••••• Convocation of Hotoke
With this power, the Burakumin can command a number of dead bodies to rise and perform relatively simple functions. He can command them to carry heavy objects, attack individuals or groups, guard a door, dig a ditch, build a wall or do other fairly menial tasks. The corpses carry out their orders with rudimentary intelligence until the effect wears off or they are destroyed. Accomplishing the latter normally requires dismemberment, fire or utter pulverization.
Effect
Dramatic Failure: The character animates every corpse he intends to, but the unquiet spirits of the dead take control and wreak vengeance on him. Should they succeed, they collapse into lifelessness once again. Otherwise, if they aren’t destroyed, they collapse at the end of the night.
Failure: The character does not animate any of the corpses.
Success: The character animates one corpse per success on the activation roll, and they remain active until the next sunrise.
Exceptional Success: As per success, but the corpses remain active until the next time sunlight actually touches them.
When the player makes the activation roll and requisite expenditures, the character must speak his commands immediately, and they must apply to every corpse animated in that use of the power. If the character wants to change orders later, before the effect of the power wears off, another Willpower point must be spent. If the character wishes to give corpses individual orders, one additional Willpower point must be spent for each corpse. Giving orders requires that the Kindred speaks to the dead in person — a Burakumin cannot change a corpse-servant’s orders from half a continent away or by telephone, for example.
Corpses animated with this power have Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 4, Brawl 2, Mental Attributes of 1 and Social Attributes of 0. Their Size and Speed factors equal those of a normal human being. They do not talk or respond to people who talk to them, but their eyes do track targets of their attention and they retain the basic awareness to perform such necessary actions as turning doorknobs, climbing steps, crawling through tight spaces and searching for hidden intruders. Animated corpses suffer only bashing damage from all attacks except fire, which causes aggravated damage. They do not suffer from wound penalties.
Mind-affecting Disciplines such as Animalism and Dominate do not work on corpses, nor does the Telepathy power of Auspex. Corpses are not affected by Nightmare or Majesty, but are unable to penetrate the veil of Obfuscate.
Characters cannot use this power to affect corpses that are already under the effect of someone else’s use of the Convocation of Hotoke. Nor can it be used on other vampires.
Failure: The character does not animate any of the corpses.
Success: The character animates one corpse per success on the activation roll, and they remain active until the next sunrise.
Exceptional Success: As per success, but the corpses remain active until the next time sunlight actually touches them.
When the player makes the activation roll and requisite expenditures, the character must speak his commands immediately, and they must apply to every corpse animated in that use of the power. If the character wants to change orders later, before the effect of the power wears off, another Willpower point must be spent. If the character wishes to give corpses individual orders, one additional Willpower point must be spent for each corpse. Giving orders requires that the Kindred speaks to the dead in person — a Burakumin cannot change a corpse-servant’s orders from half a continent away or by telephone, for example.
Corpses animated with this power have Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 4, Brawl 2, Mental Attributes of 1 and Social Attributes of 0. Their Size and Speed factors equal those of a normal human being. They do not talk or respond to people who talk to them, but their eyes do track targets of their attention and they retain the basic awareness to perform such necessary actions as turning doorknobs, climbing steps, crawling through tight spaces and searching for hidden intruders. Animated corpses suffer only bashing damage from all attacks except fire, which causes aggravated damage. They do not suffer from wound penalties.
Mind-affecting Disciplines such as Animalism and Dominate do not work on corpses, nor does the Telepathy power of Auspex. Corpses are not affected by Nightmare or Majesty, but are unable to penetrate the veil of Obfuscate.
Characters cannot use this power to affect corpses that are already under the effect of someone else’s use of the Convocation of Hotoke. Nor can it be used on other vampires.