Stampede

Animalism 7

A deep, innate knowledge of animal instinct allows the Gangrel to trigger a very specific fear in his victims - an unthinking panic that pushes hundreds of creatures into headlong flight. This ability only works on large groups of people or animals; too few, and the aggregate fear will not be enough to override sensible plans of action. Also, the crowd or herd must be already agitated by some mundane occurrence, such as the smell of a large predator, a lost football game by the home team or a shortage of this year's fad toy during prime shopping season. (The Gangrel may cause the "mundane" situation - by being the large predator influencing the outcome of the soccer match, or waylaying the toys - but this is not necessary or even wise.) Once this power takes hold, its victims will flee until they escape the vampire's influence or until they are rendered unable to run.

System: This power must be activated within sight of a crowd of roughly 50 agitated mortals (the Storyteller may allow this power to be used on smaller groups of really pissed-off mortals). The player rolls Stamina + Animal Ken (difficulty 7). The resulting waves of terror roll 50 yards in all directions from the Gangrel for each success achieved. Any unsettled mortal within this radius will immediately flee toward the nearest escape or exit unless the Gangrel chooses to direct the Stampede by force of will. The vampire may set a direction or path for the fleeing multitudes, but may not change or alter it once the flight has begun. Members of the Stampede will ignore many potential sources of danger, such as running into the road or through a firing range, but will not take obviously suicidal actions like leaping off tall cliffs or skyscrapers. In some cases, however, the crazed mob will not see potential danger in time - or be forced into it anyway by the pressure of the crowd behind them.

Mortals who were not initially affected may be caught up physically or emotionally in the tide, as the Gangrel's projected Beast wreaks havoc for a scene unless he chooses to end the madness earlier. Upon leaving the affected area, mortals may recover their senses and stop their mad rush. If the area is bottle-necked, however, such as a long hallway or valley, the mortals may opt to continue fleeing rather than be trampled. It is worth noting that this power can go awry, even without a rolled botch - the power of hundreds of Beasts, even those of mortals, can be too much for the vampire to control. Animals pushed too hard may frenzy, and people have a disturbing tendency to riot.