Inertial Acceleration
Temporis 3
Alternate power developed by the True Brujah of Dresden.
This power is used to warp time around objects in motion. Projectiles thus affected fly farther or hit harder and thus do additional damage. The larger the projectile, the harder it is to affect with this power.
System?
Since the system is still empty, I'll propose one - Jamie
Just as it is possible to dilate time to slow objects and people down, it is possible to contract time, causing an object in flight to arrive sooner, with more velocity and energy than it naturally should. This power increases the damage done to their targets by projectiles. Skilled Eloi can even use it to increase the velocity of their jumps, allowing them to cross distances extremely quickly without otherwise bending time.
System: The Eloi selects a projectile (usually one that she herself is in the process of throwing, shooting, etc.), and rolls Manipulation + Occult. The difficulty varies, increasing with the size and complexity of the projectile. With greater difficulty, the Eloi may affect a group of closely linked projectiles, such as a burst from a gun, but not an entire salvo from multiple weapons. This power multiplies the effective velocity of the projectile by 1+ the # of successes (thus a single success doubles the effective speed), and the damage done by the projectile is increased by one die.
If the projectile does not reach its target within a round of the power being used in spite of the increased velocity, the power lapses, and the projectile hits its target with natural force, despite arriving several rounds early.
Despite the increased velocity, the projectile will fly along the same path it would have taken naturally, which could confuse observant engineers. Additionally, any measurements taken by devices hurled with this power will record only their natural velocity, provided they survive the impact.
The power ends when a full round has elapsed, or the missile contacts a solid: It cannot be used effectively on a car, for instance, unless the car is somehow airborn (having been thrown by a Brujah elder, for instance).
Inertial Acceleration in no way changes the nature of the projectile or the type of damage it inflicts: A bullet still pierces, a hurled blade still slices, a stone still bludgeons, and weapons enchanted with Blazing Shaft still do aggravated damage. In order to be affected, the projectile must be solid, and the extra damage done is entirely kinetic. While a pot full of flaming oil can be hurled very quickly with this power, the flame damage caused by the burning oil is not altered in any way.
| Difficulty | Size and complexity |
| 7 | Small: up to the size of a baseball. Only a single projectile. This includes most projectile weapons from bullets to knives to arrows to the shotputs used by Greek hopelites. |
| 8 | Medium: Up to the size of a soccer ball or large spear, or a short burst of smaller projectile fire. This includes smallish device-hurled weapons like small ballista bolts, cannon balls, and mortar shells (which do damage based on explosive power rather than kinetic energy). |
| 9 | Large: Up to the size of a motorcycle or average person. Almost all kinetic missiles, including large catapult stones and ballista bolts fall into this category, as does the user herself, no matter how huge she may be at the time (just as Movement of the Mind 3 affects the user no matter the user's size). Also, full-round bursts of small projectiles can be affected as a group at this difficulty. |
| 10 | Huge: Anything larger than a person: The cinematic missiles of elder vampires such as dumpsters, semi-trailers and large stones torn from castle walls. |
This is my thought. I think a minimum difficulty of 7 will keep this from becoming an "automatic kill" power. Any other thoughts? -Jamie
