••• Off Limits
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.)
Effect
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.
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.
Side/Secondary Effects
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.
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.
Material Components
Cost: 1 Willpower
Gestures & Ritual
Dice Pool: Resolve + Intimidate + Institutionalize versus the subject’s Resolve + Blood Potency
Related Discipline
Effect Casting Time
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
Level
3
Applied Restriction
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
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