Obfuscate

Disciplines / Discipline Techniques

Some people think that the truth can be hidden with a little cover-up and decoration. But as time goes by, what is true is revealed, and what is fake fades away.

- Ismail Haniyeh

Introduction to Obfuscate

Obfuscate allows its user to hide or otherwise conceal his identity. Often one can do so in plain sight, by fooling the minds of those around him into believing that he is not present. Apprentices in this art must remain motionless and cloaked in shadow to hide: masters can conceal a small crowd in the middle of a busy street. Those affected by this Discipline do technically still see the user, but they do not notice that they see him, and they cannot find him. Accordingly, dumb animals are only misdirected by Obfuscate. The power's user makes them uneasy even if he is entirely hidden from them.

Obfuscate is one of the oldest Disciplines known to Cainites. It is said that this ability allowed members of the third generation to hide from their sires until the time was right to strike at them. Various legends suggest that either Caine himself or Lilith taught the Discipline to the Nosferatu Antediluvian, to better hide his visage, but the Children of Haqim insist that it was their sire who refined his own hunting and stalking talents to this supernatural level.

Those vampire who use Auspex are sometimes unaffected by Obfuscate. Although the power tries to reach through such a character's senses and fool her mind, the rarefied senses of the Auspex-user prod the target into realizing that the Obfuscate-user is not as he seems. Generally speaking, a character with more dots in Auspex than the user has in Obfuscate recognizes that there is something wrong. A Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 7) pierces any illusion the character has summoned up. A Cainite with fewer dots in Auspex, however, is no risk to the obfuscated vampire. In the event that another character has as many dots in Auspex as the vampire has in Obfuscate, the players make a resisted test, both using a difficulty of 7. The obfuscated vampire's player rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge, and the Auspex-user's player rolls Perception + Subterfuge.

Obfuscate is particularly valuable to those who wish to go about their daily business without being noticed. While spies and thieves are sure to get a lot of use out of it, a vampire monk who must enter and leave his monastery unnoticed or a courtier who wishes to listen in secret to conversations at court is sure to revel in the power this Discipline gives. Those who use Obfuscate regularly find themselves divorced from society around them, only observing and never participating in ordinary social interactions.