Discipline Powers

The most common powers associated with the Quietus
Discipline are in V20, pp. 203-209. In general, the warriors
favor these powers for their combat applications. However,
a vizier seldom has need to kill an enemy by spitting in
his face and a sorcerer even less so. Accordingly, below
are alternate versions of the common Quietus powers
available to the vizier and sorcerer castes — only the
modifications to the powers listed in V20 are presented
here. The player of a vizier or sorcerer character must
decide when purchasing the individual power whether to
take the traditional version associated with the warriors
or the caste-specific version.


Sorcerer Quietus

• Silence of Death
Despite no one being able to hear her, the sorcerer can
still speak. While this may seem a meaningless distinction,
many applications of Assamite Sorcery require verbal
incantations, which this power allows the sorcerer to use
without drawing attention to herself.

•• Scorpion’s Curse (Scorpion’s Touch)
The sorcerer version of Scorpion’s Touch is Scorpion’s
Curse. It allows the sorcerer to place a ward on a solid
surface such as a door, a section of floor, or even a small
object such as a box or a letter. The sorcerer may ward
any object or area up to her Intelligence dots in square
yards/meters. A few seconds after the power is activated,
the blood ward fades and can only be spotted with a
Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty 9) or a Perception +
Investigation roll (difficulty 7). The ward lasts for a number
of days equal to her Occult dots before dissipating, but
while it lasts, anyone who touches the affected area or
item is targeted by the Discipline just as though a warrior
using Scorpion’s Touch had successfully touched him.

••• Dagon’s Call
The sorcerer and vizier equivalents for Dagon’s Call
both work the same. Instead of ravaging the target’s body,
the Assamite harrows the mind.
Mechanically, this power works the same as the warrior
version except as follows: First, the roll is the Assamite’s
Manipulation versus the target’s Intelligence. The difficulty
for both rolls is the other’s permanent Willpower. Second,
instead of inflicting lethal damage, each net success for
the Assamite strips the target of temporary Willpower. If
the Assamite spends a Willpower point and continues
to roll even after the target has lost all her temporary
Willpower, additional successes strip the target of one dot
of permanent Willpower. This represents the most damage
that this power can inflict in a single night regardless of
successes, but a target who has lost all of her Willpower
dots through use of Dagon’s Call on successive nights is
reduced to a mindless husk.
As with the warrior version, the Assamite need not be
within the target’s presence to trigger this attack.

•••• Baal’s Caress
The sorcerer version of Baal’s Caress is less useful for
slaying enemies than for smiting demons. With this power,
the sorcerer can spend one point of blood that he smears
across his eyes. For the rest of the scene, the sorcerer can
perceive dematerialized spirits and similar creatures as if
they were material. If he spends additional points of blood
to coat a melee weapon such as a dagger or sword, that
weapon can strike such targets and harm them normally
despite their intangibility.

••••• Taste of Death
The sorcerer equivalent to Taste of Death works exactly
the same as the warrior equivalent, except that the attack
only targets dematerialized spirits and the like as if they
were solid. This is if the sorcerer has already used Baal’s
Caress to make himself capable of perceiving such beings.


Vizier Quietus

• Silence of Death
Once the zone of silence is activated, the vizier can decide
whom, if anyone, can hear him when he speaks. Thus,
while the power is active, he can allow one or more people
to hear him while no one else can. More importantly, he
can deliver instructions backed by Presence or Dominate
without anyone else noticing.

•• Ishtar’s Touch (Scorpion’s Touch)
The vizier version of Scorpion’s Touch is Ishtar’s Touch.
Instead of yielding a deadly poison, this power converts
the vizier’s blood into a touch-activated narcotic that puts
the victim into an inebriated state under which he is more
vulnerable to Presence, Dominate, and even mundane
Social manipulation.
The vizier’s player must spend a variable number of
blood points (up to their Generation maximum) and
roll Willpower, (difficulty 6). If the roll succeeds and the
vizier touches the target’s exposed skin, the tainted blood
passes into the target’s blood stream through the skin.
The target must then roll Stamina + Fortitude (difficulty
6) — each success subtracts from the successes rolled for
the vizier. If any successes remain, the power takes effect.
While the effect lasts, the target is unable to spend
Willpower to resist mental or social manipulation by
the vizier, and the difficulties for all rolls by the vizier
for such manipulation (whether natural or supernatural)
are reduced by the number of blood points spent, to a
minimum of 4. This effect only lasts while the target
remains in the vizier’s presence, after which she will
come to her senses. However, if the vizier returns to the
victim’s presence, she will automatically fall back into
her addled state.
This debility lasts for a duration determined by the
vizier’s successes as follows.
Successes - Result
1 Success - One turn
2 Successes - One hour
3 Successes - One day
4 Successes - One month
5 Successes - One year

••• Dagon’s Call
As per the sorcerer equivalent above.

•••• Baal’s Caress
The viziers are rarely as eager to slay their opponents
as the warriors are. Subjugation is much more desirable.
The vizier may coat a weapon with her vitae just as the
warrior does with her version of this power. However, on
a successful strike, the blow does not inflict any damage at
all. Instead, success on the damage roll causes the target to
lose a point of temporary Willpower. More importantly,
if the target loses all of his temporary Willpower by Baal’s
Caress, he temporarily becomes fully blood-bonded to the
vizier. This effect only lasts for a single scene, but during
that time, the target responds to the vizier as if he had
drunk the vizier’s blood three times. If the target is already
bound to another vampire, she may roll Resolve (difficulty
7) to resist commands from the vizier that conflict with
the wishes of her regnant as she understands them.
Ironically, Tremere, due to their Clan weakness, are
particularly vulnerable to this power, and will remain
under the effect of the temporary blood bond for the
remainder of the night rather than a scene.

••••• Taste of Bliss (Taste of Death)
Unlike the distasteful and caustic version of this power
used by the warriors, the vizier equivalent is Taste of Bliss.
Instead of spitting out a deadly acid, the vizier softly
exhales a fine reddish mist towards the target. The vizier
may target someone up to 10 feet (3 meters) away per dot
of Strength and Potence he possesses. Hitting the target
requires a Stamina + Athletics roll, (difficulty 6). If the
attack hits, the vizier’s player rolls two dice per blood point
spent, and the difficulty is the target’s current Willpower.
Each success strips the target of one point of temporary
Willpower, and if the target loses all of her Willpower, she
treats the vizier as if she has a full blood bond to him until
the sun rises. Moreover, if the attack succeeds in causing
the target to lose even one point of Willpower, treat the
attack as if the target had actually consumed a point of
blood for normal blood bonding purposes.


Combination Disciplines

If a combination Discipline power lists a caste-specific
version of Quietus as a requirement, only the exact
power listed must be of the caste type. For example, if
the requirement is “Quietus (Vizier Caste) •••••,” then
the character only needs to have Taste of Bliss — the
other four Quietus powers can be any combination of
default or vizier-specific Quietus. If no caste-specific
version is mentioned, any version of Quietus will suffice
as a prerequisite.

Baal’s Sight (Auspex ••, Quietus (Sorcerer Caste) ••••)
Oft times, the demon hunters of the sorcerer caste lack
the time to activate the spiritual sight associated with
Baal’s Caress. This power removes the requirement that
they do so.
System: Upon learning this power, the sorcerer gains the
permanent ability to see dematerialized spirits and the like.
There is no roll and no cost for doing so, and this counts as
part of the requirement for the sorcerer version of Taste of
Death (p. 27). However, the power permanently alters the
sorcerer’s eyes, rendering them disturbingly bloodshot as
if he had a permanent infection in both eyes. In addition,
any spirit in the sorcerer’s presence will intuitively sense
that he can see them, which some spirits find offensive.
This power costs 18 experience points to learn.

Draught of the Soul (Auspex ••••, Quietus •••••)
This power is largely a relic of the days before the
Tremere Curse. While many Assamite elders still know it,
Draught of the Soul is useless to those who cannot drink
the blood of other Cainites. The antitribu can still make
use of it, however, and if the Tremere Curse is ever lifted,
all Assamites will have the potential to drink the memories
of their victims instead of just their souls.
System: This power can only be used when an Assamite
commits diablerie. The player spends a number of
Willpower points equal to the victim’s Intelligence and
then rolls Willpower (difficulty equal to the victim’s
permanent Willpower plus one for every Derangement
she had; maximum 9).
If the roll is successful, the player gains one experience
point for every Skill in which the victim’s rating was
equal to or greater than that of the character. The bonus
experience points can only be spent to improve Skills in
which the victim’s rating equaled or exceeded that of the
Assamite. These experience points should be kept in a
separate pool. At the Storyteller’s discretion, the character
may also be able to access specific memories of the victim,
usually while in a dreamlike state. If the player’s roll
botches, the character gains a permanent derangement,
usually one previously held by the victim if appropriate.
This power costs 27 experience points.

Eyes of Alamut (Auspex ••••, Quietus •••)
This power allows for a most cunning surveillance. The
Assamite must touch the target to activate the power. If
successful, then for the next hour per success, she can
see through the target’s eyes and hear through his ears.
System: To activate Eyes of Alamut, the player must
spend a Willpower point and roll Perception + Awareness
(difficulty is target’s current Willpower). This power can
only be used to scry on someone who the Assamite has
physically touched, and the connection only lasts for an
hour. A target who also has Telepathy (Auspex ••••) may
notice the fact that someone is riding his senses with a
successful Perception + Occult roll (difficulty 6). Such
a character automatically realizes the intrusion if the
Assamite uses Command From Afar and the control
attempt is unsuccessful.
This power costs 21 experience points to learn.

Eyes of Blades (Auspex ••, Celerity •••)
The Assamite can use her preternatural speed to evade
or parry a flurry of attacks.
System: At the start of the character’s combat turn, the
player spends two blood points and one Willpower point.
This counts as activating Celerity for a turn. During this
turn, the character may take no action other than selfdefense,
but she can defend herself with her full dice pool
(whether dodging or parrying) against every attack made
against her on that turn.
This power costs 15 experience points to learn.

Forced March (Celerity ••, Fortitude ••)
Forced March allows the Assamite to cover ground
quickly. This power cannot be used in combat but can
aid the Assamite in moving with great speed without the
debilitating vitae cost of conventional Celerity.
System: The Assamite spends a number of blood points
equal to half his Celerity rating, rounded up. For a number
of hours equal to his Fortitude, the Assamite multiplies
his normal running speed by his Celerity rating. Thus, an
Assamite with Fortitude ••• and Celerity •••• who could
normally run at around four miles per hour (six kph) could
use this power to run at a speed of 16 miles per hour (25
kph) for up to three hours.
This power costs 12 experience points to learn.

Honeyed Words (Auspex ••, Presence •)
The viziers are preternaturally skillful at telling their
listeners what they want to hear. So skillful, in fact, that
a vizier sometimes doesn’t even need to know what he’s
talking about. This power assures the vizier that, no matter
what words tumble out of his mouth, they are always the
perfect response.
System: The player must roll Manipulation + Expression
(difficulty 6). For the remainder of the scene, the difficulty
for all rolls to persuade, manipulate, or interrogate a
single target through mundane conversation are reduced
by the number of successes rolled to a minimum of 4.
Additionally, the Storyteller (or player if this power is
used against a player’s character) must advise the vizier’s
player if the vizier is in danger of saying anything that
might offend, confuse, or worry the target. It is possible
to use this power to baffle someone with highly technical
jargon that the vizier himself doesn’t understand at all.
This power costs 9 experience points to learn.

Shadow Feint (Celerity ••, Obfuscate ••)
Shadow Feint combines the characteristics of Celerity
and Obfuscate to blur the perceptions of her enemies.
System: At the beginning of any turn in which the
Assamite has activated Celerity and in which her first action
is an evasive one, the player may spend an additional blood
point to activate Shadow Feint. For the rest of the turn,
the difficulty of all rolls to target the Assamite increase
by +2, to a maximum of 9. This is an Obfuscate power
and cannot affect any vampire whose Auspex exceeds the
Assamite’s Obfuscate.
This power costs 12 experience points to learn.


Assamite Weaknesses
Given the diversity of the Assamites and the unusual
number of curses levied against them over their history,
we’ve spelled them out for you here.

The Curse of Growing Darkness
All Assamites suffer from this. For younger Assamites,
this is a minor inconvenience — after a century, most
Caucasians will look vaguely well-tanned, most Arabs and
Middle Easterners will look dusky, and most Africans will
have ebony skin.
After three to five centuries, the skin tone becomes
distinctly unnatural. There are, after all, no ethnicities
in the world whose skin tone is literally jet-black, which
is common among Assamite elders. An Assamite elder
who is more than five centuries old suffers a +1 difficulty
to Social rolls among mortals due to his unusually dark
skin tone. An elder who is more than a thousand years
old suffers a +3 difficulty and looks distinctly inhuman,
though not as disturbing as the typical Nosferatu or
Tzimisce. Both of these penalties can be overcome with
appropriate levels of Obfuscate.
Most Assamites think this curse is an inversion of the
minor curse on the other Clans, who generally grow paler
as time passes. The Amr, who for some reason is immune
to this curse, is of the opinion that the Curse of Growing
Darkness was the original curse levied on the Clan by Caine,
and that the other various Clan weaknesses came later.

The Baali Curse or the Curse of Hunger
This curse — an unquenchable thirst for Kindred vitae —
currently afflicts only the Assamite antitribu (as described
in V20, p. 429). Until the imposition of the Tremere
Curse, it afflicted many of the warrior caste and a few
members of the vizier and sorcerer caste. Now the curse
has spread. Although this curse is presently dormant in
mainline Assamites, if the Tremere Curse were lifted, it
would likely return with a vengeance. In such a case, the
Curse of Hunger would automatically take root in all
warrior caste Assamites. For viziers and sorcerers, suffering
this curse on top of their normal caste curses constitutes
a three-point Flaw.

The Curse of Obsession
This curse afflicts the vizier caste. Its origins are
unknown, and it may date back to the Second City.
It manifests as an Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (as
described in V20, p. 434).

The Curse of Prominence
This curse afflicts the sorcerer caste. The Amr claims
that this “curse” is actually benign and that it is merely
a natural result of their magical heritage, rather than a
punishment levied against the caste. It manifests as an
unusually vivid aura that marks all sorcerers as having
magical power in the eyes of anyone with Auspex or
comparable mystic senses, (as described in V20, p. 434).

The Tremere Curse or the Curse of Blood
This curse afflicts all Assamites other than the antitribu.
It causes Assamites to suffer a deadly allergic reaction to
the consumption of Kindred vitae, (as described in V20,
p. 49). If Ur-Shulgi rises, it is likely he will lift this curse
as his first act.


New Dur-An-Ki Ritual:

From Marduk’s Throat (Level Five)
This ritual is the means by which Assamites can continue
to reduce their Generation despite the limitations imposed
by the Tremere Curse. It is also the mechanism by which
the sorcerer caste maintains some influence and control
over the Clan despite their small numbers, as the ritual’s
difficulty means that only very experienced sorcerers can
use it. The sorcerer creates an alchemical substitute for
vampiric blood, allowing an Assamite who drinks enough
to decrease her Generation. The ingredients include a wide
variety of chemicals, herbs, and other exotic materials, but
the most important ingredient is Kindred blood.
To reduce the drinker’s Generation by one level, the
potion must incorporate a number of blood points from
vampires of lower Generation than the drinker equal to
four times the maximum blood point value of the desired
Generation. For example, an Assamite who sought to
reduce her Generation from Eighth to Seventh would
need to procure twenty-eight points of blood from Kindred
whose own Generation was Seventh or lower. Regardless
of how much vitae that is, the result of the alchemical
process will evaporate down into a thick sludgy material
that the imbiber must consume in a single attempt.
The potion is foul, and requires the imbiber to successfully
roll Willpower (difficulty 9). If that roll succeeds, the
Assamite must then successfully assimilate the blood
into her body. This requires an extended Willpower roll
(difficulty 9), seeking 15 successes for a new Generation.
Failures don’t stop the process, but they do deal six dice of
lethal damage apiece (soaked normally). Assimilation is so
painful and distracting that any attacks made against her
during this time face a difficulty of only 2.