Born from Morotrophians’ study, infiltration and dependence on isolation, the Institutionalize Discipline manipulates the psychology and physiology of inmates. It’s a proven phenomenon that prisoners and patients can rely so much on the rules of a foundation that they are unable to cope with life on the outside. From excons who commit crimes to get sent back to jail to psychiatric patients who go into convulsions when removed from a hospital, the reaction has been the focus of intense mortal discourse for over a century. No one has studied or understood it more than the Morotrophians. By using the potency of their undead will and blood, Monks are able to control and manipulate this reaction to a degree that mortal tyrants and wardens can only dream of.
Institutionalize is a limited Discipline in some ways; it works under only specific conditions and on specific targets. No Institutionalize power can affect someone who is not part of a confined, defined and regimented social group. Thus, the Discipline cannot be used on a random mortal on the street. Exactly what makes a group vulnerable to Institutionalize is subject to Storyteller interpretation, but there are some general guidelines.
Storytellers are encouraged to apply circumstance modifiers to represent how formally institutionalized a group is. An asylum filled with lifelong inmates that’s presided over by an abusive staff may grant as much as a +3 bonus to uses of Institutionalize. A college fraternity with a campus house and a tradition of hazing might barely qualify with a –3 penalty. The cultish and/or tribal groups of other supernatural beings may qualify, depending on how tightly knit and controlling they are. In general, such organizations are esoteric enough to impose a penalty (–2 to –3) to Discipline rolls.
When Institutionalize works, its effects tend to be pervasive. Many of its powers are able to affect multiple targets without penalty. Applications also combine power with subtly. Most targets are never aware that they’ve been affected by a mystical phenomenon. Those with knowledge of psychology, brain washing or group politics may recognize that some kind of manipulation is at work, but probably have no reason to suspect that it’s “magical” in nature. Short of using Auspex on an Abbot while he uses Institutionalize, there is very little that can be done to prove the mystical nature of Discipline effects. They’re simply an exaggeration of phenomena already at work.
The Nosferatu clan weakness does not apply to any roll made as part of activating or using Institutionalize powers.
Once a vampire has had a chance to observe the interactions of various members of an organization, she can mystically understand the connections and exchanges of power that make the institution run. After only a few moments, the Kindred can unravel even the most complicated social dynamics, figuring out who owes what to whom, who loves whom, who hates whom, and most important of all who has power over whom. How specific this information is varies, but the power never reveals secrets that involve more than basic relationships and power dynamics. For example, an Abbot using Halls of Power could learn that the Prince is afraid of the Mekhet Primogen, but not why. Similarly, it would be obvious that all of the doctors in a hospital acquiesce to the will of a nurse who intimidates and blackmails them, but it takes further, separate investigation to determine what she holds over them.
Cost: —
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Empathy + Institutionalize – the highest Composure in the group examined
Action: Instant (Note that though this is an instant action, it takes more than just a fleeting glance to understand the permutations of the group. A character must scrutinize her subjects for a full minute to glean information, though only an instant action is necessary to determine if she reads them successfully.)
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character gets drastically wrong information, confusing or completely misunderstanding the situation. She may think that the Sheriff is the weakest person in the room, when actually everyone is terrified of him. Storytellers might make activation rolls on players’ behalf for this reason.
Failure: The character cannot distinguish any information, although a successive attempt may be possible if the same people remain together in sight for another minute.
Success: Each success allows the character to gain one piece of information about the social dynamics of the subjects observed. Generally, the character has some influence over what is learned by where subjects focus their attention, but as some interactions are more subtle than others, the obvious ones may be learned first.
Example: Merrian uses Halls of Power while spying on a meeting at her hospital. Her player gets three successes on the activation roll, and tells the Storyteller that Merrian looks for people whom the chief of staff is afraid of, or from whom he backs down. The Storyteller relates that the chief is clearly in love with one of the nurses (one piece of information), but that she treats him with mild contempt (a second piece), and that the chief is overly solicitous of the opinions of one of the interns (a third piece). If Merrian wants to learn why the chief gives special favor to the intern, she has to conduct further investigation.
Exceptional Success: As with a success, plus the character gains one extra piece of information in response to any specific question asked or information sought about the subjects’ dynamics.
The Monk using this power must observe subjects directly. The power doesn’t work through a monitor or photograph. Only relationships among subjects observed can be discerned. Studying three prison guards indicates the relationships among them. It doesn’t indicate anything about the warden if he isn’t present. This power can be used successfully on an individual only once per scene, regardless of with whom she interacts. If a subject happens to belong to two groups read in the same scene, nothing is learned directly from that individual in the second reading.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+1 The character has extended contact (at least six hours) with the group before attempting the roll
+1 The character has an Academics or Politics Specialty that would apply to Skill rolls made with the current group
–1 to –3 The group is particularly subtle or careful to conceal its motives and interrelations
This power allows a Morotrophian to force subjects to behave according to the social rules of their current situation, be those rules stated or unstated. The character must have line of sight to her subjects. A victim must behave in a manner fitting his role in the social order of the institution, regardless of what his personal desire or intent is. So, a prisoner attempting to escape returns to his cell, or a rebellious neonate kneels before the Prince and accepts punishment. The Monk has no specific control over the subject’s actions; the victim simply has to follow protocol as it’s understood by the group or in the situation.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + Institutionalize versus the highest Composure + Blood Potency in the group
Action: Contested; resistance is reflexive
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The impetus to conform rebounds upon the user and she must behave according to the rules for her station for the remainder of the scene (short of doing herself harm). If a dramatic failure is rolled for the subject, see Exceptional Success, below.
Failure: The same or the most successes are rolled for the subject. The target or group is unaffected, although a successive attempt can be made if another Willpower point is spent and the same people are still within line of sight.
Success: The most successes are rolled for the vampire. The target must behave as expected of his rank or role in the institution, but maintains a sense of self-preservation. He goes about his duties without concern for personal matters, but doesn’t walk into a burning building to do so.
Exceptional Success: The most (five or more) successes are rolled for the vampire. The target behaves as demanded of his role or station, even if it results in his humiliation or harm. In this case, a subject would enter a burning building to do his duty. Vampiric subjects gain or lose five dice to frenzy rolls (depending on whether it would be socially acceptable for them to frenzy or not) for the rest of the scene. If an Exceptional Success is rolled for the subject, all further uses of Institutionalize against him are at –1 penalty until the next sunset.
The Monk using this power must observe subjects directly. The power doesn’t work through a monitor or photograph. If more than one member of the institution is looked at when the power is used (i.e., subjects are in a group), all may be affected depending on the contested roll made. Duties performed or actions carried out are followed through on for the remainder of the scene, at which time a subject may perform other actions as desired. This power can be used successfully on an individual only once per scene. If a subject happens to belong to two groups targeted in the same scene, that individual is immune to the second application.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+2 The social rules the target is supposed to follow are crystal clear and/or promise punishment if not followed
+2 The power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie (see Vampire, p. 162)
+1 The social rules the target is supposed to follow are well defined
— The power is used on a single target
–1 The power is used on multiple targets up to and including 20 of them, all of a single “class” such as a group of prisoners or a group of doctors, but not both
–1 The power is used on targets of different “classes”
–1 The social rules the target is supposed to follow are not clear
–2 The power is used on more than 20 targets
–3 The power is used on more than 50 targets
–3 The social rules the target is supposed to follow are arcane or contradictory
–5 The power is used on more than 100 targets
The control of space is important in all institutions. In prisons and asylums, inmates aren’t allowed to leave restricted areas, and limits are imposed on where staff can go. In cults and religions, holy areas are proscribed to members of certain rank, and there could be taboos about leaders entering other places. A Morotrophian uses this power to keep victims in or out of specified areas. A locale must be physically defined and marked as being off limits in some way, which can mean police tape, a velvet rope or a “no entry” sign. That could mean something as small as a closet or as large as a subbasement. An activation roll is made for the character to create a “ward” that stops anyone without proper authorization (which must be declared when the ward is set). Those stopped are not physically barred. Their attention is simply turned elsewhere as their subconscious accepts that the area is denied to them. This power stops only physical intrusion, not any power that projects senses or spirit alone across the line. (There is rumored to be a Devotion that mixes this power with the Nightmare Discipline to create living-terror areas that do affect the spirits and senses of intruders.)
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Resolve + Intimidate + Institutionalize versus the subject’s Resolve + Blood Potency
Action: Instant to establish a ward. Contested when an intrusion attempt is made. Make the intruder’s roll during the attempt and compare the result to the successes achieved for the vampire when the power was used. Resistance is reflexive
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: Not only is the ward not created, no attempt can be made to ward the same area by the same vampire again for a month. If the roll made for a would-be intruder is a dramatic failure, he cannot enter any area warded by that vampire for a month.
Failure: The ward does not take, although a successive attempt may be made if another Willpower point is spent. Failure also arises if the same or more successes are rolled for an intruder and he passes. Once an intruder is in, he may re-enter that area as he desires as long as the same application of Off Limits is in place.
Success: The ward takes effect when the power is used. It also applies when the most successes are rolled for the vampire and an intruder is denied access. He will not try to enter again for a month. At that time, another contested action is required to pass.
Exceptional Success: As with a success, plus a Willpower point must be spent for anyone who tries to enter. This point does not add +3 to the contested roll. An exceptional success rolled for the intruder allows him to ignore any of the vampire’s wards for the remainder of the month.
Off Limits persists on an area for one month before it must be renewed with another Willpower point and an activation roll. Would-be intruders must perform contested actions to pass with each new application of the power, even if they had overcome in a previous month. A Monk can maintain as many wards at one time as he has Institutionalize dots. To exceed that number, he must abandon an old one. Repeated applications of the power on the same area do not have cumulative effect. A ward can be dispelled at will, before its normal termination, and a new application requires a new use of the power.
If some members of a group are able to enter a warded area and others are not, those who failed their contested rolls refuse to pass, even while their companions proceed. If dissenters are forced to enter, they do everything in their power to resist, even throwing punches, but they stop short of attacking with weapons that do lethal damage. An unconscious person can be carried into a warded area and is not subject to the power once inside.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifiers apply to the roll made for the Morotrophian.
Modifier Situation
+1 The ward is in an area controlled or owned by the character
— The ward is over an area that would sensibly be restricted by legal or social mores
–1 The entrance to the area is larger than 10 square feet
–1 The area has more than one entrance
–2 The area is only marginally separated from surrounding areas (such as by tape or a velvet rope)
–2 The entrance to the area is larger than 20 square feet
–3 The area is public or semi-public and has no obvious reason to be restricted
A Morotrophian with this level of mastery is able to see anything and know anything that happens inside an institution. The secrets, actions and dealings of those under the character’s eye are laid bare. This power does not allow the character to read minds, but it does allow him to see and hear actions and activities, whether they occur now or happened in the recent past. The character witnesses the scene laid out as though watching it through one-way glass, letting him see and hear from a fixed vantage point. The vampire must be inside the institution when the power is used.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Wits + Politics + Institutionalize
Action: Activation is instant, but use involves a prolonged period of time
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: Use of the power fails so badly that no other attempts may be made until the next sunset.
Failure: The character cannot activate the power, although a successive attempt can be made if another Willpower point is spent.
Success: The character can watch any chosen scene for up to five minutes per success rolled. The chosen scene can be changed as though the entire institution were monitored by security cameras. The character can thus switch from one scene to another at will.
Exceptional Success: The character can watch for up to an hour per success rolled and gains a +3 bonus to any surprise rolls made for him in the facility while the power is active.
While this power is in use, the vampire’s body lies in a torpor-like state on the spot where he left it. He is unaware of what occurs in the vicinity of his body, and his body can perform no other actions. A successful surprise roll alerts him to trouble in time to return his consciousness to his body to act normally. Any contact made with his body returns his consciousness instantaneously. If the body is subjected to torpor or Final Death, the mind is pulled back immediately.
This power confers no special ability to perceive another vampire using Obfuscate, although possession of Auspex can still be used to try spot such a being. Other Disciplines such as Dominate cannot be used remotely through this power.
While a vampire can look back at events that occurred in the recent past, those events must have occurred at night. The user cannot witness events that happened by day.
This power can be used to witness locales and events within the confines of the institution in question. That typically means within its walls. The parking lot is not valid. Nor can the vampire see outside windows.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+1 A location or subjects are in an area controlled or owned by the character
— The scene happens now
–1 The scene happened one night in the past
–2 The scene happened one week in the past
–2 The character does not control or own the building/area in which the scene occurs
–3 The scene happened a month in the past
The Morotrophian no longer simply influences the people who make up the institution, she controls the central building itself. Be it the wards of a mental hospital or the cellblocks of a prison, the character can remotely and perfectly control the structure and its functions. She can lock and unlock doors, control security apparatuses, trigger alarms, set off traps, control lighting and use any other building systems — such as heating and cooling — to their full effect.
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Crafts + Institutionalize
Action: Activation is instant, but use involves a prolonged period of time
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character’s mind is absorbed into the building, but she does not gain control over it. She enters a coma for an hour, instead, returning to her body early only if her body is touched.
Failure: The character cannot merge with the building, although a successive attempt may be made if another Vitae is spent.
Success: The character gains control of the building for five minutes per success rolled. While possessing it, her Intelligence + Wits is rolled to perform actions such as using the building’s normal functions, slamming doors or causing accidents such as falling equipment (treat as an armed close-combat attack with a bonus equal to the weapon equivalent of the item used). Each act is considered an instant action.
Exceptional Success: The character gains control of the building for one hour per success rolled. A +2 bonus is also gained on all Intelligence + Wits rolls to manipulate the structure, and on rolls to resist abjuration (see below).
This power can be used in conjunction with Panopticon so that the vampire may see what occurs elsewhere and can respond to it remotely. The powers must be activated in separate turns and might not have the same duration. If Panopticon fades first and is not reactivated, actions performed with Lord of the Manor occur at a –2 penalty or as if the vampire fights blind (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 166).
While her consciousness fills a building, a vampire’s body lies in a torpor-like state on the spot where she leaves it. She is unaware of what occurs in the vicinity of her body, and her body can perform no other actions. A successful surprise roll alerts her to trouble in time to return to her body to act normally. Any contact made with her body returns her consciousness instantaneously. If the body is subjected to torpor or Final Death, the mind is pulled back immediately.
A projecting vampire may be exorcised from merger with a building with an abjuration (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 213 — replace Power + Resistance with the vampire’s Stamina + Resolve). A banished vampire cannot use this power or Panopticon again in the same building until the next sunset.
This power can be used to affect locales within the confines of the institution in question. That typically means within its walls. The parking lot is not valid, for example. Although Panopticon allows a vampire to witness past events, Lord of the Manor does not allow her to affect them.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+1 The character owns or is intimately familiar with the building
— The building is owned by the state/government/institution as a whole
–3 The building is privately owned by someone other than the character or someone under her direct control