A little learning is a dangerous thing but a lot of ignorance is just as bad.
 - Bob Edwards

Learning Requirements for Attributes, Abilities, Rituals and Disciplines,  both in and out of Clan

Learning Times - All learning times begin from when you inform the Bookkeeping ST of your intention to learn. Dots are purchased in the order they are submitted to the bookkeeper. For all dots requiring a teacher, the PC or ST (NPC) must verify with the Bookkeeping ST for learning time to start. You can only learn one thing per category (discipline, attribute, knowlege, talent, skill, and complementing secondary) at a time. If you run out of XP after a learning time would have passed, you have to wait to start learning the next thing in that category until you have completed the purchase. For items that take awhile, you will be talking to (or emailing) the Bookeeping Storyteller twice - once to inform them that you are beginning a learning time, and a second time to confirm that you are actually spending the XP. The Bookeeping Storyteller won't auto-spend the XP for you without confirmation.

Example: If you have submitted your character's intention to learn Melee 3 three weeks ago, but forgot and spent all your XP on magic beans last week, then you can't start learning something else (in that category - like say melee 4) until you actually pony up the XP you promised to spend.

Abilities:

• For levels 1- 3 of an Ability, all that is required to learn is a reasonable story as to how your character taught themselves and the appropriate XP and learning time.
• For levels 4 and 5 of an Ability, learning a new Ability requires a teacher with at least one level higher than the level you wish to learn.
• Learning time for an Ability is one week times the level you are learning.
• Those with 5 levels in an ability may teach the 5th level of an ability.

Secondary abilities:

• Secondary abilities may be used to lower the difficulty rating of any appropriate non-combat roll, including disciplines, but it is up to the ST what is deemed appropriate.
• Learning times and teaching requirements are the same as regular abilities, but Secondaries cost less. (First dot 2 XP then current rating X 1 for every additional)
• Secondary ablities lower the difficulty on appropriate rolls by half the rating of the secondary rounded up.

Disciplines:

• Learning a new level of a Discipline that is In Clan for your character takes one week times the level of the discipline that you wish to learn.
• Learning a new level of an Out of Clan Discipline takes two weeks times the level you wish to learn.

Out of Clan Discipline Teachers:

• If teaching an in clan discipline, (in clan for the teacher) characters can teach to one level below their level, unless at 5, in which case they can teach to 5.
• If a character is attempting to teach a discipline that is normally out of clan (again, out of clan for the teacher), they can teach 2 levels below their own level, with no special case for being at 5 (So you can only teach to 3).

Rituals:

• Rituals take one week per level of the ritual to learn.
• Rituals cost a number of XP equal to the level of the Ritual to learn.
• Rituals can be taught to others with the same applicable Clan Specific Sorcery, Thaumaturgy or Necromancy at a primary path rating equal or greater than the level of ritual to be learned.
• After your character has learned a ritual, when you wish to use it, you must have a stamped and dated card that shows the duration and expiration of the effect.  (Example: Pavis of Foul Presence - Duration: 1 Night, Date cast: mm/dd/yyyy)
• Rituals can also be learned from books. See Clan Specific house rules.

House Rules Regarding Specific Disciplines

Auspex

             Heightened Senses

• Auspex 1 acts as 'Danger Sense' that is always on, regardless of the character's situation. A roll will be made based on the unmodified Auspex rating to detect ill will at the Storyteller's discretion, but this ability does not need to be activated to work. You may not spend a Willpower as this ability is reflexive.

             Telepathy

"The mind is not a book to be opened at will and examined at lesiure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many layered thing. Or at least, most minds are." - Severus Snape

• Telepathy is line of sight for the player. It’s not a substitute for a cell phone nor is it an excuse to ‘ride piggyback’ into a scene your character isn’t involved in on the other side of town. A good general rule is that telepathy works within the same room.
• Using Telepathy against the insane has an additional risk. Before the Telepathy roll is made, make a simple test. If the defender wins this test, the telepath suffers from one of the defender's Derangements for the remainder of the evening. (This can be suppressed as per the normal rules). The telepath may then make the telepathy test and gain information as normal (though the information may be colored by the derangement at ST discretion)
• There are two ways to use Telepathy, one is to read thoughts and the other is to send them. These are separate rolls. Successes for these rolls are per the book, (pg. 151 main book) Two way communication is possible only if both Kindred have Telepathy.

             Psychic Projection

• While, as per the book, people in Astral can use Auspex, at EC they cannot use other disciplines. (For purely astral/spirit realm encounters, this is subject to ST discretion)
• Manifestation is as per the book. When searching in Psychic Projection, you must be moving at walking speeds to get a level of detail, and are thus constrained to a slow search.

Dementation

Unless the ST requests a test for the "involuntary" use of dementation, all uses by the player are known to the character.

             Passion

• Passion calms or heightens ONE emotion for the duration of the effect. The storyteller will determine which emotion is affected, but it will usually be the strongest emotion at the time the Dementation occurred, which is not necessarily the emotion most visible.

             The Haunting

• From page 155 from the main book, instead of 6+ successes effecting a character for 1 year, it's 5+ successes for a maximum of 3 months.

             Total Insanity

• Per page 156 of the main book instead of 5+ successes being 1 year, the effects only last 3 months maximum.

Dominate

A vampire can suspect that they were Dominated. If a character feels that they have been Dominated, the player should seek out a Storyteller.

The Defender wearing sunglasses does NOT negate the eye contact requirement of Dominate. Once eye contact is established it cannot be broken until the dominate is over, unless there is an external 3rd party distraction.

              Forgetful Mind

• The identity of the Dominator is not automatically discovered when true memories are revealed. Forgetful Mind does not allow you to root through people's memories and view them. You may talk through the story and attempt to discover blocks.

              Conditioning

• To condition someone, see a Storyteller. Not because we want to micromanage you, but because we want to see how you did it, and how well you covered your tracks. And hey, seeing a character get totally screwed by another character gives us a giggle.

Obfuscate

Obfuscate affects all people who can see the vampire via any means. This includes gun sights, cameras, etc. In addition, this effect includes replayed/delayed recordings seen during the scene.  At a later time (after the scene ends), those who were initially affected by the power who are reviewing the recording have the potential (but are not guaranteed, perception + subterfuge, diff. 8) to see the obfuscated character. 

• Those not present for the scene in which the powers were in effect have no limitations on reviewing the photographs/recordings after the scene.
• We only use the rules in the V:tM Revised book for Obfuscate (pg. 166-167) not any Ob rules from any other books such as Guide to the Camarilla.

             Unseen Presence

• Characters hidden with Obfuscate may attack in one of two ways. They may declare ta 'Free Attack' in which the victim cannot dodge OR, may take advantage of the Ambush rules (when appropriate) as listed on page 209 of the main V:tM Revised book.

             Mask of  a Thousad Faces

• This level of Obfuscate creates a phantom appearance that does not effect any roll involving the appearance Attribute.

Presence

Most Presence powers are not immediately obvious once they wear off, unless used bluntly.

             Entrancement

• Per page 171 of the main book instead of 5 successes effecting a character for 1 year it effects a character for a maximum of 3 months.

              Majesty

• Majesty is an area effect. (30 foot unobstructed radius or if partially obstructed, within line of sight up to 30 feet)
• Characters affected by Majesty cannot attack or take hostile action against the Majesty-user.
• In order to do anything rude or contrary to the Majesty-user, the affected must spend one Willpower point for a chance to make a Courage check against a difficulty of the Majesty-using character’s Charisma + Intimidation + Number of Status Traits above the Challenger. 
• Declared Anarchs and Sabbat may ignore the extra status difficulty.
• Any attempt to resist or break Majesty requires an ST.
• Any attack or hostile action take by the Majesty-user against any affected, drops Majesty automatically.

For Assamite or Setite Sorcery, Tremere Thaumaturgy, Giovanni Necromancy or the Malkavian Time background, see the clan specific rules.

Perceiving and Understanding the Occult World:

The easiest way for your character to understand an occult happening in game is to have purchased the applicable lore secondary skill that governs whatever is going. So, Ghost lore for investigating or knowing about ghostly activities, Kindred lore for understanding the vampiric condition, Clan lore for knowing the history of your clan and Camarilla lore for knowing about your sect (for example). These lores convfer certain levels of automatic knowledge to your character. Lores are purchased on the cheap as secondary skills. (1 Freebie = 1 dot and 1 times current rating to increase with XP) For an exhaustive list of available lores, check out the Appendices Section.

Though lores can also help lower the difficulty of understanding more esoteric bits of information, whether yor character has a lore or not, if they have the Occult ability (or in some cases politics - like for judging status) your character can still make a test to try to understand an occult event.

If an occult event (a Discipline usage, Ritual, Lupine attack, Frenzy etc.) is done to, or in the presence of your character, you may ask a storyteller for an Perception + Occult check to see if your character recognizes the event as an occult event, instead of someone getting drunk, being naturally depressed, changing their mind of theri own free will, etc. In some cases the storyteller the storyteller may tell you that your character may make these tests after the effects where off, particularly if the effect was subtle, or used directly on your character (as generally an outsider has a better chance of noticing a change in another's behavior).

If your character has succeded in noticing an occult event and does not have the applicable level of lore, but your character has learned a tidbit of occult knowledge here or there through role-play, you may attempt to recall things you've heard in-game about this kind of occult event. There are 4 stages of remembering knowledge:

• 0) I was told/saw it demonstrated/explained/read about it tonight
• 1) I've never heard about this (in game) but I study the occult/politics, so I'll take a whack
• 2) I've heard of that, lemme see what I can remember
• 3) Oh, I know that. (have the lore)

Stage 0 - is a non-stage, because you're allowed to remember (pretty much) anything you're told in the same night.

Stage 1 - Anyone can make an Intelligence + Occult (or Politics) roll diff 6 to see what they can think of on the subject at hand. This approach is limited to level 1 Lore, or Level 2 of your own sect/breed/clan. Out of clan lores, and obscure lores (Lores not listed on the website) cannot be tested for here. Depending on the successes gained they can speak some truth and some falsehood on the topic.

Stage 2  - is what happens when a character has heard/seen/experienced some information but does not have the lore for that info, and they want to remember it. The player rolls their int+oclt/pol diff 8, (diff is modified by existing lores) and the number of successes determines what lore level they can remember info up to.

An example for this system:

Brian the Brujah Anarch is talking to some Elders in Elysium. Prior to tonight, he was told that the followers of Set were asked to join initially (Cam Lore 4), he was told about the Red List (Cam Lore 3), and has heard the listing of the Traditions (Cam Lore 2). How much can he say?

Brian has Cam Lore 1 (real, and he's an Anarch). He tests his Int+Politics at difficulty 7 (normally 8, but -1 for secondary ability). He gets three successes. He can talk about the red list people, and list the traditions, but can't remember what he was told about the Setites and the beginnings of the Camarilla.

In order to expedite role-play, only one roll is needed per lore type (roll once for Cam Lore stuff you want to talk about, once for Anarch, etc). Remember, the standard situations for all rolls are in place here: You can spend Willpower for an extra success, you can try again at +1 difficulty, and if you have specialties, they may apply.

Stage 3 - is when the player has purchased the lore for the thing they want to talk about, there is no roll. As long as they have bought the lore, they can talk the talk.

For a list of available lores, check out the Appendices Section.

Go to the next Rules section: House Rules: Craft & Seek