Flaying Touch
Vicissitude 2, Potence 2
With this cruel power, a Tzimisce can tear away a victim’s skin as easily as removing a robe, all without disturbing the muscles and other tissue beneath. The Fiend simply grabs a handful of skin and pulls it away or surgically slices it with the artful caress of a fingertip. Regardless of the method used, the target suffers excruciating pain and begins bleeding profusely from the exposed flesh. Even if a target somehow survives the blood loss, the area of skinless flesh soon becomes infected. Cainites have less to fear from the power, though they too suffer blood loss until they can regenerate the missing tissue.
System: This power requires the same roll as a conventional use of Transmogrify the Mortal Clay, though the difficulty is always one higher than normal (maximum difficulty 9). The vampire need not restrain the victim as long as he strikes exposed skin (requiring a Dexterity + Brawl roll as usual), in which case the activation roll is reflexive. Each success inflicts one level of lethal damage, which may be soaked (if the victim can soak such damage) at difficulty 8 . If the damage exceeds the victim’s Stamina, she can only writhe and scream in pain for the rest of the turn. Victims continue bleeding profusely from their exposed skin. Mortals suffer a number of levels of bashing damage each minute equal to the initial damage, while vampires apply any damage after soak as a loss of blood points. Once any of the original damage is healed or the wound is staunched (Dexterity + Medicine, difficulty 9), the bleeding slows to one level of damage per hour. Only when the original injury is completely healed does the bleeding stop.
Experience Cost: 14
