Taking of the Spirit
- Description
This path allows the infernalist to strip away the Willpower of his victim, leaving an almost soulless automation ready to serve the initiate without question. Some fiendish vampires have built entire legions of servants for themselves with this power, and it works on vampires and kine alike.
- Hell's Price:
All too accustomed to watching the will of others erode before her own, those who practice this path suffer the effects of the Megalomania derangement (see Vampire: the Masquerade, p. 223) for the duration of any scene in which this path's powers are invoked.
- System: Blood Expenditure & Willpower Roll +3 difficulty
The victim loses a number of temporary Willpower equal to the vampire's mastery of this path (see table). Should the victim know what is taking place (having heard of it, or having had it happen before), the player may resist with her own Willpower roll (difficulty 7). If the victim's player accumulates more successes on this extended, resisted roll than the thaumaturge before being reduced to zero Willpower, this path may not be used against her character by the same thaumaturge for a full year. If the victim is reduced to zero Willpower, she must do the vampires' bidding, not speaking, staring blankly forward, in a state much like a zombie. The victim regains a Willpower point per night, which the thaumaturge may continue to try to steal away. If she sees her "master" killed, she regains full Willpower pool immediately. The Cainite must touch the victim to perform the Taking of the Spirit.
A botch on the part of the thaumaturge has unique results: He loses the corresponding number of temporary Willpower points (which also return at a rate of one per night.) If all points are lost, he may come under the control of otherworldly forces.
- Skill to Power Ratio
- Rank I: Loss of one Willpower point
- Rank II: Loss of two Willpower points
- Rank III: Loss of four Willpower points
- Rank IV: Loss of six Willpower points
- Rank V: Loss of eight Willpower points
