Melpominee
Music, to create harmony, must investigate discord. -– Plutarch
Introduction to Melpominee: Please note that at least one point in Performance (Singing) is required to master Melpominee. If a Kindred with no musical ability attempts to learn Melpominee, he must first make a roll of Manipulation + Wits at a difficulty level of 6. If he succeeds, he gains one level of Performance and may then learn the Discipline. If he fails, he cannot grasp the nuances of Melpominee and must buy a point in Performance before attempting again. If he botches, he is given a permanent Derangement related to music (such as constantly hearing music) and may never learn Melpominee until that Derangement is bought off and one level of Performance is purchased.
Description: Named for Melpomene, the Greek Muse of tragedy, the unique Discipline of the Daughters of Cacophony is one of speech and song. The powers of this Discipline explore the various uses of the voice for both benefit and harm. As is the case with mortal art, it is not always clear which of those directions these powers take. No character may have a rating in Melpominee higher than her Performance rating. Melpominee affects the subject’s soul as well as the ears; thus, it works perfectly well on deaf subjects, and has caused at least one known breach of the Masquerade due to this effect. Additionally, the powers of Melpominee work only on those who are present when it is used — Daughters of Cacophony cannot record Melpominee effects, send them across radio waves, or have them streamed over the Internet.
Daughters of Cacophony can use some of the powers of the Melpominee Discipline in concert, as it were. If more than one Siren uses the same level of this Discipline simultaneously, the difficulty for the roll falls by one for each Daughter involved beyond the first. The difficulty cannot fall lower than 3, however. The Discipline levels that can benefit from this rule are noted below.
- Main Sequence (Pg.453-454 of Vampire the Masquerade - 20th Anniversary Edition)
- 1) The Missing Voice
- 2) Phantom Speaker
- 3) Madrigal
- 4) Siren's Beckoning
- 5) Virtuosa
- Advanced Melpominee
- Level 6
- Shattering Crescendo (Pg.454 of Vampire the Masquerade - 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Level 7
- Persistent Echo (Pg.454 of Vampire the Masquerade - 20th Anniversary Edition)
