Auspex allows Kindred to tap into secret senses undreamt of by mortals, perceiving and interacting with realms hidden to all others. Whether it's subtle emotional maneuvering, supernatural powers, or realms beyond normal mortal ken, a Kindred with Auspex may be able to see into their secrets and take that information with them. Some vampires with Auspex are venerated as wise seers, while others might be thought of as distracted dreamers or ranting lunatics, but all of them know and see more than anyone else could hope to do. Auspex is found most commonly in the Malkavian, Toreador, Tremere and Tzimisce clans.

Basic Powers

Ancestors' Vigilance: You may perceive ghosts and Wraiths in your vicinity for the remainder of the scene, should there be any nearby. This does not necessarily make them friendly or inclined to talk to you, although less aggressive spirits may be curious about a corporeal being that can perceive and speak to them.

Heightened Senses: You may elevate one sense of your choice to superhuman heights; doing so might allow you to hear sounds normally beyond human range, see colors and spectrums hidden from mortal eyes, follow a scent trail that would be lost to most, or raise a touch sensation to exquisite heights. The sense remains heightened for the rest of the scene, although you may turn it off early (which you may need to do if especially overpowering stimuli begin to cause sensory overload).

Aura Perception: You may perceive the aura of one living being near you for the rest of the scene, learning secret information that even they may not be aware of. Kindred and Garou are easily distinguishable from mortals due to their differing auras, and you may read their emotional state, including whether or not they are currently lying about something, in the colors of their aura. Any Kindred who has committed diablerie will also be visible by way of black veins in their aura, and any magical being (such as a fairy or magical construct) will light up in your second sight as well.

Intermediate Powers

Artist's Intent: By examining a piece of art or a performance, you may learn the emotional state of the artists when they created it, and discover any specific intentions they had in doing so. This does not give you any information about the artist's current whereabouts or thoughts, only those that were present when they were working on their masterpiece.

Spirit Ties: You may learn information about a corporeal being by touching some of their body - skin cells, hair, bodily fluids, or anything else you can come into contact with. You may learn the state of their health, their general location, how well-fed they are if they are Kindred, and what their species or supernatural type is.

The Spirit's Touch: By touching an object, you may see brief flashes of the most emotionally-laden events that have occurred around it over the course of its existence, potentially seeing its involvement in events that you otherwise could not know about. This does not necessarily give you information about the scenes you want it to if there are other more important ones in the object's history, and once you have read an item's history, you may not do so for the same object again.

Telepathy: You may eavesdrop on another person's thoughts, "hearing" anything that they think on an idle surface level. If you are stronger of mind than they are, you may also seek out certain information that they know, or replay their memories and watch them like a movie. You may not directly communicate with them with any accuracy, although they may feel vague thoughts or emotions from you; those who also have this power may recognize that you are in their minds, and attempt to shut you out if they do. You may not view any situations through your target's perceptions, so while their surface thoughts may tell you what they're doing, they also may only contain obscure clues.

Advanced Powers

Psychic Projection: You may leave your body and travel as a spirit to any place you have been before at the speed of thought, perceiving all events at that location in real-time. You may remain in this state as long as you wish, but while you do your body is unconscious and vulnerable wherever it has been left, and you can perceive nothing happening there in any way (unless you place your projection there, of course). If your body is killed while you are not in it, your spirit may remain free to wander, but it is unlikely that it will survive long, especially since the world of the Wraiths will begin to exert pressure to pull it into the shadows forever.

Spirit Travel: You may leave your body in order to explore other spiritual worlds, including the Umbra, the Spirit Wilds, and the Astral Planes. Doing so leaves your body vulnerable as in the Psychic Projection power, and while you may be able to learn incredible knowledge in such far realms from humanity, there are also strange, incomprehensible dwellers on these planes that make venturing too far into them perilous in the extreme.

Elder Powers

Elder Kindred with Auspex can delve into hidden realms beyond imagining, and have powers that might include eavesdropping supernaturally on faraway locations, seeing the auras of entire groups of people, predicting the actions of others before they take them, or being aware of events even while in Torpor.

Important Things to Keep in Mind

Auspex only provides information, not action, and cannot be used to force anyone to do anything (outside of good old-fashioned blackmail, of course). Information gleaned from Auspex is often biased based on from whom it was taken and what they were thinking or feeling at the time, so although it can provide important information, it is not always fully reliable and can also feed a Kindred misinformation.