Eyes of Chaos
Madness, randomness and chaos writhe around every Malkavian. Though even the least enlightened Cainites of that clan can pierce the fog of normalcy that wraps most people, the Eyes of Chaos open whole new vistas as the character truly gains insight from the madness of others and from seemingly random events in the world around him. The Eyes of Chaos see through the mask that mortals and Cainites place between their true natures and the surrounding world, and they enable their user to sense madness in another.
Vampires using Eyes of Chaos receive portents of the future with some regularity, yet they cannot always deduce the portents' meaning in time to use the information to their advantage. Their mad visions also clue them in to others' driving goals and obsessions, though again, the visions are often obscured by their medium and may convey the necessary truths too late to be of any good.
System: Roll Perception + Occult. The difficulty varies and is set by the Storyteller based on the available information, your familiarity with the situation and the taint of madness in the immediate area. To learn the Nature or derangements of a companion requires an 8; similar traits for a stranger might require a 10. The greater the madness inherent in the thing you're analyzing is, the lower the target number is. Deranged ranting written in a strange tongue is easier to assess than the clinical scribing of a monk. Analysis of a piece of art or craft - anything from a manuscript to a woven blanket - can reveal the creator's Nature or derangements much as analyzing the person can (though one extra success is required). With five or more successes, your character can find prophetic truths in such a work that the creator did not consciously put there. And truly chaotic, random events or images are seductively easy to analyze through the Eyes of Chaos. The vampire might well be able to see into the future after an evening spent staring into a fire or watching clouds scud by. This sort of divination, of course, is left entirely to the Storyteller, who may have her own plans for your character's future.
Information that one gains with Eyes of Chaos is inherently untrustworthy, as it is an analysis of madness as filtered through the eyes of an insane vampire. Storytellers should be sure to convey a character's impressions subjectively, preferably filtering them through the character's primary derangements.
