Artistic Creation
Dice Pool: Variable.
Discussion: Some vampires were artists, musicians, writers, or other creative types in life. Others spend centuries trying to rekindle the spark of passion that undeath has taken from them. Certainly, the society of the Damned has gazed upon many wondrous (and horrific) works of art never seen by human eyes.
When trying to create something, a variety of rolls can be used, depending on what it is the character wishes to create. Perception (to come up with a subject worthy of expression) + Expression or Crafts (to capture the feeling in an artistic medium) is a common roll. In all cases, the player must decide the general parameters of what she wants her character to create — a haiku about roses, a portrait of the Prince, an epigram for the Archbishop’s sermon, etc.
The difficulty is variable, depending on the nature of the creation (it’s easier to write a limerick than a Petrarchan sonnet). The number of successes governs the quality of the creation: With one success, the character creates a mediocre, uninspired, but not terrible work, while with five successes the character creates a literary or artistic masterpiece. Some works (novels, large sculptures, vast murals) might require extended success rolls. On a botch, the character creates what she knows is the greatest work ever known to Kindred or kine (while everyone else who sees it immediately realizes what crap it actually is), or perhaps she embarrasses a patron, leaves out a pivotal figure, or goes off on a tangent that neglects her original intent and is thus unsuitable for her original purposes.
At the Storyteller’s discretion, a vampire who creates a particularly inspired masterwork might be eligible for a rise in Humanity or certain Paths, via experience points. Likewise, a creative epiphany may be suitable for work- ing through and curing a derangement.
