Faking It
Majesty •, Obfuscate •••
This is actually a generic term for a whole suite of possible Devotions. Each version of Faking It enables a Player to seem like she’s a master of a particular skill. She isn’t, of course, but onlookers think she is, no matter how inept she might be. For instance:
I Know Kung Fu: The character imitates a few martial arts poses he’s seen in movies. An onlooker, however, sees the deadly grace of a martial arts master. This may be enough to intimidate the average mortal into backing off. After expending a few Vitae on Strength and Dexterity, a Player might indeed be a reasonably competent brawler compared to the average mortal, but the Devotion makes him look like the second coming of Bruce Lee. (Though the character doesn’t have to pose as a kung fu master. He could just as easily pose as a boxer, tae kwon do fi ghter or mean muthafuckah streetfi ghter — anything that could be interpreted as a high Brawling score.)
King of Comedy: So what if a Player tells lame jokes with bad timing? To anyone affected by this devotion, she seems like a laff riot! An hour later the character’s audience may be scratching their heads wondering how the Player made such dumb jokes seem funny — but who can explain comedy?
Stylin’: A Player can seem to strut like a supermodel dressed at the height of fashion, even if her clothes came from Kmart and she stumps along like a pig farmer in a mucky field.
Each version of Faking It takes the basic aura of charisma granted by Awe and refi nes it through the infl uence of Cloak of Night. The Devotion doesn’t fool people’s eyes; it fools their brains, so whatever they see seems much cooler than it really is. They refuse to see imperfections or outright ineptitude. The result is narrower than Awe, but can more easily affect large numbers of people.
Even though all versions of Faking It work the same way in rules terms, they are separate Devotions. Characters must buy each version of Faking It separately. Collectively, the many versions of Faking It are extremely popular and widespread among Players.
I Know Kung Fu: The character imitates a few martial arts poses he’s seen in movies. An onlooker, however, sees the deadly grace of a martial arts master. This may be enough to intimidate the average mortal into backing off. After expending a few Vitae on Strength and Dexterity, a Player might indeed be a reasonably competent brawler compared to the average mortal, but the Devotion makes him look like the second coming of Bruce Lee. (Though the character doesn’t have to pose as a kung fu master. He could just as easily pose as a boxer, tae kwon do fi ghter or mean muthafuckah streetfi ghter — anything that could be interpreted as a high Brawling score.)
King of Comedy: So what if a Player tells lame jokes with bad timing? To anyone affected by this devotion, she seems like a laff riot! An hour later the character’s audience may be scratching their heads wondering how the Player made such dumb jokes seem funny — but who can explain comedy?
Stylin’: A Player can seem to strut like a supermodel dressed at the height of fashion, even if her clothes came from Kmart and she stumps along like a pig farmer in a mucky field.
Each version of Faking It takes the basic aura of charisma granted by Awe and refi nes it through the infl uence of Cloak of Night. The Devotion doesn’t fool people’s eyes; it fools their brains, so whatever they see seems much cooler than it really is. They refuse to see imperfections or outright ineptitude. The result is narrower than Awe, but can more easily affect large numbers of people.
Even though all versions of Faking It work the same way in rules terms, they are separate Devotions. Characters must buy each version of Faking It separately. Collectively, the many versions of Faking It are extremely popular and widespread among Players.
Effect
Dramatic Failure: A dramatic failure means the Player makes an utter fool of herself. Her fraud is transparent. In fact, even if the character does have the skill (but wants to look more impressive while using it), her audience still sees her as inept.
Failure: The Devotion fails to activate. The character does not know this immediately, though; she must guess by the reactions of her “audience.” If they don’t laugh, retreat or do whatever she wanted, she can try again on the next turn.
Success: The character succeeds in dazzling her audience.
Exceptional success: Damn, she’s good! An exceptional success indicates the subject’s Composures are considered one less than normal for determining who is affected.
Failure: The Devotion fails to activate. The character does not know this immediately, though; she must guess by the reactions of her “audience.” If they don’t laugh, retreat or do whatever she wanted, she can try again on the next turn.
Success: The character succeeds in dazzling her audience.
Exceptional success: Damn, she’s good! An exceptional success indicates the subject’s Composures are considered one less than normal for determining who is affected.
Side/Secondary Effects
The number of successes the player acquires is compared to the Composure of each person she wants to dazzle. If the number of successes equals or exceeds the target’s Composure, that individual perceives the character as skillful and charismatic. If a target’s Composure exceeds the number of successes rolled, that person is not affected (and may wonder why other people seem so impressed).
A character may Fake It to whoever is present (see the suggested modifi ers below). Comparisons are made from the lowest Composure to highest among potential subjects. A Wannabe cannot single out a specifi c person in a crowd to affect. She has to try for everyone at once, and hope not many people have high Composures.
Affected people feel whatever emotion the character wanted to evoke through the display of skill: intimidated by I Know Kung Fu, hilarity from King of Comedy, lust and admiration from Stylin’ and so on. The effect lasts for one scene. During that time, the residual effect of Faking It may provide bonus dice to other Skills that seem connected to the character’s imposture. For instance, the character might receive a bonus to Intimidation against people who believe she’s a badass fighter.
A character may Fake It to whoever is present (see the suggested modifi ers below). Comparisons are made from the lowest Composure to highest among potential subjects. A Wannabe cannot single out a specifi c person in a crowd to affect. She has to try for everyone at once, and hope not many people have high Composures.
Affected people feel whatever emotion the character wanted to evoke through the display of skill: intimidated by I Know Kung Fu, hilarity from King of Comedy, lust and admiration from Stylin’ and so on. The effect lasts for one scene. During that time, the residual effect of Faking It may provide bonus dice to other Skills that seem connected to the character’s imposture. For instance, the character might receive a bonus to Intimidation against people who believe she’s a badass fighter.
Material Components
Cost: 1 Vitae
Gestures & Ritual
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Expression + Obfuscate
Effect Casting Time
Instant (compared to Composure — see below)
Applied Restriction
Modifier | Situation
— | Character tries Faking It to two people.
-1 | Character tries Faking It to six people.
-2 | Character tries Faking It to 20 people.
-3 | Character tries Faking It to a vast number of people in the vampire’s immediate vicinity (an auditorium, a mob).
— | Character tries Faking It to two people.
-1 | Character tries Faking It to six people.
-2 | Character tries Faking It to 20 people.
-3 | Character tries Faking It to a vast number of people in the vampire’s immediate vicinity (an auditorium, a mob).