Obfuscate is the uncanny ability for Kindred to conceal
themselves from sight, sometimes even in full
view of a crowd. An Obfuscated vampire doesn’t actually
become invisible, however — rather, he is able to
delude observers into believing that he has vanished.
Obfuscate also allows Kindred to change their features
and conceal other people or objects. Typically vampires
using Obfuscate must be within a short range of
their witnesses (approximately five yards or meters per
dot of Wits + Stealth) for their power to be effective.
Unless the Kindred chooses to make herself seen,
she can remain obscured for as long as she wills it. At
higher levels, the vampire can actually fade from sight
so subtly that those nearby can’t actually recall the moment
at which she left.
Usually, few mortals or supernaturals (even those
trained in Awareness) can pierce through the fog of
Obfuscate. Animals, who rely more on their instincts
than their normal senses, can sometime perceive (and
be frightened by) the vampire’s presence. Children and
those to whom deception is foreign may also be able
to pierce the illusion, at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Finally, the Auspex Discipline enables Kindred to see
through Obfuscate. Even that is not guaranteed, however;
refer to “Seeing the Unseen,” p. 142, for more
details. (Storytellers needing a die roll for animals or
children can use this quick and dirty guideline: treat
them as if they had Auspex 1 in terms of contesting
Obfuscate. They do not have the Auspex 1 power, but
are considered to have it when determining whether a
vampire is noticed.)
Since Obfuscate clouds the mind of the viewer, vampires
can’t use it to hide their presence from electronic
or mechanical devices. Video and photo cameras, for
example, capture the vampire’s image accurately. Even
so, the person using, say, her cell phone to record an
Obfuscated vampire will still have her mind impacted
by the power, and she won’t see the Kindred’s image
until she views the video at a later date (if even
then).
Several Clans cultivate this power — the Assamites,
Followers of Set, and Malkavians, for example
— but the Nosferatu are particularly known for this
Discipline. Some elder Kindred believe that Caine, or
perhaps Lilith, bestowed the Clan with this Discipline
to compensate for the hideous physical deformities its
members suffer.
Most Obfuscate powers last for a scene, or until the
vampire ceases maintaining them. Once evoked, they
require very little mental effort to keep in place.

• Cloak of Shadows
At this level, the vampire must rely on nearby shadows
and cover to assist in hiding his presence. He steps
into an out-of-the-way, shadowed place and eases himself
from normal sight. The vampire remains unnoticed
as long as he stays silent, still, under some degree of
cover (such as a curtain, bush, door frame, lamppost,
or alley), and out of direct lighting. The immortal’s
concealment vanishes if he moves, attacks, or falls under
direct light. Furthermore, the vampire’s deception
cannot stand up to concentrated observation without
fading.
System: No roll is required as long as the character
fulfills the criteria described above. So long as he remains
quiet and motionless, virtually no one but another
Kindred with a high enough Auspex rating will
see him.

•• Unseen Presence
With experience, the vampire can move around
without being seen. Shadows seem to shift to cover
him, and people automatically avert their gazes as he
passes by. Others move unconsciously to avoid contact
with the cloaked creature; those with weak wills may
even scurry away from the area in unacknowledged
fear. The vampire remains ignored indefinitely unless
someone deliberately seeks him out or he inadvertently
reveals himself.
Since the vampire fully retains his physical substance,
he must be careful to avoid contact with anything
that may disclose his presence (knocking over a
vase, bumping into someone). Even a whispered word
or the scuffing of a shoe against the floor can be enough
to disrupt the power.
System: No roll is necessary to use this power unless
the character speaks, attacks, or otherwise draws attention
to himself. The Storyteller should call for a Wits +
Stealth roll under any circumstances that might cause
the character to reveal himself. The difficulty of the
roll depends on the situation; stepping on a squeaky
floorboard might be a 5, while walking through a pool
of water may require a 9. Other acts may require a certain
number of successes; speaking quietly without giving
away one’s position, for instance, demands at least
three successes. Upon success, the vampire, all her
clothing, and objects that could fit into a pocket are
concealed.
Some things are beyond the power of Unseen Presence
to conceal. Although the character is cloaked
from view while he smashes through a window, yells
out, or throws someone across the room, the vampire
becomes visible to all in the aftermath. Bystanders snap
out of the subtle fugue in which Obfuscate put them.
Worse still, each viewer can make a Wits + Awareness
roll (difficulty 7); if successful, the mental haze clears
completely, so those individuals recall every move the
character made up until then as if he had been visible
the entire time.

••• Mask of a Thousand Faces
The vampire can influence the perception of others,
causing them to see a face different from his. Although
the Kindred’s physical form does not change, any observer
who cannot sense the truth sees whomever the
vampire wishes her to see.
The vampire must have a firm idea of the visage he
wishes to project. The primary decision is whether to
create an imaginary face or to superimpose the features
of another person. Manufactured features are often
more difficult to compose in believable proportions,
but such a disguise is easier to maintain than having to
impersonate someone else. Of course, things get simpler
if the Kindred borrows the face but doesn’t bother
with the personality.
System: The player rolls Manipulation + Performance
(difficulty 7) to determine how well the disguise
works. If the character tries to impersonate someone,
he must get a good look at the subject before putting
on the mask. The Storyteller may raise the difficulty if
the character catches only a glimpse. The chart below
lists the degrees of success in manufacturing another
appearance. Vampires wishing to mask themselves as
a person more attractive than they are must pay additional
blood points equal to the difference between
the vampire’s Appearance rating and the Appearance
of the mask (which means that younger vampires may
need to take longer in order to spend the blood necessary).
Successes Result
1 success - The vampire retains the same height
and build, with a few slight
alterations to his basic features.
Nosferatu can appear as normal,
albeit ugly, mortals.
2 successes - He looks unlike himself; people don’t
easily recognize him or agree about
his appearance.
3 successes - He looks the way he wants to appear.
4 successes - Complete transformation, including
gestures, mannerisms, appearance,
and voice.
5 successes - Profound alteration (appear as the
opposite sex, a vastly different age,
or an extreme change of size).
Actually posing as someone else carries its own problems.
The character should know at least basic information
about the individual; especially difficult deceptions
(fooling a lover or close friend) require at least
some familiarity with the target in order to succeed.

•••• Vanish from the Mind’s Eye
This potent expression of Obfuscate enables the
vampire to disappear from plain view. So profound is
this vanishing that the immortal can fade away even if
he stands directly in front of someone.
While the disappearance itself is quietly subtle, its
impact on those who see it is anything but. Most kine
panic and flee in the aftermath. Especially weak-willed
individuals wipe the memory of the Kindred from their
minds. Although vampires are not shaken so easily,
even Kindred may be momentarily surprised by a sudden
vanishing.
System: The player rolls Charisma + Stealth; the
difficulty equals the target’s Wits + Alertness (use the
highest total in the group if the character disappears
in front of a crowd). With three or fewer successes,
the character fades but does not vanish, becoming an
indistinct, ghostlike figure. With more than three, he
disappears completely. If the player scores more successes
than an observer’s Willpower rating, that person
forgets that the vampire was there in the first place.
Tracking the character accurately while he appears
ghostlike requires a Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty
8). A successful roll means the individual can
interact normally with the vampire (although the
Kindred looks like a profoundly disturbing ghostly
shape). A failed roll results in a +2 difficulty modifier
(maximum 10) when attempting to act upon, or
interact with, the vampire. The Storyteller may call
for new observation checks if the vampire moves to an
environment in which he’s difficult to see (heads into
shadows, crosses behind an obstacle, proceeds through
a crowd). When fully invisible, the vampire is handled
as described under Unseen Presence, above.
A person subject to the vanishing makes a Wits +
Courage roll (mortals at difficulty 9, vampires at difficulty
5). A successful roll means the individual reacts
immediately (although after the vampire performs his
action for that turn); failure means the person stands
uncomprehending for two turns while her mind tries to
make sense of what she just experienced.

••••• Cloak the Gathering
At this degree of power, the vampire may extend
his concealing abilities to cover an area. The immortal
may use any Obfuscate power upon those nearby as
well as upon himself, if he wishes.
Any protected person who compromises the cloak
exposes himself to view. Further, if the one who invokes
the power gives himself away, the cloak falls
from everyone. This power is particularly useful if the
vampire needs to bring his retinue through a secure location
without drawing the notice of others.
System: The character may conceal one extra individual
for each dot of Stealth he possesses. He may bestow
any single Obfuscate power at a given time to the
group. While the power applies to everyone under the
character’s cloak, his player need only make a single
roll. Each individual must follow the requirements described
under the relevant Obfuscate power to remain
under its effect; any person who fails to do so loses the
cloak’s protection, but doesn’t expose the others. Only
if the vampire himself errs does the power drop for everyone.

••••• • Conceal
The vampire may mask an inanimate object up to
the size of a house (Obfuscate cannot be used to disguise
inanimate objects without the use of this power).
If the object is hidden, so are all of its contents. While
Conceal is in effect, passersby walk around the concealed
object as if it were still visible, but refuse to acknowledge
that they are making any kind of detour.
System: In order to activate this power, a character
must be within about 30 feet (approximately 10 meters)
of the object to be concealed and the item must
hold some personal significance for him. The Conceal
power functions as Unseen Presence for purposes of
detection, as well as the duration and durability of the
disguise.
Conceal can be used on a vehicle in which the character
is traveling. In this instance, traffic patterns seem
to flow around the vehicle, and accidents are actually
less likely as other drivers subconsciously maneuver
away from the concealed auto. A police radar gun still
registers a speeding car masked in this fashion, but the
officer behind the gun is disinclined to make a traffic
stop of the phantom blip. Using Conceal on aircraft
is problematic, as the power’s range generally doesn’t
extend far enough to cover air traffic controllers and
the like.

••••• • Mind Blank
A vampire with this power is able to shrug off telepathic
contact, easily withstanding invasive probes of
her mind.
System: Any attempt to read or probe the character’s
mind first requires a successful Perception + Empathy
roll (difficulty equal to the character’s Wits + Stealth).
Even if a potential intruder does succeed, his dice pool
for the attempt is then limited to the number of successes
he scored on the initial roll.

••••• • Soul Mask
In addition to concealing her form, a vampire who
has developed Soul Mask is able to conceal her aura.
She may display whatever combination of colors and
shades she wishes, or may appear to have no aura whatsoever.
This power is of particular use to those of elder
Generation who have reached such heights of power
through diablerie.
System: The use of this power allows the projection
of only one aura (or lack thereof) — the vampire
chooses the precise colors to be displayed when she first
develops Soul Mask. If the character has no experience
with the use of Aura Perception, she may not choose
an alternate aura, as she has no idea what one would
look like, though she can still choose to display no aura
whatsoever. Soul Mask can be bought multiple times,
if desired, in order to give a vampire multiple alternate
auras from which to choose.
Unless the player states otherwise, Soul Mask is always
in effect. If the character has bought Soul Mask
two or more times, her “default” aura displayed is the
first one she learned.

••••• •• Cache
Most Obfuscate powers require the individual using
them to be within a short distance of the subjects of
the concealment. Cache extends this range considerably,
allowing an elder with this power to leave people
or objects safely hidden while he goes about his business
elsewhere.
System: A character must be within the normal required
distance to initiate an Obfuscate power. Once
this is done, the player spends a Willpower point, which
activates Cache on top of the already functioning use
of the Discipline. The concealment will now remain
in effect as long as the vampire is within a distance
equal to his Wits + Stealth in miles (or one and half
times that in kilometers) from the object or person he
wishes to conceal. The enhanced concealment fades at
the next sunrise, or breaks (as always) if the Obfuscate
subject reveals himself.

••••• •• Veil of Blissful Ignorance
This power’s development is attributed to the Malkavians,
but many Nosferatu have also found it to be
highly useful. The Veil of Blissful Ignorance allows a
vampire to Obfuscate an unwilling victim, removing
him from the notice of others. Some Nosferatu use this
power to teach a humbling lesson to individuals who
take the presence and aid of others for granted, while
others utilize it to remove an essential member of a
group in the midst of a crisis.
System: The character must touch the victim to activate
this power. The player spends a blood point and
rolls Wits + Stealth (difficulty equals the victim’s Appearance
+ 3). If the roll is a success, the victim is subject
to the effects of Vanish From the Mind’s Eye for a
length of time determined by the number of successes
the player rolls.
Successes - Result
1 success - Three turns
2 successes - One minute (20 turns)
3 successes - 15 minutes
4 successes - One hour
5 successes - One night
The victim of Veil of Blissful Ignorance does not necessarily
know that he is under the effect of this power.
He is only aware that everyone around him has suddenly
begun acting as if he were not there. The victim
cannot break this effect, even with violence; if he attacks
someone, the target ascribes the act to the visible
individual nearest to him. More than one fatal brawl
has been incited by this side-effect. The Veil persists
even if the vampire who activated it leaves the area.
Curiously enough, Veil of Blissful Ignorance can
never be used on anyone who is ready and willing to
accept its effects.

••••• ••• Old Friend
Many elder Nosferatu have made reputations for omniscience
with the secrets they learn through creative
uses of this power. A variation of Mask of a Thousand
Faces, Old Friend allows a vampire to probe a subject’s
subconscious and take the semblance of the individual
whom that victim trusts over anyone else. Someone
using this power does not appear as someone who the
victim is frightened of or awed by, but rather someone
to whom the victim feels comfortable revealing intimate
secrets. Old Friend doesn’t necessarily make its
user appear as someone who is still among the living; a
long- dead friend or relative is just as likely, and in such
cases the subject remembers the encounter as a dream
or a ghostly visitation.
System: The player rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge
(difficulty equal to the victim’s Perception + Alertness
or Awareness, maximum 10). The more successes,
the more convincing the impersonation. This power
only affects one victim at a time; other observers see
the vampire as she truly is, unless she also establishes
a Mask of a Thousand Faces in addition to using Old
Friend.

••••• •••• Create Name
Some Toreador call this power the ultimate development
of method acting. Create Name allows a character
to create a completely new identity; face, speech
pattern, aura, even thought processes are constructed
according to the vampire’s desired identity. The power
can be used to impersonate an existing individual, or
it can project the semblance of a completely fictional
identity with perfect accuracy.
System: A vampire working with Create Name must
spend three hours a night in relatively uninterrupted
quiet to establish a new personality by means of this
power. The player makes an extended roll of Intelligence
+ Subterfuge (difficulty 8), one roll per night. A
total of 20 successes are necessary to construct a new
identity, while a botch removes five successes from the
vampire’s total. Once a new identity has been successfully
created, however, the character can step into it at
any time without any sort of roll. Any outside observer
without Auspex 9 or the equivalent sees the artificial
identity. The character’s face, aura, Nature, Demeanor,
even thoughts and Psychological Merits and Flaws all
appear to be those of the persona selected and crafted
by the character.
The only way to pierce this disguise, other than Auspex
9, is to notice any discrepancies between the assumed
identity and the Abilities it logically ought to
possess. A character with no dots in Medicine should
have a hard time pulling off a created identity as a neurosurgeon,
for example. The Storyteller should make a
secret roll of Perception + Alertness (difficulty 9) for
each character who should catch a slip made by the
impostor.