Vessel

Dominate 5

Description: This power allows the Cainite to sever the soul of his subject from her body and mind. By displacing the victim's soul with his own corrupt spirit, the vampire takes complete control and may use the vessel's body as if it were his own. The Cainite must make eye contact with his intended victim even if she is conditioned through the Lure of Subtle Whispers, but such an unfortunate soul has even less chance to resist than a free-willed mortal. Once the psychic struggle commences, the victim cannot simply look away. Only two out comes are possible, complete domination or utter (if brief) freedom.

While the power is in use, the vessel is only dimly aware of the actions that her body takes, and her memories afterward have the quality of nightmares. The Cainite's body lies as if in torpor, insensate and defenseless.

Vampires cannot possess each other using this power. Only a complete blood oath can begin to compare with the level of control the dominating Cainite gains.

System: The target vessel must be prepared by completely stripping away her will to resist. The player spends a Willpower point, then rolls Charisma + Intimidation, while the target resists with Willpower (difficulty 7 for both). For each net success, the vampire strips away a point of temporary Willpower from his victim. Ties or successful resistance by the victim only prolongs the struggle. The victim will be free only if her attacker botches his control attempt (a botch renders her immune to Dominate attempts of any kind from the attacking vampire for the remainder of the story).

Once the vessel is bereft of temporary Willpower, the vampire may move his mind into her. The player rolls Manipulation + Intimidation with a difficulty of 7 to determine how much of his supernatural might he can infuse into the mortal shell. In a manner similar to the Animalism power Ride the Wild Mind, multiple successes allow the Cainite to use some mental Disciplines, noted on the following chart (blood required by these Disciplines is spent from the Cainite's own body, not the vessel's).

The vampire may travel as far from his body as his vessel can manage. If he leaves the vessel, either by choice or by force, his spirit returns to his physical form instantaneously, regardless of the distance between them. The Cainite may also venture out during the day in his mortal vessel, but he must struggle to remain awake just as he would in his own body. The vampire will leave the vessel if he fails to remain awake or is supernaturally exorcised.

Successes	Result
1 success	Cannot use Disciplines (the vampire's non-Physical Attributes, Abilities and Virtues carry over, however)
2	Auspex
3	Also Dominate and Presence
4	Also Chimerstry, Dementation
5	Sorcery

The Cainite keenly experiences both the vessel's pleasure and pain. The link between his body and spirit is strong enough that the vampire actually suffers any damage applied to the vessel's body (although the vampire can resist this damage with a soak roll). The only thing that can sever the link between the Cainite and his rightful body is the sudden death of the vessel, before the Cainite has a chance to remove his spirit from the newly deceased vessel. If this should happen, the character falls immediately into torpor. Many Cainites suspect that the sudden ferocity of the deceased soul's passage to either Heaven or Hell rips the Cainite's spirit loose from its corrupt moorings, leaving it adrift on the astral plane to find its way back to its body.

The Cainite can remain in his vessel if his own body is destroyed, but he cannot survive this way for long. At each sunrise, the player must make a Courage roll (difficulty 8) or be expelled from the mortal body. If expelled, his spirit is permanently lost in the astral plane. If the vessel is Embraced, the vampire's spirit is immediately expelled and lost without recourse.