Vicissitude is the signature power of the Tzimisce,
and is rarely shared outside the Clan (though it is
known to some other Cainites of the Sabbat). Similar
to Protean in some ways, Vicissitude allows vampires
to shape and sculpt flesh and bone. When a Kindred
uses Vicissitude to alter mortals, ghouls, and vampires
of higher Generation, the effects of the power are permanent;
vampires of equal or lower Generation can
choose to heal the effects of Vicissitude as though they
were aggravated wounds. A wielder of Vicissitude can
always reshape her own flesh.
The wielder must establish skin-to-skin contact and
must often manually sculpt the desired result for these
powers to take effect. This also applies to the use of the
power on oneself. Tzimisce skilled in Vicissitude are
often inhumanly beautiful; those less skilled are simply
inhuman.
There are rumors that Vicissitude is a disease rather
than a “normal” Discipline, but only the Fiends know
for sure, and they aren’t talking.
Note: Nosferatu always “heal” Vicissitude alterations,
at least the ones that make them better-looking.
The ancient curse of the Clan may not be circumvented
through Vicissitude. The same applies to physical
deformities from the Gangrel Clan weakness.

• Malleable Visage
A vampire with this power may alter her own bodily
parameters: height, build, voice, facial features, and
skin tone, among other things. Such changes are cosmetic
and minor in scope — no more than a foot (30
cm) of height gained or lost, for example. She must
physically mold the alteration, literally shaping her
flesh into the desired result.
System: The player must spend a blood point for
each body part to be changed, then roll Intelligence +
Medicine (difficulty 6). To duplicate another person or
voice requires a Perception + Medicine roll (difficulty
8), and five successes are required for a flawless copy;
fewer successes leave minute (or not-so-minute) flaws.
Increasing one’s Appearance Trait has a difficulty of 9,
and the vampire must spend an additional blood point
for each dot of Appearance increased beyond their natural
total. A botch permanently reduces the Attribute
by one.

•• Fleshcraft
This power is similar to Malleable Visage, above, but
allows the vampire to perform drastic, grotesque alterations
on other creatures. Tzimisce often use this power
to transform their servitors into monstrous guards, the
better to frighten foes. Only flesh (skin, muscle, fat,
and cartilage, but not bone) may be transformed.
System: After spending a blood point, the vampire
must grapple the intended victim. The player of
the Flescrafting vampire makes a successful Dexterity
+ Medicine roll (difficulty variable: 5 for a crude
yank-and-tuck, up to 9 for precise transformations). A
vampire who wishes to increase another’s Appearance
Trait does so as described under Malleable Visage; reducing
the Attribute is considerably easier (difficulty
5), though truly inspired disfigurement may dictate a
higher difficulty. In either case, each success increases
or reduces the Attribute by one.
A vampire may use this power to move clumps of
skin, fat, and muscle tissue, thus providing additional
padding where needed. For each success scored on a
Dexterity + Medicine roll (difficulty 8), the vampire
may increase the subject’s soak dice pool by one, at the
expense of either a point of Strength or a health level
(vampire’s choice).

••• Bonecraft
This terrible power allows a vampire to manipulate
bone in the same manner that flesh is shaped. In conjunction
with Fleshcraft, above, this power enables a
Vicissitude practitioner to deform a victim (or herself)
beyond recognition. This power should be used in conjunction
with the flesh-shaping arts, unless the vampire
wants to inflict injury on the victim (see below).
System: The vampire’s player must spend a blood
point and make a Strength + Medicine roll (difficulties
as above). Bonecraft may be used without the fleshshaping
arts, as an offensive weapon. Each success
scored on the Strength + Medicine roll (difficulty 7)
inflicts one health level of lethal damage on the victim,
as his bones rip, puncture, and slice their way out
of his skin.
The vampire may utilize this power (on herself or
others) to form spikes or talons of bone, either on the
knuckles as an offensive weapon or all over the body
as defensive “quills.” If bone spikes are used, the vampire
or victim takes one health level of lethal damage
(the vampire’s comes from having the very sharp bone
pierce through his skin — this weaponry doesn’t come
cheaply). In the case of quills, the subject takes a number
of health levels equal to five minus the number of
successes (a botch kills the subject or sends the vampire
into torpor). These health levels may be healed normally.
Knuckle spikes inflict Strength +1 lethal damage.
Defensive quills inflict a hand-to-hand attacker’s
Strength in lethal damage unless the attacker scores
three or more successes on the attack roll (in which
case the attacker takes no damage); the defender still
takes damage normally. Quills also enable the vampire
or altered subject to add two to all damage inflicted via
holds, clinches, or tackles.
A vampire who scores five or more successes on the
Strength + Medicine roll may cause a rival vampire’s
rib cage to curve inward and pierce the heart. While
this does not send a vampire into torpor, it does cause
the affected vampire to lose half his blood points, as
the seat of his vitae ruptures in a shower of gore.

•••• Horrid Form
Kindred use this power to become hideous and deadly
monsters. The vampire’s stature increases to a full
eight feet (two and a half meters), the skin becomes a
sickly greenish-gray or grayish-black chitin, the arms
become apelike and ropy with ragged black nails, and
the face warps into something out of a nightmare. A
row of spines sprouts from the vertebrae, and the external
carapace exudes a foul-smelling grease.
System: The Horrid Form costs two blood points to
awaken. All Physical Attributes increase by three, but
all Social Attributes drop to zero, except when dealing
with others also in Horrid Form. However, a vampire
in Horrid Form who is trying to intimidate someone
may substitute Strength for a Social Attribute. Damage
inflicted in brawling combat increases by one due
to the jagged ridges and bony knobs creasing the creature’s
hands.

••••• Bloodform
A vampire with this power can physically transform
all or part of her body into sentient vitae. This blood
is in all respects identical to the vampire’s normal vitae;
she can use it to nourish herself or others, create
ghouls, or establish blood bonds. If all this blood is imbibed
or otherwise destroyed, the vampire meets Final
Death.
System: The vampire may transform all or part of
herself as she deems fit. Each leg can turn into two
blood points worth of vitae, as can the torso; each arm,
the head, and the abdomen convert to one blood point
each. The blood can be reconverted to the body part,
provided it is in contact with the vampire. If the blood
has been utilized or destroyed, the vampire must spend
a number of blood points equal to what was originally
created to regrow the missing body part.
A vampire entirely in this form may not be staked,
cut, bludgeoned, or pierced, but can be burned or exposed
to the sun. The vampire may ooze along, drip up
walls, and flow through the narrowest cracks, as though
she were in Tenebrous Form (p. 190).
Mental Disciplines may be used, provided no eye
contact or vocal utterance is necessary, although the
vampire can perceive her surroundings just fine (but
the perceptions are always centered on the largest pool
of blood). If a vampire in this form “washes” over a
mortal or animal, that mortal must make a Courage
roll (difficulty 8) or fly into a panic.

••••• • Chiropteran Marauder
Similar to Horrid Form, the Chiropteran Marauder
is a terrifying, bipedal bat, bearing a wickedly fanged
maw and veined, leathery wings. This power confers all
of the benefits of the Horrid Form, in addition to a few
others. The mere sight of the marauder is enough to
make mortals or weak-willed vampires flee in horror.
System: The vampire gains all the effects of the Horrid
Form. Further, the Marauder’s fluted wings allow
flight at 25 mph (40 kph), during which the vampire
may carry, but not manipulate, objects no larger than
it can hold in its hands. If the player chooses to, she
may make a Strength + Medicine roll (difficulty 6) to
extend bony claws at the ends of the vampire’s wings.
These claws inflict Strength +2 aggravated damage.
Also, the vampire subtracts two from all hearing-based
Perception rolls (though he adds one to vision- based
Wits and Perception rolls). Assuming the mantle of
the Chiropteran Marauder costs three blood points.

••••• • Blood of Acid
At this level of mastery, the vampire has converted
his blood to a viscous acid. Any blood he consumes
likewise becomes acid, which is corrosive enough to
burn human (and vampiric flesh) as well as wood. This
effect is particularly potent when the vampire assumes
the Bloodform. One of the side effects of this power
is the complete inability to create new vampires and
ghouls, or give blood to another vampire — the acid
would corrode them as they drank it. The obvious benefit,
however, is that would-be diablerists are likewise
unable to devour the Cainite’s blood.
System: Each acidified blood point that comes in
contact with something other than the vampire himself
does five dice worth of aggravated damage. If the
vampire is injured in combat, his blood may spatter on
an opponent — foes must make Dexterity + Athletics
rolls to avoid the blood, which must be accomplished by
splitting their dice pools. (Unless an opponent knows
the vampire has this power, she’s unlikely to split her
dice pool on her first attack, which causes many Tzimisce
to cackle with glee.)

••••• •• Cocoon
The Cainite can form an opaque cocoon from blood
and other fluids excreted from her body. The cocoon
hardens after a few moments, turning into a tough,
white shell. This cocoon provides considerable protection
to the vampire, even shielding her from sunlight
and, to a limited degree, fire.
System: A vampire may only cocoon herself, and the
process takes 10 minutes. Additionally, creating a cocoon
costs three blood points. The cocoon offers complete
protection from sunlight, and provides a number
of dice of soak equal to twice the vampire’s unmodified
Stamina against all damage, aggravated or otherwise.
It lasts as long as the Cainite wishes, and she may dissolve
it at her whim, emerging from a pulpy, bloody
paste. A vampire contained within a cocoon may still
use mental Disciplines that do not require eye contact
or other conditions to be met.

••••• ••• Breath of the Dragon
The vampire becomes like one of the terrible draculs
of the Old World, able to exhale a deadly gout of flame.
This flame does not hurt the vampire himself, though
he may become trapped in flames if it engulfs flammable
objects.
System: The flaming cloud affects a six-foot area, doing
two dice of aggravated damage to anyone in the
flames’ circumference. This fire may cause combustible
items to ignite, and it may ignite victims who suffer fire
damage as per the fire rules on page 297.

••••• •••• Earth’s Vast Haven
This power, developed in the nights when the Tzimisce
were the terrible masters of Eastern Europe,
allows the vampire to sink into and disperse himself
through the ground. Unlike the Protean power of Earth
Meld, however, the vampire actually dissolves his body
into the ground; nothing short of a wide-area explosion
can affect him, and he may not be dug up bodily.
In addition, from sunset to sunrise, the vampire may
see and hear everything happening in his environment
through his mystical connection to the land. The mere
fact that this power exists terrifies many Tzimisce, who
are secretly unsure of whether or not the diablerie of
their Antediluvian was successful.
System: This power costs six blood points to activate,
and it lasts as long as the vampire wishes to remain
contained within the soil. As per the Cocoon,
the vampire may use mental Disciplines that do not
require physical solvency or eye contact. He may communicate
mentally with anyone who wanders into the
area under which he rests.