CELERITY
Contents
Introduction
Celerity moves a vampire with unholy rapidity and grace. Characters with Celerity move nigh-unseen in bursts of inhuman speed. This allows for remarkable performances, frightening quick assassinations, and travel unlike any in the Dark Medieval World.
Characters add their Celerity rating to their Dexterity-based dice pools, including their Initiative ratings. Add her Celerity rating to the number of yards or meters she moves in a turn.
Additionally, they may reflexively spend one point of blood to ignore difficulty penalties for multiple actions up to their Celerity dots for the turn. For example, a character with Celerity 3 makes three actions before suffering +1 difficulty for multiple actions. This does not mitigate the dice pool reduction, however. A number of these additional actions equal to half their Celerity (round up) may be attack actions. See p. 322 for rules on multiple actions.
Lastly, by spending one blood point, she may multi- ply her movement speed by 1 plus her Celerity dots. In combat, this lasts one turn. Otherwise, it lasts the scene.
ADVANCED CELERITY
Normally, Celerity dots simply make the vampire faster and increase the Discipline’s numerical benefits. At elder levels, the character’s Celerity may develop normally, or she may progress into more specific powers, like the examples below. As with other elder powers, she may take multiple such gifts; the linear, numerical progression is considered one such option.
●●●●●● MOMENTUM
A large part of impact comes from the force it moves with, but also with its speed. A master of Celerity can focus her speed all into one forceful instant, allowing her to briefly lift things no human should ever be able to, or to strike with deadly force.
System: Spend two blood points reflexively to activate Momentum. You may add your character’s Celerity dots as additional dice on any single Strength-based roll. In combat, this adds Knock Down (see p. 347) to any attack made with Momentum.
●●●●●● PRECISION
A master of Celerity with this manifestation can use her immense dexterity to conduct acts of fine manipulation with inhuman precision.
System: Spend a blood point to activate Precision. Add the character’s Celerity dots as automatic successes to a single roll requiring fine manipulation instead of adding dice to Dexterity as normal. This does not work only on rolls using the Dexterity Attribute, but Storyteller discretion is required to determine what Precision benefits.
●●●●●● PROJECTILE
With this power, the Cainite may apply her speed to objects she throws, forcing them forward faster than the greatest longbow.
System: Spend a blood point. Then, choose an amount by which to reduce your character’s Celerity for the turn. The character throws a weapon like normal. If successful, add that number of automatic successes to the damage dice pool.
●●●●●●● FLOWER OF DEATH
With this monstrous ability, the vampire has mastered using her Celerity in combat situations. Every blow lands exactly where she wishes it to land.
System: Spend four blood points. For the remainder of the turn, instead of adding her Celerity to her Dexterity-based dice pools, the vampire achieves that many automatic successes on all Dexterity-based dice pools. This includes any multiple actions she takes.
●●●●●●● QUICKNESS
A character with Quickness breaks normal limitations of speed even for her own Celerity.
System: Spend a blood point to activate Quickness on a turn where you have activated Celerity’s normal effect. Quickness offers one additional action beyond what the character receives for Celerity, as if her Celerity were one level higher. She can spend additional blood, cumulatively, for additional Celerity levels that last the turn (see the chart below). Each additional action causes the character a level of unsoakable lethal damage.
| Blood | Additional Actions |
| 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 2 |
| 6 | 3 |
| 10 | 4 |
| 15 | 5 |
●●●●●●●● PHYSICAL DEFIANCE
Your character’s speed has reached a point so unnatural that for brief moments, the fundamental laws of nature cease to affect her. She can move in any direction, in spite of obstructions, in spite of gravity, and in spite of logic. She can run upwards for brief bursts. She can walk through (or on) water. She can walk up walls.
System: Spend five blood points per turn in Physical Defiance. Your character can move through space in any direction up to her full speed (which can be enhanced as normal with Celerity through additional blood expenditure). Wood, stone, water, flesh, or metal will simply give way as she passes through, exploding into splinters and chunks. She suffers no harm from the things she moves through.
If she moves through another character, roll to attack with Dexterity + Athletics, adding Celerity as normal. The other character may attempt to dodge if eligible, but not block or parry. If successful, she fills the opponent’s health levels with lethal damage. Vampires must reflexively heal to avoid torpor. Mortals die instantly.
●●●●●●●● TIME OUT OF TIME
At this level, the vampire thinks a moment before everyone around her, and her reflexes carry her vast distances before others can blink. She can bolt out of the way even as a blade grazes her flesh. This makes her nigh-untouchable when she wishes to be.
System: Spend three blood points reflexively to activate this power. It may be activated even after an attack roll is made, but before damage is rolled. Once the power is activated, all action stops and your character can move her full movement speed before the other action resolves. This takes the place of a normal defensive maneuver. This almost certainly prevents the action from taking place, as the vampire appears to teleport out of the way.
