FLIGHT

Gargoyles possess a fourth in-clan Discipline, called
Flight. All Gargoyles start with a free dot, and it can
be increased like any other Discipline. As the Gargoyle
gains dots of Flight, he becomes capable of flying faster,
as follows:
• The character cannot actually fly, but can soar like
a hang-glider. He also cannot carry anything (he needs
his hands to help steer). Maximum speed is equal to
prevailing winds, or 15 miles/25 kilometers per hour
in calm air.
•• The character can make a running takeoff and
carry 20 pounds/10 kilograms while flying. Maximum
speed is 30 miles/50 kilometers per hour.
••• The character can make a straight, vertical
takeoff if unencumbered, or can make a running takeoff
carrying up to 50 pounds/25 kg. Maximum air speed
is 45 miles/70 kilometers per hour.
•••• The character can now make a vertical takeoff
with up to 50 pounds/25 kg of baggage, but can carry up
to 100 pounds/45 kg while flying. Maximum speed is 60
miles/95 kilometers per hour.
••••• The character can now carry up to 200
pounds/90 kg, easily enough to carry away an adult
person (or vampire). Maximum speed is 75 miles/120
kilometers per hour.
Further dots in the Discipline add 100 pounds/45 kg
of weight and 20 miles/30 kilometers per hour to the
speed. Gargoyles don’t think of Flight as a Discipline.
To them, it’s just flight, part and parcel to being a Gargoyle,
and may be baffled by notions such as teaching
it to other vampires.

VISCERATIKA

Visceratika is an extension of the Gargoyles’ natural
affinity for stone and earth. Certain Visceratika powers
closely resemble some aspects of Protean and, to
a lesser extent, Vicissitude. Tremere in a position to
know insist that this is pure coincidence, but the few
among the Gargoyles who retain scholarly aspirations
insist that the Gangrel and Tzimisce blood used to create
the bloodline still maintains a certain hold over its
members.
For many years, Visceratika was regarded as endemic
to the Gargoyle condition, just like the repulsive visage
and the wings with which other Kindred associate the
bloodline. That is, vampires — including the Tremere
— believed that they couldn’t have the one without
the others. Supposedly this isn’t true, and provided one
can find a Gargoyle tutor, any vampire can learn the
Discipline. Of course, that assumes one can find a willing
tutor — the Gargoyles aren’t eager to reveal these
secrets. Furthermore, few Kindred want to bet that the
Tremere are wrong and risk waking up with wings and
horns.

• Skin of the Chameleon
This basic power has saved countless Gargoyles
breaching the Masquerade — and has allowed just as
many to ambush unsuspecting intruders. When Skin
of the Chameleon is in effect, the Gargoyle’s skin takes
on the color and texture of the surrounding environment.
This coloration changes reflexively as long as
the Gargoyle maintains a walking pace or slower. More
rapid movement causes the Gargoyle’s appearance to
blur, negating the camouflaging effect. If this power is
used while the Gargoyle is in flight, his skin becomes
a reasonable facsimile of the night sky (though it will
not shift to mimic nearby skyscrapers or star patterns,
and a black silhouette against a brightly lit skyline is
likely to be noticed).
System: The player spends one blood point. For the
rest of the scene, the Gargoyle’s Stealth dice pool is increased
by five. This power is subject to the limitations
described above. Any ground movement faster than a
walk negates this power’s effect, as does flight (at the
Storyteller’s discretion).

•• Scry the Hearthstone
The Gargoyles’ first function for the Tremere was
that of guardian and watchdog. This power allows
them to know instinctively where anyone is inside a
given structure. It even allows the Gargoyle to detect
characters concealed by magical means, if the Slave is
perceptive enough.
System: The player spends a Willpower point to activate
this power, which remains in effect as long as the
Gargoyle is within or in contact with the target structure,
or until the next sunset. Scry the Hearthstone may
be used on anything up to the size of a cave complex, a
large theatre, a parking garage, or a mansion. The character
gains an innate sense of the location and approximate
size and physical condition of all living (or unliving)
beings within the structure. To pinpoint a specific
individual’s location with this power, the player must
succeed in a Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty 6).
If the subject is attempting to hide, he may oppose this
roll with a roll of Wits + Stealth (difficulty 6).
Scry the Hearthstone may be used to detect the presence
of characters who are under Obfuscate or similar
powers. In this case, the Gargoyle only knows that
there is someone present — she cannot actually see the
individual in question. To determine the Gargoyle’s
ability to detect Obfuscated characters, compare the
relative levels of the Gargoyle’s Visceratika minus one
and the intruder’s Obfuscate as per the “Seeing the
Unseen” sidebar on p. 142.

••• Bond with the Mountain
The Gargoyle sinks into a stone surface, disappearing
into the rock until he wishes to reappear. This
power allowed Gargoyles to invade their masters’ enemies’
strongholds, fight until sunrise, then meld with
the rocks or stone walls and reappear the next evening.
In modern nights, it can take the place of a haven for
itinerant Runaways. Unlike the Earth Meld power
(p. 199) which it resembles, Bond with the Mountain
does not conceal the Gargoyle completely. A faint outline
of his body can be seen in the rock where he hides.
System: The player spends two blood points, and the
merge takes four turns to complete. This power functions
in a fashion similar to the Protean 3 power of
Earth Meld, and may only be performed upon bare rock
or a similar substance. However, the Gargoyle does not
sink fully into the substance with which he merges,
and his outline can be detected within the stone with
a successful Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 9).
A Gargoyle attacked while Bonded with the Mountain
has triple his normal soak dice pool against all
forms of attack. However, if he sustains three or more
lethal health levels of damage from a single attack, he
is forced out of his bond and suffers disorientation similar
to that experienced by an Earth Melded character
whose slumber is interrupted.

•••• Armor of Terra
At this level of Visceratika, the Gargoyle’s skin
hardens and becomes truly rock-like to the touch. The
Slave becomes harder to harm, even with fire, and
grows inured to injury. A non-Gargoyle learning this
level of Visceratika would find her skin becoming gray
and rock-like, putting lie to the claim that the Discipline
doesn’t carry the risk of the Gargoyle’s curse.
System: This power is automatic and requires no roll;
it is always in effect. A vampire with Armor of Terra
has one extra soak die for all aggravated and lethal attacks
and two for all bashing attacks, reduces all wound
penalties by one, and halves the damage dice pool of
any fire-based source of injury (this Discipline does not
change the rules for Rötschreck, however). The difficulty
of all touch-based Perception rolls is increased by
two, due to the desensitization of the character’s skin.

••••• Flow Within the Mountain
The Gargoyle is no longer restricted to hiding within
stone. Now, he can flow through stone like lava working
its way down a mountainside, emerging from the
hiding place at any point he wishes. Since this power
works on cement or concrete as well as rock, the streets
of a modern metropolis afford a Gargoyle some very
interesting assassination tools.
System: Once the character has used Bond with the
Mountain, the player spends two more blood points to
activate Flow Within the Mountain for the duration
of the scene. The Gargoyle can move within stone
and cement (otherwise using the same rules as the
Protean power Earth Control, p. 200). The character
can also use this power to walk through a stone wall
and emerge on the other side without first using Bond
with the Mountain. In this case, the player spends one
blood point and rolls Strength (difficulty 8; Potence
adds dice or successes normally). The Gargoyle may
flow through a maximum thickness in feet equal to the
number of successes rolled, or 30 times the number of
successes rolled in centimeters. If the wall or barrier is
thicker than this, the character is trapped within it until
he is chiseled out or uses Flow Within the Mountain
to escape.