Valeren

According to the Salubri antitribu, Valeren is a forgotten Discipline unearthed in their research into their progenitor's history. While the mainstream Salubri practice a healing Discipline, the antitribu instead follow the warrior's path, dedicating themselves to one of the many faces of their inscrutable father. Valeren is a Discipline of righteous wrath, originally developed by the demon-slayers and questing knights of the Salubri from nights long past. It shares a bit in common with the Obeah Discipline upheld by the Salubri, but it quickly diverges into its own focus and ideology. Salubri antitribu walk the road of the crusader, and they refuse to become soul-stealers or sacrificial lambs. Like Obeah, Valeren imparts its practitioners with the fabled third eye of Saulot. The third eye appears at the time the vampire masters the second level of Valeren. The precise nature of the eye, as well as its purpose, are all but unknown to vampires outside the Salubri antitribu. Some suspect the eye grants them sight beyond sight, while others venture that the eye allows them to see the infernal taint in the non-Sabbat Salubri themselves. Note: Not currently available to PCs. * Sense Vitality The vampire can feel the flow of a subject's life force after touching him. Sense Vitality may be used to determine how much damage a person can withstand before death, which can be useful in sizing up a potential opponent. It can also aid in medical diagnosis or feeding, as it can reveal infections and diseases. System: The Salubri antitribu must touch the target to see how close to death she is. This action also requires a Perception + Empathy roll (difficulty 7). One success on this roll identifies a subject as a mortal, vampire, ghoul or other creature (or none of the above). Two successes reveal how much damage the subject has suffered. Three successes tell how full the subject's blood pool is (if a vampire) or how many blood points she has left in her system (if a mortal or other blood-bearing form of life). Four successes reveal any diseases in the subject's bloodstream, such as hemophilia or HIV. A player may opt to learn the information yielded by a lesser degree of success - for example, a player who accumulates three successes may learn whether or not a subject is a vampire as well as the contents of his blood pool. Alternately, this power may be used as a sort of limited 'aftersight,' revealing to the Cainite how the subject came to be in her current state. Each success on this roll allows the player to ask the Storyteller one question about the subject's health or health levels. 'Was he drugged?' or, 'Are his wounds aggravated?' are valid questions, but, 'Did vampires do this?' or, 'What did the Lupine who killed him look like?' are not. The Salubri antitribu may use this power on herself if she has injuries but has somehow lost the memory of how she received the wounds. ** Anesthetic Touch This power may be used to block a voluntary subject's pain from wounds or disease, or to put a mortal to sleep. As with Sense Vitality, physical contact is required to anaesthetize someone. This power may not be used to block the Cainite's own pain. System: If the subject is willing to undergo this process, the player needs to spend a blood point to block the subject's pain and make a Willpower roll (difficulty 6). This power allows the subject to ignore all wound penalties for one turn per success. A second application of this power may be made once the first one has expired, at the cost of another blood point and another Willpower roll. If the subject is unwilling for some reason, the player must make a contested Willpower roll against the subject (difficulty 8). To put a mortal to sleep, the same system applies. The mortal sleeps for five to 10 hours-whatever his normal sleep cycle is - and regains one temporary Willpower point on awakening. He sleeps peacefully and does not suffer nightmares or the effects of any derangements while asleep. He may be awakened normally (or violently). Cainites are unaffected by this power - their corpselike bodies are too tied to death. *** Burning Touch The vampire touches his subject, shocking her with a searing pain. This power causes no actual damage to the subject, though prolonged exposure to this unnatural pain sometimes leaves victims traumatized. The Salubri antitribu use this power to extract information from their enemies, and also sometimes to cause additional pain to those who have hunted and persecuted them before delivering true Final Death. System: The vampire must touch his subject for this power to take effect, and the effects diminish rapidly after he removes his hand. Also, the player spends at least one blood point to activate this power. Each blood point so spent reduces the victim's dice pools by two. This power is often used in conjunction with Interrogation and Torture, wearing down the subject's resistance and rendering him much more tractable. Clarification: The effect lasts only for as long as the target is touched. **** Ending the Watch The watch referred to in this power's name is the death watch. An ancient tale unearthed by the Salubri antitribu refers to two Salubri who prowled the streets of Caine's Second City, granting merciful release to those who suffered and rotted in the streets. If a person truly wished to die because of great grief or unbearable illness, these Salubri would bestow the gift of death. Particularly revered by the street urchins, the 'Death Angels' were seen as truly divine entities by those who sought their solace. In modern nights, the Salubri antitribu use this power frequently, as many nihilistic and desperate individuals seek any escape they can from the bleakness of the Final Nights. System: To End the Watch, the vampire places his hand over the subject's heart, and the player spends a Willpower point. The subject must be willing to end his life; if she struggles or harbors a spark of hope, this power fails. Otherwise, the subject's heart slowly ceases to beat, and death comes like an eternal sleep, restful and painless. Subjects of Ending the Watch may not be subsequently Embraced, and none has ever been reported to have become a wraith. ***** Vengeance of Samiel By invoking the names of mighty Salubri warriors of nights past, the Salubri antitribu strikes his foe with inhuman force and accuracy. This power causes the third eye to open and glow with a baleful redness. Some Salubri antitribu who use this power close their normal eyes, signifying their disdain for their foes and horrifying them at the same time. System: This power costs three blood points. Any single attack made by the vampire automatically hits the target as mystic forces guide the blow. Attacks made in this manner may not be dodged, though they may be blocked, parried and soaked as normal. The blow strikes as if the Salubri antitribu had succeeded with all of his Dexterity + Melee or Brawling dice pool. This power may be used only once per turn, and only when the Salubri antitribu's sole action is the attack. Additionally, this power does not work for ranged weapons, only bare hands or melee weapons.