that he may cause victims’ efforts to have tragic results. A personal possession of the victim is needed to level this curse — anything from a necklace to a comb to a lock of hair to a tooth. The Bohagande taints the object with his cursed Vitae, usually by opening a small wound in his hand. The vampire murmurs a few brief words and as long as the character holds the bloodied item in hand, the subject is plagued by disaster.
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Empathy + Sunnikuse
Action: Activation is instant; application can be contested
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The next roll made for the Bohagande that scores even a single 1 is a dramatic failure, regardless of the number of successes actually achieved on the roll.
Failure: No effect, although successive attempts to activate the power can be made if the object is still held and more Vitae is spent.
Success: After the power has been activated and the item is held by the vampire, a subject’s action fails automatically if any die rolled for him ever turns up a 1, regardless of how many successes are actually rolled. Indeed, if successes rolled for the victim are lower than those rolled for the vampire when this power was activated, and a 1 turns up on a die, the victim’s action is automatically a dramatic failure.
Example: Three successes are rolled for a vampire using this power. Later on, a dice pool is rolled for the subject. Four successes are achieved, but a single die in the pool turns up a 1. The action fails immediately, regardless of the four successes rolled. The victim is somehow robbed of an easy victory. If only one or two successes had been rolled for the subject — less than the vampire’s three — and a 1 had turned up on another die, the effort would have been a dramatic failure.
Exceptional Success: As per a normal success, except any 1 rolled for the subject indicates a dramatic failure no matter how many successes are otherwise achieved in the roll.
Should the Bohagande release the possession from hand for even a moment, Calamity is dispelled. It’s possible for more than a single item to be held in order to affect multiple victims simultaneously, assuming the items are small enough. For each dot in Sunnikuse, a Bohagande can utilize one such personal item at a time. Multiple items from the same subject do not increase the intensity of this power over him.
Gloved hands deny use of this power, as does merely having an object close by (in a pocket, around the neck). Rings are particularly sought after by the Bohagande. The item must have a solid connection to the subject for it to be valid. This can be due to an emotional attachment (a pearl earring given by a loved one, a dead father’s pocket watch), due to a lasting relationship (a wallet owned for a dozen years, a childhood teddy bear), or because the object was actually part of the target (a lock of hair).
The Bohagande need not be able to see the victim of this power for it to be effective.
The victim of Calamity does not receive any special hint as to the source of his affliction. Even if near the Bohagande, the victim does not have any overt way to identify the vampire as the responsible party. If a connection is somehow made (maybe the Jonah takes credit), the victim or anyone else can attempt to liberate the personal object from the vampire’s grasp by grappling. See “Disarm Opponent” on p. 157 of the World of Darkness Rulebook. If the effort is successful, the Bohagande loses contact with the object and the effects of Calamity are terminated.
Sometimes, no matter how great one’s odds are or how likely one is to fail miserably, the fickle hand of Fate steps in. Bohagande who excel at Sunnikuse learn to control freakish turns of events for their own purposes.
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Subterfuge + Sunnikuse
Action: Reflexive
This power effectively increases or decreases the degree of success or failure of a single action taken by the Bohagande or by any other character within direct sight. The Bohagande’s player must declare the power in use immediately after a dice pool is rolled, but before the results are declared.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The very next roll made for any character (even one not nearby the Bohagande) that is made to cause harm or disadvantage to the Jonah is improved by one degree of success. Say, from dramatic failure to failure, failure to success or success to exceptional success. This can mean a homeless man’s feeble effort to resist the vampire is suddenly overwhelming, or a Hound’s efforts across town to unearth information about the Bohagande reveals his very haven! If increasing the degree of success of the effort by category is too vague, as in a combat attack, add three to any successes rolled against the vampire. Thus, a roll of one success becomes four, and a failure becomes three successes.
Failure: No effect, although successive attempts to apply the power to other dice pools be made if more Vitae is spent.
Success: The result of the roll can be made more successful or less successful by one degree. That is, a success can be turned into an exceptional success or a failure, while a dramatic failure can be changed to only a regular failure. If altering degree of success by category is too vague, as in a combat attack, add or subtract a number of successes equal to those achieved in the power’s activation roll. So, if three successes were gained, up to three can be added to or subtracted from those achieved in the affected roll. A targeted roll that is reduced to zero successes is a simple failure; it’s not made a dramatic failure with “negative successes.”
Exceptional Success: The Bohagande is able to twist fate to such a degree that the result of the target’s roll can be changed two full steps in either direction. An exceptional success can be turned into a failure, while a dramatic failure can become a regular success. As with success, if altering degree of success by category is too vague, actual successes achieved in the activation roll — five or more — can be added to or subtracted from those of the affected action.
Twist of Fate can be used on only instant actions. Extended and reflexive actions are unaffected. When used on a contested action, the power is directed at only one contestant, but can affect the outcome for both. Someone who should have won or lost the contest suddenly does not.
This power can be used at any time during a turn, regardless of a character’s Initiative, and does not count as the action the Bohagande is normally allowed that turn. The power can be used only once per turn.
Up to this point, a Bohagande is unable to hold onto the luck she steals for more than a brief time. It must be used quickly or be lost to the ever-changing winds of Fate. Now, however, the character understands how to hold onto her precious lot.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Occult + Sunnikuse
Action: Instant; resisted if used against another Bohagande who also uses Gift of the Crow
Gift of the Crow allows a Bohagande to steal luck from others and use it to improve her chances of success on future rolls by taking advantage of the 9 Again and possibly the 8 Again rules. This benefit lasts a number of nights equal to the successes achieved on the power’s activation roll, until the Jonah suffers a dramatic failure, or until the user is rendered unconscious or falls into torpor (whichever comes first).
This luck comes at a price to someone else, of course. Someone within distance to carry on a normal conversation suffers a dramatic failure on his next action, regardless of how many successes are rolled for him. One such dramatic failure is imposed for each success achieved on the activation roll of the power. So, if three successes are rolled, the next three actions performed by others are dramatic failures. These tragedies may all be heaped upon a single victim or assigned to various victims within range, as the character chooses. Three mishaps could befall three separate people, or three could plague one victim. If a Jonah is not careful with this power, he could soon be at the epicenter of tragic events or pitfalls, from which he emerges unscathed. If he comes away “lucky” too many times, others may notice.
If no one is in sufficiently close proximity to steal their luck, this power cannot be activated. A valid victim must be human or humanoid, whether alive or undead.
See “System Permutations” on p. 134 of the World of Darkness Rulebook for details on the 9 Again and 8 Again rules. A Bohagande cannot be subject to the effects of more than one use of this power at a time.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character does not steal any luck and is not subject to the 10 Again rule until the next sunset.
Failure: No effect, although successive attempts to activate the power can be made if more Willpower is spent.
Success: For each success rolled, the character enjoys the 9 Again rule for one night (including the remainder of the current one). So, if three successes are rolled, the 9 Again rule applies for three nights. Each 9 or 10 rolled at that point is re-rolled to improve the Bohagande’s chances of success.
Exceptional Success: Similar to a normal success, except the Bohagande now has the benefit of the 8 Again rule for a number of nights equal to the successes achieved. Each 8, 9 or 10 rolled by the player is re-rolled.