Discipline

Discipline

Disciplines are the inborn powers of a vampire's vitae, giving them the ability to wield supernatural skills in their nightly hunts for sustenance. There are a wide range of disciplines covering everything from increased physical skills to mind control to literal flight, and any given vampire, even the most ancient among them, is likely to know the secrets of only a few.

All vampires are Embraced with at least three disciplines that they can learn and use to thrive, though they must put in effort in order to do so. Vampires can also learn the disciplines of others by being taught by someone who is already skilled; however, since doing so often requires the ingestion of another vampire's blood, and since vampires are notoriously paranoid and jealous of their powers, it is a difficult process and many young vampires simply do not make the attempt. Disciplines can also be "stolen" via diablerie, although this is usually not viable since the act is considered a heinous crime throughout most of vampire society.

A few vampires also gain access to blood sorcery instead of or alongside their disciplines; these powers often function a lot like disciplines, but require extensive ritual and preparation that keep them confined only to a relatively small number of practitioners.

Disciplines below are sorted by rarity and play status.

Common Disciplines

Common disciplines are those that are available to the vast majority of vampires. Most major clans specialize mostly or even only in common disciplines, and vampires are able to learn common disciplines easily, often requiring nothing more than another vampire who is already skilled to teach them the ins and outs of their powers.

Common disciplines include the ability to commune with and manipulate animals, see and hear beyond mortal limits, give orders that others are incapable of disobeying, hide or even vanish into thin air, become magnetic and alluring to entice their prey, or gain physical speed, strength, and durability far beyond that of even other vampires.

All common disciplines are Open for new characters.

Animalism	Auspex	Celerity	Dominate	Fortitude	Obfuscate	Potence	Presence

Uncommon Disciplines

Uncommon disciplines are slightly more unusual powers that are nevertheless fairly well-known and used throughout the world. Most vampires probably don't have access to them, but have heard about them and know something about what they do. Uncommon disciplines are most often wielded by bloodlines, but there are more than a few clans whose specialized powers are considered uncommon simply because they seldom demonstrate them anywhere.

Uncommon disciplines include the ability to drive others mad, create nightmares and hallucinations, manipulate shadows and darkness, perform feats of impressive shapeshifting, commute materials into different substances, stealthily target enemies without being seen even by the supernatural, and reshape and reorganize the user's very body.

All uncommon disciplines are provisionally Open for new characters, with the understanding that they may need approval based on a given character's circumstances.

Alchemy	Dementation	Nightmare	Obtenebration	Protean	Quietus	Serpentis	Vicissitude

Rare Disciplines

Rare disciplines are not only unavailable to most vampires but also begin to verge into being mostly known through rumor and stories. These disciplines almost always belong to either small bloodlines or isolated or disenfranchised clans, and other vampires are lucky to see one in action once or twice in their lives, let alone being able to accurately guess what it is or how it works. Rare disciplines are highly coveted, especially by elders, and thoser who can wield them are often sought as curiosities or artists-in-residence to the greater powers among the Camarilla and Sabbat.

Rare disciplines include the ability to work with and subdue the Beast, shapeshift into prehistoric creatures, wield illusions and reorganize reality, suck sustenance out of unusual parts of a mortal, fly as easily as walking, turn aside the spells of blood sorcery, create intense effects with the voice, heal wounds and protect the wielder from assault, chain mortal minds permanently to a vampire, meld with the landscape in order to better protect it, and even more strange and unpredictable powers.

All rare disciplines are Restricted for players; it's possible to get access to these powers, but unlikely without an extremely good backstory reason.

Abombwe	Caiman	Chimerstry	Chinamasqua	Continence	Countermagic

Flight	Melpominee	Mengilai	Mismiña	Obeah	Ocelotl	Praestantia
Pukllana	Succubism	Tezcatl	Valeren	Visceratika	Xuhuan	Yvate

Legendary Disciplines

Legendary disciplines are so vanishingly rare that they may have only a handful of practitioners on the planet at any given time. Most vampires have never even heard of them, let alone had the opportunity to see them in action, and it can be difficult even for those who have to separate fact from folklore. Most legendary disciplines are possessed by vampires with a vested interest in keeping them as a secret, whether due to persecution or because their use inspires fear and loathing in others..

Legendary disciplines include the ability to transcend the Beast entirely, travel so instantly it nears teleportation, call upon demons for power and favors, curse others, become one with the native spirits of the landscape, transform into a denizen of the deep sea, rip open portals to other dimensions, brave the sun without being burned, meld multiple vampires together into unholy monstrosities, or even resurrect the truly dead.

All legendary disciplines are Closed to new characters.

Ayalal	Bardo	Bhumisparsa	Carrefour	Daimonion	Deimos	Embrocation
Getsumei	Hypnagogia	Kai	Kamen	Kingjan	Maleficia	Mytherceria
Nahdad	Nburu	Nepenthe	Nereos	Nihilistics	Omaxac	Pukamani

Combination Disciplines

Combination disciplines are highly specialized powers created by using two different disciplines simultaneously, creating a new effect that neither could have achieved alone. Unlike normal disciplines, they are typically only a single power with very specific requirements rather than a set of related powers. They require a long period of time to be designed and developed, and most are created among the members of a specific clan, all of whom can be assumed to use roughly the same disciplines and have similar interests.

Combination disciplines are difficult to learn and even those who have the required disciplines separately are unlikely to learn any. All combination disciplines are Restricted for characters and must be approved by the Admin.

See Also

Blood Sorcery
Combination Disciplines
Rituals