To the mind of Victor Spanos and his Deucalion bloodline, every vampiric clan is flawed save for the Ventrue. The “impurities” in the blood of the other clans do not and cannot drown out individual will and greatness, but they are there, and thus the greatest Nosferatu, Gangrel, Daeva or Mekhet can never hold a candle to the greatest Ventrue.
The Impurity Discipline allows the user to impose the weaknesses of the five clans upon other Kindred. A practitioner can show other Kindred exactly what it feels like to lose mental acuity as a Savage or fear the touch of fire as much as the Mekhet do. Interestingly, though, these powers do not work on the clan to which they correspond, leading Spanos to theorize that all Kindred (even the Ventrue) carry the “seeds” of these weaknesses within them, and that one such “seed” is fully realized in each of the clans (except, of course, the Lords). Therefore, a Daeva cannot fall victim to the Depraved Succubus power, since he is already a slave to his Vices, but can have the seed of vulnerability to fire activated for a short time and thus suffer the Feeble Shadow power.
As the Deucaliones are a young bloodline, Impurity is a new Discipline and hasn’t been fully realized or tested yet. Spanos is under the impression that mastery of the Discipline comes with Stupid Savage. The idea that a higher power that mimics the Ventrue clan weakness exists never occurred to him because, to his mind, the Ventrue don’t have a weakness. Likewise, many Deucaliones don’t believe that their Discipline affects other members of the bloodline or even members of clan Ventrue, and don’t bother attempting it. In truth, however, the Discipline works normally on both (except for the Mad Lord power, which no Deucalion to date has manifested anyway).
Impurity has no effect on mortals or other non-vampiric supernatural beings. In order to use most applications of Impurity, the Kindred must make eye contact with his target, though Feeble Shadow requires touch. Note that in terms of game systems, the powers of Impurity do not precisely match the clan weaknesses. In effect, however, they are very close, and so the Deucalion bloodline can legitimately be said to infect Kindred with the scourges of the clans.
Note: All uses of Impurity gain a +2 bonus if the individual power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie (see p. 162 of Vampire: The Requiem). Naturally, this bonus does not apply to the subject’s Resistance.
All Kindred fear the sun and fire, but the Mekhet suffer its kiss worse than most. Victor Spanos always held the Shadows in special contempt for their obvious frailty, and the most basic precepts of Impurity allow the Deucalion to cause other Kindred to wither quickly under the sunlight. This power has no effect on Mekhet Kindred or any bloodline descended from the Mekhet.
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Occult + Impurity – subject’s Resolve
Action: Instant
To use this power, the character must touch the subject’s skin. To do this in combat requires the player to roll Dexterity + Brawl – the target’s Defense. Armor does not apply, but if the target’s clothing is covering most of his body, the vampire might need to specify reaching for the face or other uncovered skin, which might impose additional negative modifiers at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The Deucalion suffers the effects of this power until the next sunset.
Failure: The power has no effect. The character can try again next turn, but the spent Vitae is lost.
Success: The target suffers one additional point of aggravated damage from fire or sunlight, as described for the Mekhet on p. 109 of Vampire: The Requiem. The effect lasts until the next sunset.
Exceptional Success: As above, but the Resilience Discipline becomes useless for purposes of “downgrading” aggravated damage from fire or sunlight during this time.
The Nosferatu’s inborn weakness marks them as monsters, and their Nightmare Discipline cements this. Spanos, however, didn’t see their monstrous nature as anything to be proud of. Monsters in the modern world, he felt, needed to be subtle, swift and hidden, rather than advertising their status to anyone in their presence. By activating this frailty in the blood of other Kindred, Spanos found he could turn any vampire into a pariah for a night.
This power has no effect on Nosferatu Kindred or any bloodline descended from the Nosferatu.
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Subterfuge + Impurity versus subject’s Resolve + Blood Potency
Action: Contested; resistance is reflexive.
The Deucalion must make eye contact with the target to enact this power.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The Deucalion flees in terror from the target and cannot approach her for the remainder of the night. If she approaches him, he must immediately check for Rötschreck. Even if the vampire does not fall into a fear frenzy, he must flee the subject’s presence as quickly as possible.
Failure: The power has no effect. The vampire can try again next turn, provided he can keep the subject’s gaze. The subject feels a subtle revulsion to the Deucalion, but isn’t necessarily aware that he attempted to use a Discipline.
Success: The target exudes an aura of dread, fear and menace for the remainder of the night. In game terms, the Kindred automatically fails any Social rolls made with or against mortals. Intimidation rolls are exempt, and the Majesty Discipline can still be used on mortals but suffers a negative modifier equal to the Deucalion’s Impurity rating. Kindred can sense this aura, but don’t necessarily feel afraid of the target. (The Storyteller can choose to impose negative penalties on interactions with other vampires if he wishes.)
Exceptional Success: The aura is persistent. The first night, the target suffers as described above. For a number of nights afterward equal to the number of successes the player rolls, the target suffers a negative modifier equal to the Deucalion’s Impurity rating to all non-Intimidation or Discipline-based Social rolls. The target can rid herself of this aura by spending a Willpower point each night.
The Daeva curse was so subtle that it took Spanos many years to notice it. He came to the conclusion that the Daeva might once have been on the verge of shedding their curse, but managed only to personalize it a bit. Instead of losing their flaws, they simply refined them, to the point that each Daeva’s individual Vice would prove his undoing. Spanos often warned other Kindred to heed “the lesson of the Daeva,” never to assume that they had beaten or escaped their clan’s flaws. Only the Ventrue were unflawed, and all the other clans could hope to do was aspire to greatness in hopes of overshadowing their inborn failings. In any case, the lesson of the Daeva was one he was happy to teach other Kindred, if he felt they grew too uppity. A night spent enslaved to one’s passions tended to be enlightening.
This power has no effect on Daeva Kindred or any bloodline descended from the Daeva.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Wits + Persuasion + Impurity versus Resolve + Blood Potency
Action: Contested; resistance is reflexive.
The Deucalion must make eye contact with the target in order to use this power.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The Deucalion becomes ruled by his Vice for a number of nights equal to (10 – [Resolve + Composure]). He must enact the Vice once per night, but gains no Willpower. If he fails to do so, he loses one Willpower point.
Failure: The power has no effect. The Deucalion can attempt it again next turn, provided he can retain eye contact.
Success: The target becomes overwhelmed by her own Vice and must fulfill the requirement for regaining Willpower through it within one hour. If she does not, she loses a number of Willpower points equal to the Deucalion’s Impurity rating.
Exceptional Success: The effect is persistent. In addition to the effect described above, the target cannot regain Willpower through her Vice for a number of nights equal to the Deucalion’s Impurity rating (but suffers no effect for resisting the Vice).
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier — Situation
+3 — Target has gained Willpower from her Vice during the current scene.
+2 — Target is in a position to benefit from her Vice.
+1 — Target has already gained Willpower from her Vice that night.
–1 — Target has already gained Willpower from her Virtue that night.
–2 — Target is in a position to benefit from her Virtue.
–3 — Target has gained Willpower from her Virtue during the current scene.
Victor Spanos respected the Gangrel in a condescending sort of way. Spanos didn’t blame vampires for their inborn weaknesses, though he pitied them, and he felt that the Gangrel had the worst curse of any of the clans. The loss of mental faculties was a horrible fate, and Victor often told his Gangrel pupils that he was impressed that they had the wherewithal to remember to turn up for lessons. Spanos developed the power to levy something similar to the Gangrel’s curse on other Kindred, but he seldom used the power, deeming it too cruel to be applied casually. That it sometimes induces the target to frenzy might be another reason he used it sparingly.
This power has no effect on Gangrel Kindred or any bloodline descended from the Gangrel.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Wits + Expression + Impurity versus Resolve + Blood Potency
Action: Contested; resistance is reflexive.
The Deucalion must make eye contact with the target in order to use this power.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The Deucalion cannot clear her head for the remainder of the scene. Extended actions are impossible, and all Mental actions suffer a –4 penalty, as do rolls to avoid frenzy.
Failure: The power has no effect. The Deucalion can try again next turn, provided she can retain eye contact.
Success: The Deucalion muddies the target’s common sense and higher brain functions. This makes the vampire short-tempered, confused and (as the Beast comes to the fore) hungry. In game terms, Intelligence and Wits rolls suffer a negative penalty equal to the Deucalion’s Impurity rating, as do rolls to avoid frenzy. Also, the target is considered “hungry” at five Vitae and “starving” at two (see p. 179 of Vampire: The Requiem). These effects last until the next sunrise.
Exceptional Success: The effects are persistent. On the first night, the target suffers as described above. After that, all effects fade except for the revised definitions of “hungry” and “starving.” This effect remains for a number of nights equal to the Deucalion’s Impurity rating.
This level of Impurity is entirely theoretical. Victor Spanos himself might have achieved mastery of the Discipline, but has assuredly never use this application of it. To do so would be to recognize that the Ventrue have an inborn weakness, and that recognition would tear Spanos’ mind (and any Kindred’s who buys into his philosophies) asunder. Ironically, that is precisely what this power does.
This power has no effect on Ventrue Kindred or any bloodline descended from the Ventrue.
Cost: 2 Willpower
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Intimidation + Impurity – subject’s Resolve
Action: Instant
The Deucalion must make eye contact with the target to use this power.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The Deucalion immediately gains a mild derangement for a week following the dramatic failure. Alternately, the Storyteller may choose to exacerbate one of the character’s existing mild derangements, making it severe for the one-week duration.
Failure: The power has no effect. The Deucalion can try again next turn, provided he can maintain eye contact.
Success: The Deucalion imposes the madness of the Lords upon the target. Every personality quirk is magnified to horrific proportions, every minor fear becomes a full-blown phobia. Simple derangements are not enough to simulate this; the vampire becomes locked in a nightmare world of his own psychosis. The character might become catatonic, attack everything around him or seem perfectly normal but explode into violence the instant a certain trigger occurs. This is largely a matter of roleplaying and Storyteller input. However, one game effect that is consistent is this: the player cannot spend Willpower points to add three dice a roll or to add to a Resistance Trait. Willpower can still be spent on Disciplines and if other powers or effects (such as the Daeva clan weakness) require them. These effects persist for the remainder of the night, or until the vampire meets Final Death, whatever comes first.
Exceptional Success: As above, but the vampire also gains a derangement. This can be a mild or severe derangement, at the Storyteller’s (or player’s) discretion. The derangement persists for a number of nights equal to the Deucalion’s Impurity rating.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier — Situation
+2 — Target already has a severe derangement.
+1 — Target already has a mild derangement