Observance of the Spoken Word

Dominate 1

The most basic ability of the Discipline of Dominate is to give a one-word command which must be obeyed. The Cainite must make eye contact with the victim and speak in a language that the victim can comprehend. To ensure instant compliance, the command must be clear and unambiguous: flee, dismount, enter, silence. If the command is unclear, the subject might act slowly, ineptly or not at all. Commands that require the subject to act over a sustained period of time hold force until the subject removes herself from the commanding Cainite's influence, or until the end of the scene. Therefore, a subject commanded to flee will do so until she is well out of the dominating vampire's sight, while a subject commanded to be silent will not speak for the remainder of the scene, unless a countermanding order is given.

The single-word command need not stand alone. A Cainite who wishes to camouflage his orders in polite conversation may do so, as long as he makes eye contact as he utters the command word.

System: The player makes a Manipulation + Intimidation roll with a difficulty equal to the target’s Willpower. Additional successes improve the subject’s response time.