Celebrochan
These tricksters claim many things, many of their tales are as outlandish as they are dark. The only thing that is universal about the stories they tell about themselves is the involvement of the fey. The blood of the fey runs through their veins or so they say. Many of them believe whole heartedly that elves, pixies, nixies, sprites, and other things walk the world, or at least claim to believe. One can never be certain.
Generally a Mekhet attempting to join this bloodline must participate in “the Great Hunt” a process where they stalk and drink the blood of a suitable faery creature, often with the help of their mentor. Mekhet who’s sire’s were Celebrochan may practice the hunt without a mentor. After the hunt the Mekhet (should he meet the other prerequisites) spends five experience points to purchase the first dot of Lore of Cnuic na sidhe and with that done has joined the bloodline (if the character doesn’t have five exp they may put themselves into exp debt to purchase their first dot of the discipline.)
Parent Clan: Mekhet
Founder: who founded this clan is a mystery, though several people claim that they are the sole member of the bloodline.
Nicknames: Unseelie
History:
The history of the Celebrochan can be summed up by one of their legends. Ages ago a Vampire of incredible years and power, a preverbal Methuselah lost sight of its prey. This Kindred was old and its blood potent, the desire to sleep the sleep of ages was strong but the Methuselah year after year refused that call. It’s blood grew potent beyond our kenning and even the blood of young kindred could no longer sate it’s ravenous appetite. It had to search further and further a field to find sustenance.
Then one day it smelled on the wind a scent of blood potent enough that the Methuselah knew it could satisfy it’s hunger. For days it chased the smell of the one it was stalking but the smell seemed to always be just beyond the next couple of trees, over the next hill, around the next bend in the river. Over time the greenery grew strange and the Methuselah, even though it could sense it’s prey was closer than ever before, chose to rest. When it took stalk of its surroundings it realized that even in hills it should have known as intimately as it knew the intoxicating scent of fear, it was lost and when that realization struck it the scent vanished. The more it tried to find it’s way home the more obscured and full of thorns the path became. The Methuselah was truly ancient and knew ancient lore, the secrets long forgotten by man, the knowing of how to appease the fey and win their favor. The Methuselah once it realized that it was the fey’s quarry began to sing. It sang the song of crashing waves, of trees in a storm, of mountains ground to dust and of promises made long ago.
The fey heard the song and came out from their places of hiding as they were obligated to do. They took the Methuselah through a hidden door way under a hill. There they talked and bartered and drank bloody dew from silver chalices. Before the sun rose the Methuselah had forged 13 pacts with the creatures of fey and to seal each pact the Methuselah embraced one child freshly stolen by the fey. The Methuselah was never seen again in the lands of men and today suffers perpetually in fear of a sun that never quite rises. Such is the fate of those that try to win a game of words with the fey.
However, one hundred and thirteen years after the Methuselah disappeared one of its thirteen childer was released back into the world of man. Perhaps the Methuselah’s contract had some merit after all, or perhaps the cursed childe was simply lucky. The last of the Methuselah’s childer and only one to again see the world of man was the first Celebrochan. Or so the tales say. The progenitor of the bloodline has not been seen in several hundred years and it is rumored that one of the progenitor’s childer consumed his essence when their sire finally descended into madness. However, it is also rumored that the progenitor was dragged back into faery by a hunter with a crown of horns, riding a horse made of bones and burning autumn leaves and lead by 12 especially rabid skeletal hounds.
It is hard for historians to keep track of this clan due to their nature. It is believed that their numbers are very small. Rumors tell that the Celebrochan are dying out, other rumors say they lurk in every corner with no one the wiser. They have a history of mysteriously disappearing, sometimes never to be seen again.
Covenant: A disturbing number of Celebrochan have a streak of wanderlust that causes them to take up the nomadic lifestyle. After a period of time they tire of it and set up shop in a city they haven’t lived in before (or for a long time). Each time they set up shop in a city they join whichever covenant is predominant (or the underdog depending on the Celebrochan). They are particularly active in that covenant and do their best to prove their worth. However, after reaping several of the low hanging fruit of the covenant and almost without warning, the wanderlust strikes them again and, they pick up and vanish, often changing their name, and start the whole process over again. On the sixth or seventh move they rejoin a covenant they had joined previously and see if they can pick up where they left off. Strangely they almost never betray the secrets they hold in confidence through their past alliances, especially if they were sworn to secrecy.
Though, it is documented that Celebrochan can be loyal members of a covenant, one Celebrochan has been a member of good standing of the Circle of the Crone for over 50 consecutive years, supposedly because devotion to the crone keeps other “things” at bay.
Haven: When they have a haven, besides being blessedly free of iron their havens share no particular similarity. When the wanderlust leaves them they generally build a home for themselves as though it isn’t going to strike again.
Appearance: Celebrochan tend to embrace people who are thin and tall (or short), with “Elven” features. As they age their eyes and hair takes on a translucent silver tint and the tips of their ears gain a noticeable point. They tend to dress like those around them.
Organization: Sire and childe often stay together long enough for the sire to feel that the childe would survive on it’s own on the open road, often they then part ways. Sometimes if a Celebrochan finds easy access to large quantities of fey blood (it rarely happens) they will contact their sires, who will contact their sires and childer and soon a caravan will descend on the location.
Character creation: Celebrochan’s tend to embrace people who are manipulative and cunning. They tend to favor social attributes seconded by mental attributes, though this is not always the case. The childer of all Celebrochan are trained in subterfuge and survival.
Concepts: Con man, Gypsy, Traveling salesman, Fey Occultist, Vampiric Delivery Man
In-Clan Disciplines: Auspex, Celerity, Lore of Cnuic na Sidhe, Obfuscate
Clan weakness:
(Designer’s note: This clan weakness’ potency is dependent on how common the fey are and how difficult the story teller makes them to hunt.)
The ordeal of joining the bloodline alters a Mekhet’s essence substantially. In addition to the Mekhet’s clan flaw, namely their additional susceptibility to fire and sunlight they are all addicted to the rush they experience when drinking faery blood. When rolling to resist hunger frenzy they are at -3 dice if they can smell, or taste the blood of a creature that currently possesses dots of glamour (including their own or another Celebrochan’s if their Lore of Cnuic na Sidhe discipline is active.) This penalty supersedes and does not stack with other penalties for having drunk regular kindred vitae or vitae addiction. Celebrochan of Blood Potency six or higher who may normally only drink kindred Vitae may drink the blood the fey to activate Lore of Cnuic na Sidhe but gain no vitae.
All Celebrochan victims of a mystic and potent wanderlust. They may not regain willpower on an evening that they have not actively spent traveling to or exploring a new place (a place that they have been absent from long enough that they have to relearn it is considered new.) If they are ever reduced to zero will power they are mystically compelled to travel if able. The Celebrochan are bared from entering the faery realm or the hedge surrounding it. They are looking for a place they can never find. This compulsion is why they are commonly nomads.
However, by drinking the blood of the fey (glamour) they may put their wanderlust to sleep for a time. For every evening that their lore of Cnuic na Sidhe discipline is active they are free of the curse of wanderlust for three days and may regain will power regularly during this time and are not compelled to travel if their willpower is depleted. But being free of their wanderlust brings with it a different curse. While they are free of their wanderlust they have a weakness of objects made of iron. Touching an iron object causes them great discomfort and being struck by iron burns unnaturally. They take a point of bashing every round they touch an object made of iron and being struck by hand forged iron weapons causes them an additional point of damage of the sort the weapon typically inflicts (iron weapons that manage to do aggravated damage through supernatural means are an exception to this rule.)
It is not unheard of for the Local lost who know of the nature of the Celebrochan to hunt them as passionately as they are themselves hunted. It is rumored that by drinking a Celebrochan’s blood a changeling can gain back the glamour a Celebrochan has stolen.
Lore of Cnuic na Sidhe
Members of the Celebrochan bloodline often manifest a set of powers unique among the kindred. They agree that their signature abilities result from a connection to something strange, faint and far away. The connection seems to strengthen the further they progress in the Lore of Cnuic na Sidhe. Some argue whether these powers come from the time their progenitor spent with the fey or from the pacts made by the “Methuselah” of legend. However, the fact that the powers work is explanation enough for most.
Many of these powers function only so long as the kindred has recently consumed the blood of one of the fey. When a Celebrochan feeds off of a creature with glamour in their veins it causes that creature both a point of blood loss (one point of lethal damage to creatures without blood points or 1 vitae to kindred or ghouls) and one point glamour loss per vitae gained. Every point of glamour consumed from a fey creature enables these powers to function for one night. This duration cannot last more nights than the maximum blood pool of the Celebrochan, though it can be extended (to a maximum of the characters max blood pool) by draining glamour again.
(Example. “Joe Celebrochan has a blood potency of two and a max blood pool of eleven. He somehow manages to drink eleven points of Glamour infused blood. After two nights he is again lucky and drains another four points of Glamour infused blood. Now he again has eleven nights before he looses access to most of the abilities of Lore of Cnuic na Sidhe and 39 days before the wanderlust again strikes. The extra Glamour in the blood he drank was lost but the blood itself was delicious.)
1) See through to fey’s true seeming
(designer note: New power: Meant to enable the celebrochan to find Changelings to feed upon to sate their addiction to glamour.)
Cost: 1 Vitae per scene
Dice Pool: This power involves no roll. This ability allows the kindred to be unaffected by the seemings or masks of fey who have a wyrd score equal to or less than their blood potency. Their true forms become apparent to the Celebrochan. This ability does not require the Celebrochan to have recently fed from one of the fey to function.
Action: Reflexive
2) Dust of the state of dreaming
(designer note: Modeled after the level two Vedma power from the Ordo Dracul book.)
“Listen you don’t have to believe me… you probably don’t want to believe a word I say… you barely know me I know… but I have something important to tell you and you haven’t heard truer words.” A con man getting warmed up
The Celebrochan are well known for their ability to pull the wool over people’s eyes and make them believe the boldest of lies and the tallest of tales.
Cost: This power is active so long as the Celebrochan has recently fed from one of the fey.
Dice Pool: This power requires no roll. While this power is active the Celebrochan gains a social dice pool bonus equal to his dots in Lore of Cnuic na Sidhe when lying, acting, story telling, engaging in deception or generally trying to convince someone of something that isn’t true. This bonus has no effect on other discipline powers. The humanity cap for these dice pools when interacting with mortals is considered to be their humanity + their dots in Lore of Cnuic na Sidhe while this power is active. Mortals around the Celebrochan tend to feel slightly elated when this power is in effect.
This power does not make it any more possible to convince someone of something they refuse to believe (i.e. the sky is green when it is in fact blue) but it makes convincing them of something false that they could possibly see as true much easier.
Action: reflexive
3) A duel of lies at midnight
(designer note: rip off of the theme of the faux path thaumaturgy path from vampire the masquerade. *tips my hat to it*)
“You’re not being completely honest with us… are you?” –sap number two
By looking into the eyes of the subject (though the subject need not meet the Celebrochan’s gaze or even realize the Celebrochan is looking into their eyes) the Celebrochan may taint the subject’s words mildly with the stuff of lies and anyone listening to them will likely believe that they are able to “see through the deception.” The Celebrochan may elect to use this power on themselves despite not being able to look themselves in the eye.
Cost: 1 vitae. This power may only be activated so long as the Celebrochan has recently fed from one of the fey.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Subterfuge + Lore of Cnuic na Sidhe – Resolve + BP
Action: Instant
Roll Results:
Dramatic failure: The subject are unaffected by this power and know that the Celebrochan tried to use some sort of mind trick on them.
Failure: The target is unaffected by this power.
Success: The target’s speech and posture change so that even if they are speaking what they believe to be the truth it comes out as though they are trying to be deceptive, hiding something, are guilty or in the very least trying to filibuster. This ability only affects one statement or topic in a conversation made by the target and they do not realize that they have spoken or acted any differently than they intended to.
Critical success: Instead of affecting one statement or topic the target seems to be generally deceptive, guilty, or corrupt for a scene.
4) Path of the familiar Labyrinth’s walking
(designer note: New effect.)
“Where the HELL are we!? We must have passed that sign five times already!”
– Someone really lost seeing a sign for the first time
This ability fills the victim with a sense of uncertainty as familiar landmarks and signs suddenly become alien and new. The victim of this power becomes unable to recognize signs and markings that would help them find their way and generally become lost despite their past familiarity to an area.
This ability has the additional useful effect against changelings and bars them from opening a gate into the hedge for the duration.
The Celebrochan must see the target to activate this power. Mortal victims often feel that they have been in a strange place once the power ends. This power is only effective at night and does not function between the first lightening of the sky that foretells the coming dawn and day’s last fallen ray of sun light.
Cost: 1 vitae. This power may only be activated so long as the Celebrochan has recently fed from one of the fey.
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Persuasion + Lore of Cnuic na Sidhe – Resolve + BP (against strongest) (circumstance dice examples; they would have been lost anyway +5, they ask for directions and are less than two blocks away -3.) (when used on ones self they often get a -5 penalty for being completely lost anyway.)
Action: extended
Roll Results:
Dramatic failure: The subjects are unaffected by this power and know that the Celebrochan tried to affect their mind.
Failure: The target is unaffected by this power.
Success: For the rest of the scene the victim becomes lost and may not find their way to their destination (so long as the entrance to their destination is not within line of sight). Any sense of familiarity they have will only miss lead them. They will miss-read street signs and miss-judge their orientation from landmarks. The victim remains lost until the end of the scene or until the Celebrochan releases them from the effects of the power. (one success is required per target). They may still be lost when the power ends but are no longer magically prevented from finding their way.
Critical success: As per success but anyone they stop and ask for directions becomes temporarily affected by the power and gives bad directions or none at all. With a Critical success up to 12 people may be held sway under the power.
5) Pact of the Heart’s desire rendering
(designer note: Instant effect similar to a Dominate 2 &4 effect and presence 3 effect. Does not have the lack of will problems of dominate 4, is not nearly as permanent or difficult to use as dominate 4. This ability should have a stronger effect than presence 3. Has additional addiction flavor text)
“Let’s make a deal!”
The fey are known to hold great treasure, but those looking for it often find themselves grasping straw instead of gold. This ability allows the Celebrochan trick the target into agreeing to a deal where the target will provide a service in exchange for their hearts desire.
The Celebrochan locks eyes with the subject and reaches into a place obscured and pulls out a handful of what seems to onlookers like fine golden powder. In the subject’s eyes the powder takes the shape of the object that they most crave. Often the significance of this object is very personal, such as a letter from the subjects dearly departed wife, etc.
The Celebrochan tells them what service they are willing to exchange for this object and the subject will do their best to do what they must to have it. The subject will perform any action requested by the character at this time so long as it doesn’t involve inflicting direct self harm. They feel like this “gift” can’t really be theirs until they complete the task for the Celebrochan. This ability may only be used if the Celebrochan can talk to the subject and be understood, combat is not an ideal place to make use of this power.
Once they have completed their task they forget what exactly was promised to them… only that they want it.
Cost: 1 Vitae and this ability may only be used if the character has recently fed on faery vitae
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Persuasion + Lore of Cnuic na Sidhe – ( the lower of the characters composure or resolve) + victim’s blood potency (victims with greed as a vice roll at -2) (any character who knows this power gains +5 dice to resist it’s effects when it is used on them.)
Action: Contested: resistance is reflexive
Roll results
Dramatic failure: The subject sees the deception for what it is, making them immune to the celebrochan’s “advances” until the next sunset.
Failure: The character looses or ties the contested roll and is unable to pull forth the object of the subject’s desires but still expends the vitae.
Success: The character wins the contested roll by getting the most successes, and the subject agrees to the trade and will immediately attempt to fulfill “their side of the bargain” to the best of their ability, rationalizing what they do as their own decision even if someone questions them in depth.
“Their side of the bargain” may be a single task or set of tasks. While performing these tasks the target receives a +1 to all resistance dice pools against any mind or emotion control effects other than those employed by the celebrochan per success above the target the Celebrochan scored. The target also receives a +1 to all physical die pools while under the effects of this power as they are going “all out” (this does not stack with the bonus’ of frenzy.)
This power lasts until the subject has fulfilled “their end of the bargain,” is destroyed, enters torpor, one month has passed or the celebrochan has been driven into torpor or destroyed. Impossible actions such as, “count all the stars in the sky.” automatically cause this power to fail. The subject must carry out “their end of the bargain” even if it involves acts contrary to their moral code. If in the course of “carrying out their end” they would violate their moral code they may choose to spend a will power dot to reroll to resist this power.
This power may never be used to cause someone to do direct harm to themselves, though it can be used to have someone carry out a near suicidal action, such as kill the man surrounded by body guards.
Exceptional Success: The character wins the contested roll with five or more successes. The subject forgets all about “the bargain” once they have completed their end of it.
Dramatic failure: Not only must the subject continue to carry out the command, they may not spend a willpower dot to reroll if carrying out their end of the bargain would be abhorrent to their moral code.
Failure: The victim must fulfill their end to the best of their ability.
Success: The victim refuses the deal and is unaffected by the power.
Exceptional Success: The victim sees the deal for the trap it is.
Devotions
The devotions of the Celebrochan come to them naturally once they meet the prerequisites. They do not need teachers.
Nose of the hunter’s hound
(designer note: Added as an additional resource to aid them in sating their addiction for fey blood.)
Auspex 1, Cnuic na Sidhe 1
Nose of the hunter’s hounds allows the kindred to smell glamour when they use their “See through to fey’s true seeming” ability. It gives them a +3 bonus when using heightened senses to track a creature with glamour by scent.
Cost: -
This power costs seven experience points to learn
Remembrance of man’s lost seeming
(designer note: Added because it as thematically similar to the changelings seeming and it enables them to better keep the element of surprise when hunting changelings)
Obfuscate 2, Lore of Cnuic na Sidhe 2
This power covers the kindred in an illusion of Mortality. Anyone inspecting the kindred finds all the signs of life they would expect of a mortal. Their heart seems to beet, they seem to have a pulse, their skin appears to be flushed, etc. This illusion does not otherwise change the nature of the kindred. They must still expend blood to stomach food, expend willpower to stabilize their reflection, etc.
Any supernatural ability used to try and determine if the character is anything other than human (including auspex 2) becomes contested through obfuscate normally per obfuscate two but against the supernatural scrutiny of a changeling or the fey they gain a dice pool bonus equal to their dots in Cnuic na Sidhe to conceal their vampiric nature. Abilities still reveal other information about the character but should the celebrochan win the roll their vampiric nature remains hidden.
The illusion lasts a scene.
Cost: 2 vitae and can only be used when the celebrochan has glamour in their system
This power costs fifteen experience points to learn.
Suggestions and comments are always welcome.
G. Turner = Author