••• Calamity
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.
Effect
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.
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.
Material Components
Cost: 1 Vitae
Gestures & Ritual
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Empathy + Sunnikuse
Related Discipline
Effect Casting Time
Activation is instant; application can be contested
Level
3
Applied Restriction
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.
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.