Devil in the Mind

Dementation 6

This insidious power becomes the bane of all the victim's social interactions, as it breaks down inhibitions and social mores, while at the same time pulling subconscious impulses, ideas and opinions to the forefront. The Malkavian Giselle the Fury used this power to ruin a delicate negotiation between a group of Toreador elders in the Courts of Love - and the elder Malkavian subsequently found herself subject to a blood hunt, as her victims realized the likely source of their distress.

System: In order to employ Devil in the Mind, the character makes eye contact with her target, and the player spends a point of Willpower and rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty of the target's Willpower). Devil in the Mind works in two ways. The first is to remove the normal social barriers that prevent people from speaking their minds, thus making the target say just what she feels and means instead of trying to cloak her words. This is an efficient method of ruining delicate circumstances such as seduction, negotiation or tense diplomatic negotiations. The second way is to strengthen impulses that would normally be suppressed and make the victim focus on ideas and opinions that are inappropriate to the current situation. for example, a woman trying to coax information out of a man she finds unattractive might suddenly begin thinking just how repulsive he really is, and be hard-pressed to not just come right out and say it; while a servant envying his master' swarm cloak might simply try to take it, and demand that it be given to him if he is stopped.

Devil in the Mind lasts for one scene. Supernatural creatures (including ghouls) can resist it by spending a Willpower point and rolling Willpower (difficulty 6) each time they wish to resist an impulse or comment. Even if this resistance succeeds, the victim loses one die from Subterfuge and Etiquette pools (additional efforts at resistance do not incur this penalty). Once the power subsides, the victim realizes that something was not right, though she does not necessarily suspect outside influence.