The Way of the Locust
The Locust Oath to transcend the Kindred curse by any means possible has borne dark and wicked fruit. The Sworn of the Locust were always fascinated by the power of consuming the soul of a fellow Kindred, and their foul experiments have permitted them to expand that ability.
The Locust-Sworn have learned, essentially, how to diablerize humans.
It’s an imperfect process, of course. Consumption by a vampire is not the ordained fate of the immortal soul (if, in truth, it is the soul of the victim that’s obtained and not some other mystic aspect of the self). Therefore, a Locust can typically only contain a devoured mortal soul for a limited time. But while that spirit is held, the vampire can enjoy a host of its benefits.
Performing Diablerie on a human being does not cause an automatic Humanity loss (though it is still murder, sufficient to provoke degeneration checks based on the character’s current Humanity). Diablerizing a mortal does not raise Blood Potency or permanently provide any new knowledge, Skills or Disciplines. It does still stain the aura of the diablerist, but only until the soul escapes. It is still darkly delightful and potentially addictive.
When the Locust takes the last drop of mortal blood, she rolls Resolve + Stamina plus any bonuses earned by studying the following tiers, reflexively contested by the subject’s Resolve + Composure. If the Kindred scores more successes, she captures her victim’s soul; otherwise, it escapes. The Kindred can hold a soul for a number of nights equal to her Willpower dots minus the victim’s Willpower dots; if the result is one night or less, the soul is kept until dawn. After that, the spirit wrenches itself violently free. In the process of freeing itself, the spirit also purges its host. The Kindred rolls her Stamina and keeps a number of Vitae equal to her successes. She vomits up any other Vitae, and his stolen soul with it.
As long as the Locust has a captured human soul within herself, she gains the benefits of all the tiers she knows from the following list:
The Locust-Sworn have learned, essentially, how to diablerize humans.
It’s an imperfect process, of course. Consumption by a vampire is not the ordained fate of the immortal soul (if, in truth, it is the soul of the victim that’s obtained and not some other mystic aspect of the self). Therefore, a Locust can typically only contain a devoured mortal soul for a limited time. But while that spirit is held, the vampire can enjoy a host of its benefits.
Performing Diablerie on a human being does not cause an automatic Humanity loss (though it is still murder, sufficient to provoke degeneration checks based on the character’s current Humanity). Diablerizing a mortal does not raise Blood Potency or permanently provide any new knowledge, Skills or Disciplines. It does still stain the aura of the diablerist, but only until the soul escapes. It is still darkly delightful and potentially addictive.
When the Locust takes the last drop of mortal blood, she rolls Resolve + Stamina plus any bonuses earned by studying the following tiers, reflexively contested by the subject’s Resolve + Composure. If the Kindred scores more successes, she captures her victim’s soul; otherwise, it escapes. The Kindred can hold a soul for a number of nights equal to her Willpower dots minus the victim’s Willpower dots; if the result is one night or less, the soul is kept until dawn. After that, the spirit wrenches itself violently free. In the process of freeing itself, the spirit also purges its host. The Kindred rolls her Stamina and keeps a number of Vitae equal to her successes. She vomits up any other Vitae, and his stolen soul with it.
As long as the Locust has a captured human soul within herself, she gains the benefits of all the tiers she knows from the following list:
Effect
First Tier: Soul Mask
The character’s aura becomes as vivid as a mortal’s and she casts a reflection. Specifically, she casts his own reflection — but seen with the corner of the eye, the reflection appears to be that of the person whose soul she has stolen. The character also appears in all visual media without any cost in Willpower, though only until she loses her captured soul. Finally, the character does not provoke, and is not subject to, the effects of the predator’s taint.Second Tier: Marrow of the Spirit
The character takes on an intangible but undeniable aspect of the victim. People who knew the imprisoned soul in its original, human body find the Kindred oddly familiar — though there is often a degree of unease in this familiarity. The character benefits from the “9 Again” rule (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 134) on Social actions made against people the victim knew in life. A spouse might momentarily mistake the character for the victim, for example, while a friend might trust the character when he claims to be the victim’s brother.Third Tier: Echo of the Soul
The character can access the factual knowledge possessed by the victim. This does not mean that she can analyze, understand or apply it as the victim could. A character who has diablerized a military officer, for example, is able to recite tactical axioms but is unable to duplicate the dead officer’s actual strategic ability. The character can recall information the victim knew in life, such as his passwords or his wife’s middle name, with a successful Intelligence + Composure roll, made as a reflexive action (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 44 – 45).
Related Organizations
Related Discipline