Oberon's Grail

Dominate 6

Description: Memory manipulation gives effective options for influence, protection of secrets or intimidation. Employed carefully, such methods can change motives and performs subtle alterations to a subject's personality. Sometimes, though, a few subtle changes aren't enough, and when an entire night of memories lead to trouble, a mere 15-minute alteration won't do. Tremere elder's may be beguiling schemers, but sometimes even they must resort to brute force. Recalcitrant memories wiped away, whole evenings lost to mystery - rumor holds that some Tremere can do this and more. But who would even remember?

Oberon's Grail serves as a very final and dramatic cure to problem witnesses. The 'Forgetful Mind' can only remove or alter small sections of memory at a time, but 'Oberon's Grail' has no such limitations. A single application can wash away an entire night. The Tremere need only touch the subject while making eye contact (even light clothing will not stop this). Everything from sundown up to the point of the Tremere's touch vanishes from the victim's memory. With effort, the Tremere can even fog the victim's mind so that he remembers nothing from the point of the touch to sunup, once the victim has slept. In effect, the victim seems to function normally (except, of course, for the lose of everything from sunset to the touch) until he wakes up the next day or night, at which point he realizes that he has no recollection whatsoever of the whole previous night.

Those elders who master 'Oberon's Grail' use it only rarely. The touch cannot remove expertise - someone who learns a skill cannot be made to forget how to do it - but it can make the victim unable to recall how or when he learned something, or to realize that he knows about it. Most often, the Grail helps to guard the Masquerade, protect clan secrets and punish those who would violate Cainite customs. Because the Grail's effects are so profound and so obvious, it's a good way to make enemies, and it is thus rarely used, but it is perhaps more effective for its threat than its practice.

System: The Tremere must make eye contact, as usual for Dominate and touch the victim. (An elder who also has the power of Obedience can use Oberon's Grail without eye contact.) The player rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty equal to the victim's Willpower).

One Success: causes the victim's memories from sunset to the point of the touch to become hazy.

Two Successes: completely wipes out all memory in that time period.

Three or More Successes: the Tremere can erase the entirety of the night, with everything from the touch until sunrise disappearing from memory once the victim falls asleep, but this costs a point of Willpower.

Oberon's Grail has no effect if administered during the day and cannot be combined with 'Astral Projection' - Auspex level five or Dominate level five - 'Possession', the touch must be administered in person at night. Although, 'Oberon's Grail' destroys memories, it cannot remove attributes, abilities, disciplines or other traits. This power works against victims with Eidetic Memory normally; against victims who do not sleep, its ability to destroy memory functions only on the period from sundown to the point of the touch, though the user will not be aware of this. A vampire that enters torpor counts as falling asleep.