Ambidextrous (1pt. Merit)
You have a high degree of off-hand dexterity, and you can perform tasks with the "wrong" hand at no penalty. You must use the rules for taking multiple actions, but you do not suffer a difficulty penalty if, say, you use two weapons or are forced to use your off hand.
Biscine (1pt. Merit)
You are unusually comfortable underwater and vastly prefer swimming to walking. You receive a -1 difficulty to all Physical dice pools related to underwater movement. This Merit is a particularly common among canal or harbor-dwelling broods of Nosferatu and the occasional aquatic Gangrel.
Bloat (1 to 5pt. Merit)
You can store more blood than your generation should allow. Every point invested in this Merit increases your maximum blood pool by one, although it does not increase the rate at which you can process or expend vitae. When you exceed your normal limits, your skin blushes red as though burned, or visibly bulges, giving you a grotesque visage (lose one die from all Appearance-based pools while in this state). Other Cainites (and beings with heightened senses) can smell the blood trying to squeeze past your pores with a successful Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 7). This can incite frenzy in hungry vampires.
Blood Connoisseur (3pt. Merit)
With a single whiff or tasted drop, you can learn much about a given sample of blood. Your refined palette can even detect the presence of foreign substances or taint. Whenever you analyze a sample, roll Perception + Alertness (difficulty 6). Each success allows you to glean one fact about the blood, such as its potency, freshness, species or whethr it has been poisoned or contaminated with disease. If multiple successes are spent learning a single fact, additional details may be unveiled at Storyteller discretion. Note that this Merit does not confer preternatural awareness like the Rego Vitae power A Taste for Blood. Characters who have never tasted arsenic or Lupine blood cannot recognize either - although they may discern such samples as poisoned or non-human. In no case may characters discern supernatural properties like clan or generation. As always, the Storyteller determines what information a character may learn.
Blush of Health (2pt. Merit)
You look more hale and healthy in appearance than other vampires, allowing you to blend with human society much more easily. You still retain the color of a living mortal, and your skin feels only slightly cool tot he touch. This Merit is unavailable to Cappadocians and Nosferatu.
Controlled Thirst (1pt. Merit)
Regular time spent among mortals has dulled the hungers of your palette. You reduce the difficulty of any frenzy roll involving the sight, scent or taste of blood by one. You cannot frenzy from sensing blood if your blood pool is full; conversely, you lose your normal difficulty reduction if your blood pool is less than a quarter full (rounded down).
Drunken Fighting (4pt Merit) (Shadow Crusades Custom)
The penalties which apply to characters under the effects of alcohol do not apply to you. On the contrary, you fight better when you've had a few. For every two "drinks" consumed by the character, add a shadow point to your Dexterity and Stamina for a maximum of +2. You may also add an additional Bruised Health Level to your chart and ignore wound penalties -1 or less severe. These beneficiary effects dissipate at the rate of one dot per hour. However, when your character is sober, he suffers the penalties drunk characters usually do (and more); With under two drinks in your system lower your Dexterity, Wits, Strength and Stamina by 1.
Eat Food (1pt. Merit)
You have the capacity to eat food and even savor its taste. While you cannot derive any nourishment from eating regular foods, this ability is useful for passing as mortal. Of course, you can't digest what you eat, and there will be some point during the evening when you must force yourself to heave it back up.
Efficient Digestion (3pt. Merit)
You are able to draw more than the usual amount of nourishment from blood. When feeding, you gain an additional point to your blood pool for every two points of blood you consume. This Merit does not allow you to exceed your blood pool maximum.
Feeding Tongue (1 to 6pt. Merit)
Your tongue extends to inhuman lengths as a bizarre instrument of feeding. It may be delicate and forked like a serpent's or a monstrous cartilaginous sipke, but the effect is the same. You can extend your tongue six inches per point invested in this Merit, and may drain blood or inflict aggravated damage without clinching your prey (as long as you are within range). Unlike traditional feeding, your tongue does not engender the pleasure of the Kiss. Such feeding is more like a giant mosquito pluging a dagger-sized needle into flesh and siphoning blood fast enough to collapse veins.
Foul Humors (3pt. Merit)
Your flesh and blood tastes bilious or outright putrescent. Anyone who bites or feeds from you must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 5 plus the number of health levels inflicted or blood points consumed). Those who fail spend the next turn choking, retching or gagging. Any fool who actually attempts to drink you dry (such as in preparation for diablerie) must make three consecutive Willpower rolls at difficulty 9 to succeed. If any of these checks fail, the feeding vampire spends the rest of the scene vomiting his entire blood pool in a fountain of tainted gore.
Hale (2pt. Merit) - Inquisitor Only
God has granted you a strong constitution, so you may better serve his cause. You are rarely in less than robust health and take ill infrequently. Subtract two from all difficulties to resist disease, whether natural or supernatural in nature.
Heart of Bone (1 to 5pt. Merit)
Your heart is protected by a sheath of leather cartilage or warped bone. For every point invested in this Merit, you gain one extra soak die to resist staking attempts or other attacks intended to pierce the heart. These soak dice do not protect against other forms of damage.
Huge Size (4pt. Merit)
You are abnormally large in size, at least six-foot-ten and 300 pounds in weight. Aside from making you extremely noticeable in public, this extra mass bestows an additional Bruised health level. Characters with this Merit may also gain bonuses to push objects, open barred doors, avoid being knocked down and so on.
Immune to Disease (2pt. Merit)
You are preternaturally resistant to disease and may freely gorge on infected blood without risk of becoming a carrier. Only magical diseases can afflict you, and you gain an extra die to resist these unnatural maladies. Few Cainites with such resistance are aware of their gift.
Long Fingers (1pt. Merit)
Your fingers are hideously long and spidery, perhaps with extra joints, or rubbery like the tentacles of a squid. You gain one extra die on all rolls involving fine coordination or grappling.
Mark of Pure Blood (2pt. Merit)
You have a physical mark that emerged during your Embrace, akin to a birthmark. This mark is part of your lineage and helps establish credibility as an heir to power and reputation of your sire's line. Players should work with the Storyteller to define the mark, whether it is a particular tint of the eyes, an actual discolor of the skin or something more exotic. All such marks are within the bounds of natural possibility and/or easily conceald, ensuring that mortals do not automatically suspect your undead nature. While this Merit has no system per se, you are more difficult to impersonate and your mark may carry status with vampires who know its significance.
Maw (2pt. Merit)
Unlike other vampires, you have a distended maw filled with jagged, knifelike fangs. Your bite inflicts an extra die of damage, and you may drain one extra blood point each turn when feeding. Unfortunately, your teeth are obviously inhuman and cannot retract. Unless you keep your mouth closed, you suffer +2 difficulty on all Social rolls not involving Intimidation.
Pain Resistant (2pt. Merit) - Inquisitor Only
The disciplines of faith, self-denial and mortification have granted you an unusual resistance to pain. Let Satan's spawn do their worst: The flesh matters not. All wound penalties are reduced by one (so at the Wounded health level your character loses one die, not two).
Patagia (4 or 7pt. Merit)
Leathery wings fold into your body like a bat or flying squirrel, hanging flaccidly like a tattered cloak when not in use unless hidden beneath bulky clothes. Although you cannot actually fly, you may glide for short distances at your normal walking speed with the aid of updrafts or strong winds. Characters with this Merit cannot have an Appearance rating greater than 2, and most suffer from the Monstrous Flaw. A few dedicated infernalists and seriously misshapen Gangrel occasionally manifest a more potent version of this Merit, conferring strong bat-like wings extending more than five yards from tip to tip. Characters with the seven-point version can fly at speeds of 20 miles per hour and perform aerial maneuvers with their Athletics, although they cannot carry objects heavier than half their own weight. Wings of this size can fold back like an elaborate cape, but they cannot be concealed without supernatural methods. Gargoyles cannot purchase any form of this Merit.
Retractable Wings (2pt. Merit)
A vampire with this Merit may take an action to extent or retract her wings. Retracted wings collapse and fold tightly against the body, allowing the character to move through tighter spaces and maneuver unencumbered. Only Gargoyles and other vampires with wings may purchase this Merit.
Supple Joints (1 or 3pt. Merit)
You are unusually lithe. For one point, you reduce the difficulty of all Dexterity rolls involving body flexibility by two (such as escaping restraints or contorting through tight spaces). For three points, you can bend most joints backward, dislocate others at will and perform feats of contortion impossible for a human body (such as turning your head to look straight back). You can escape most restraints and slither through small spaces automatically, although the Storyteller may require a roll for extreme feats.
Trained Scent (2pt. Merit)
You have an uncanny ability to smell blood that appeals to you or repulses you, even when it flows in the veins of your unsuspecting prey. This Merit only benefits Ventrue and other vampires with discerning hunger, such as through the Flaws Prey Exclusion or Selective Thirst. Sensing blood you feel strongly about requires a reflexive Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 6), and you must actually be close enough to breathe the target's scent - usually within three yards. Picking a single target out of a crowd may require a second Wits + Alertness roll at a difficulty determined by a Storyteller.
Unmarred Face (2 to 6pt. Merit)
Even if your body is a leprous husk of pustules or a monstrous chimera of fused animals, your face remains eerily pristine. So long as your face is the only part of you that is visible, your effective Appearance rating is one dot for every two points invested in the Merit. Nosferatu characters with this Merit suffer worsened deformities in other parts of their bodies, gaining at least one physical Flaw for which they gain no points (as well as the undying scorn of their clanmates). Obviously, this Merit is useless (and not permissible) to characters without serious full-body deformity of some kind.
Ability Aptitude (1pt. Merit)
You are particularly gifted with one Ability. Perhaps you are a poet of great renown or a master fleshcrafter. Within your specific Aptitude, reduce all difficulties by 2. Characters may purchase this Merit more than once, but Storytellers should feel free to veto any Ability selections that seem too powerful or unbalanced, especially for combat Abilities.
Artful Visionary (2pt. Merit)
You are a consummate artist at heart. You reduce the difficulty of any roll to create something new by 1. This can be actual Expression or Crafts rolls, or even the development of a new tactic or torture method… Conversely, you add +1 to the difficulty of any repetitive or menial task. You are ill suited to such labor - surely everyone should see that you are more important than mere drudgery.
Cathartic Fury (2pt. Merit)
Forced to play the part of the civilized monster, you find solace and strength in periodic outbursts of rage. At the conclusion of any frenzy, roll Courage (difficulty 5). Each success restores one point of Willpower, up to your usual maximum. Vampires with this Merit still suffer degeneration for their frenzy if such anger violates the tenents of their road.
Celestial Attunement (1pt. Merit)
You have an innate link to the passage of time and the movement of celestial bodies. You can estimate the time until sunrise or sunset within a minute or two, and you can follow the phases of the moon in your head. Those with some training in astrology and this Merit can even foretell certain astrological conjunctions without access to charts. You can accomplish any of these feats with only a minimum of concentration.
Common Sense (1pt. Merit)
You have a significant amount of practical, everyday wisdom. Whenever the charatcer is about to act in a way contrary to a common sense, the Storyteller can make suggestions or warnings about the implications of said action. This is a very useful Merit to give to beginning players who are unfamiliar with theg ame.
Concentration (1pt. Merit)
You have the ability to focus your mind and shut out any distractions or annoyances. Characters with this Merit are unaffected by any penalties stemming from distracting circumstances (e.g. loud noises, hanging upside down).
Eidetic Memory (2pt. Merit)
You remember what you see and hear with perfect detail. Documents, events and conversations, can be committed to memory with only minor concentration. Under stressful conditions involving numerous distractions, you must make a Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 6) to summon enough concentration to absorb what your senses detected.
Enlightened (5pt. Merit)
You have detached yourself from the War of Princes and taken the first step on the bitter journey to Golconda. The difficulty of the Virtue rolls is two less than nromal. Characters must ascribe to the Virtues of Cosncience and Self-Control and have a Road rating of 8 or higher to purchase or retain this Merit. If you ever fail to meet these conditions, you lose your way and the benefits of enlightenment. Storytellers should feel free to inflict automatic degeneration on characters who abuse this Merit.
Flock (3pt. Merit)
You feel strong ties of kinship with a specific community of mortals. The difficulty to resist frenzy is always two less than normal where your flock is cnocerned, enabling you to better withstand the lure of their blood and forgive their trespasses. If you do succumb to frenzy, you may spend one Willpower point to recognize members of their flock as friends. As long as these individuals stay out of your way and do not directly provoke you, you may ignore them for the duration of the rampage. This Merit is often coupled with the Prey Exclusion Flaw. Storytellers should feel free to disallow any communities deemed unbalancing or two inclusive.
Focused Rage (1pt. Merit)
You have partially transcended the blood fury of your clan by focusing your Beast's anger. Select one frenzy condition from the chart on page 265 of Dark Ages: Vampire… When faced with that provocation, you automatically frenzy. You do not suffer the usual difficulty increase to other frenzy conditions, however. The Storyteller must approve the selected condition. Only Brujah and other vampires who suffer a similar frenzy difficulty increase may purchase this Merit.
Iron Will (5pt. Merit)
Your mind is as a castle, daring intruders with towers of ego and walls of raw will. Any attempt to affect you with Dominate or otherwise magically tamper with your mind adds 2 to the usual difficulty. Characters must have a Willpower of 8+ to purchase or retain the benefits of this Merit.
Light Sleeper (2pt. Merit)
You can awaken instantly at any sign of trouble or danger, and you can do so without any sleepiness or hesitation. You may ignore rules regarding how Road rating restricts the number of dice available during the day.
Lion-Hearted (1pt. Merit)
In a moment of great crisis, you may call upon your honor and nobility to fortify your resolve. Once per story, you may spend a point of Willpower to substitute your Road rating for both your Self Control/Conviction and Courage for the scene. Characters who ascribe to roads that do not venerate heroism and valor may not purchase or retain this Merit, particularly those on the Road of Sin (although followers of the Via Adversarius may possess this Merit; see the Road of Sin for more information).
Meticulous Planner (2pt. Merit)
You are inhumanly through in your preparations, weighing contingencies and every course of action with cold, calculating precision. You may substitute Intelligence for Wits in any situation where your dedication may prevent you from being caught flat-footed or unprepared, and the Storyteller should occasionally give you advice as per the Common Sense merit.
Obsessive Savant (2pt. Merit)
You have a particular fixation that drives your existence, be it as esoteric as death or vampirism or as mundane as the tactics of chess. You must have one Specialty for an Ability (usually a Knowledge, though sometimes a Skill) that forms the core of your obsession. For rolls involving this specialty, you reduce the difficulty by three in addition to receiving the usual bonus die (minimum difficulty of 3). Your intensity discomforts those who do not share your obsession, adding +1 to the difficulty of most Social rolls with people who observe you indulging your hobby. Storyellers should feel free to veto any Obsessions that seem too powerful for their games.
Sanguine Lucidity (1pt. Merit)
In satiation you find sanity. Whenever your blood pool is completely full, you do not suffer the effects of any derangements. As a result, you often gorge in the futile hope that you can silence your inner demons forever. This Merit cannot suppress a Malkavian's core derangement, although it may alleviate additional madness. Sane characters may purchase this Merit, although they do not learn of their resistance unless they gain a derangement.
Well-Educated (3pt. Merit)
Either through monastic training or determined royal tutors, you are one of the lucky few to receive superlative tutelage in classics, natural sciences and theology… Whenever you attempt a task involving a Knowledge you do not possess, your player may still roll at +1 difficulty as if the required Ability was a Skill. Characters must have at least three dots of Academics to purchase this Merit.
Uncanny Logic (2pt. Merit) - Inquisitor Only
All inquisitors have to be able to separate truth from falsehood and right from wrong. You, however, have an uncanny reasoning ability that allows you to take apparently innocuous facts and ruthlessly reduce their true meaning. There is nothing supernatural in this: God has merely granted you an ordered an uncluttered mind that can work through trains of thought more fully than others can manage. All difficulties on rolls involving deduction decrease by two.
Unimpressed (5pt. Merit)
You have tight control over your emotions and a monstrous awareness of self. All rolls to affect you with Presence or otherwise magically tamper with your emotions add 2 to the difficulty. Only characters with Self-Control 4+ and Willpower 6+ may purchase or retain the benefits of this Merit.
Adopted Into Grace (1pt. Merit)
Despite her lineage, you have been accepted by local members of the High Clans as a noble, or at least worthy of respect. Unfortunately, your own clanmates see you as a pretentious toady. The difficulty of all Social rolls involving other Cainites, who know of your reputation increases or decreases by 1, depending on which class you are interacting with. Characters must have at least one dot of Status to purchase this Merit. The beneftis of this Merit only extend as far as the character's reputation - seldom more than a single city.
Alternate Identity (1 to 5pt. Merit)
You have established a false persona that stands up to scrutiny and investigation. The quality and detail of this face depends on the number of points invested in the Merit. For one point, your identity is new or intended for casual use only. At two points, it takes determined effort to reveal your ruse. For three points, your false name is known in several cities. At four points, your identity is widely known and respected. For five points, you can even deceive the most paranoid elders. Although the difficulty of any Investigation to determien your true identity equals your Alternate Identity rating +5, it is up to you to actively maintain your persona. Characters with more than one false face must purchase this Merit multiple times.
Crusader (1pt. Merit)
You once donned the crusader's cross and successfully returned from the Holy Land, having done your duty to God, and those around you know it. You may well have joined the forces of Richard the Lion-Hearted and Philip Augustus in the Third Crusade, those of Andrew of Hungary in the Fifth, or those of Emperor Frederick in the Sixth. This accomplishment gives you special standing and repute among those knights, lords and ladies who never made the journey to Outremer. Jongleurs may request that you share stories that they may turn into fanciful tales, and others may ask your opinion about events in the Latin Kingdoms or Iberia.
Debt of Gratitude (1 to 3pt. Merit)
An elder owes you gratitude because of something either you or your sire did for her. The depth of gratitude the elder owes depends on how many points the player wishes to spend. One point might mean that the elder owes the character a favor; three points might mean that she owes the character her unlife.
Evangelist (2pt. Merit) - Inquisitor Only
Your joy in your faith is a palpable thing that others can sense. Good Christian folk enjoy being in your company and often come away with their own belief renewed by conversation with you. You have a knack for remembering apt Biblical quotations that help people through their days. You receive a -2 to all Social difficulties when interacting with other God-fearing Christians.
Former Ghoul (3pt. Merit)
You spent a number of years as a ghoul prior to receiving the Embrace. As such, you have a better understanding of Cainite society and the powers of the Blood. The difficulty of all rolls to recall such information is 2 less than normal. In addition, you may purchase Potence with your starting Discipline dots, although it is not considered a Clan Discipline unless that is normally the case.
Former Magus (1pt. Merit or Flaw)
In life you were a mage, able to reshape creation with the force of your will. That power is lost to you now, replaced with the curse of Caine. Yet you have not sundered all ties to your former Fellowship. If this trait is a Merit, a few of your mystical associates still talk to you. They probably won't give you access to their libraries or let you into their sanctums, but they pass along information from time to time and exchange favors when it suits them. If this trait is a Flaw, your former associates view you as a liability. They might not actively hunt you (unless you also take the Enemy flaw), but they regard you as a monster and traitor and treat you accordingly. This trait is extremely rare outside Clan Tremere.
Harmless (1pt. Merit)
You are well known to the Cainites of your city as ineffectual and useless. While this estimation may seem insulting, it also keeps you safe. No one considers you a threat, and so no one feels the need to dispose of you. If you start acting in a way that demonstrates you are competant and no longer harmless, others' reactions to you will swiftly change.
Initiate (3pt. Merit or Flaw) - Inquisitor Only
You have agreed to take on a young inquisitor as your student. He does not have any Blessings yet, but he is showing a fine aptitude for the business of inquisition and a firm resolution in the face of the enemy. This is a heavy burden, though, for you are responsible for this child's soul as well as his life. If Initiate is taken as a Merit, the student is intelligent, faithful, and diligent in his studies and prayer. He will fight for you only in the most extreme circumstances, but willingly does research or runs errands for you when called upon to do so. He may well yet be blessed by the Lord (the Storyteller decides when this happens - if it does - based on how much time you spend training him and the experience he has). If taken as a Flaw, the Initiate is a problem who hinders your work. He is incompetent, lazy, petuland and he lacks dedication to his faith. Your superiors are reluctant to let him leave your service, for he already knows too much about the shadow Inquisition, so you have to do your best to whip him into some useful shape. However, he can be a danger and a liability to the safety of your chapter. In either case, the Initiate requires training and spiritual guidance. The Storyteller should take care to ensure that the character is not reaping the benefits of the Initiate without giving the appropriate teaching.
Master of Protocol (1pt. Merit)
Your sire or another mentor has laboriously tutored you in most forms of etiquette, even customs outside your own culture and time. You likely know the proper greeting for a Roman senator or the appropriate bow for a caliph as easily as the titles of address within your own kingdom. As such, you may learn as many Etiquette specialties as your Intelligence + Etiquette, and you receive a –1 difficulty to any Etiquette roll involving those specialties.
Network (1 to 5pt. Merit)
You have an impressive web of contacts and agents that extends beyond a single city. Better still, they serve you skillfully and subtly beneath the notice of the High Clans, making you far more formidable than you appear. Your Network reaches one extra city per point invested in this Merit. Upon arriving anywhere in the bounds of your Network, you gain access to your full rating in Allies, Contacts, Herd and Retainers at the rate of one dot per night (although obviously any Retainers thus gained are not initially ghouls, whether or not the Retainers in your home city are). You may also communicate with agents in other cities via correspondence, although they can only serve the role of Contacts. This Merit is most common among Followers of Set and Nosferatu.
Prestigious Sire (1pt. Merit)
Your sire has or had great status in her court or clan, and this has accorded you a certain amount of prestige. Although your sire may no longer have any dealings with you, the simple fact of your ancestry has marked you forever. The prestige might aid you greatly in dealings with your elders or other neonates, or it might engender jealousy or contempt.
Pretender to the Blood (1pt. Merit)
You have successfully passed yourself off as a member of the High Clans, at last locally. As such, you receive acceptance from the aristocracy and suffer none of the stigma associated with your actual ancestry. You can expect terrible retribution if your ruse is discovered.
Religious Heritage (1pt. Merit or Flaw) - Inquisitor Only
When taken as a merit, Religious Heritage indicates your family has a history of dedicated service in the Church, with many of your relatives gaining prominant positions through the years. That reputation works to your benefit as well. If taken as a Flaw, however, your family has a dark reputation as heretics, demon thralls or pagans, a problem that taints your name. You receive a -2 to Social difficulties when interacting with members of the Church or anyone else who would be impressed by your lineage (if Religious Heritage is a Merit), or a +2 difficulty on such rolls (if a Flaw). House Murnau characters may not take this Trait.
Scarred (1pt. Merit)
Whether a result of battle wounds or religious practices, your body is heavily adorned with scars. These scars do not interfere with your movement or sensation, nor are they ugly enough to reduce your Appearance. However, anyone who beholds you recognizes you as someone intimately familiar with pain and violence. You reduce the difficulties of all Intimidation rolls by two. As a rule, town drunks are less inclined to quarrel with you and most individuals will assume you know how to fight (whether or not you actually do). This Merit can also reflect branding, tattooing or other rarer markings at Storyteller discretion.
Secrets (1 to 5pt. Merit)
You know something important — probably something you shouldn’t know. You may use this secret for blackmail or simply file it away for use in some future night. The rating of this Merit determines the importance and detail of this secret. A one-point Secret may be the confirmed existence of a spy from a rival vampire court (without knowing the spy’s identity). Five points means you know the spy is none other than the prince himself, or rather, a fleshcrafted doppelganger created by the Tzimisce to destabilize the court in preparation for their invasion. The player should work with the Storyteller to determine the secret, or simply trust the Storyteller to select a secret appropriate to the story. As always, the Storyteller should feel free to disallow secrets that are not appropriate to his games. Note that this Merit can also reflect clan Secrets, such as the resting place of a torpid elder or a particular koldunic ritual known to a select bloodline.
Unbroken Lineage (1 or 2pt. Merit)
You can perfectly recite your lineage back to your Antediluvian progenitor. If this Merit is worth only one point, noble Cainites accept your recitation and treat you more favorably as a true keeper of the Traditions. If this Merit is worth two points, your bloodline has sufficient prestige to warrant an extra dot of Status that remains as long as none of your direct ancestors rejects you. Even if you err and lose face, you always have at least one dot of Status from your birthright.
Well-Known (Variable Cost Merit)
Word of your exploits and lineage has spread through the society of the Damned. As a result, your Status applies in a number of additional cities equal to the points invested in this Merit. Should you fail in some task or lose favor with your Prince, however, word of that disgrace will spread just as quickly. Fame is ever fickle. Characters must have at least one dot of Status to purchase this Merit.
Abomination (4pt. Merit)
You radiate palpable, monstrous horror. Mortals with a Willpower rating of 3 or less (i.e. most individuals) who behold you run screaming or curl up and sob in abject terror. In addition, their fragile minds cannot cope with such fear and quickly repress all memories of the encounter. Mortals with Willpower ratings between 3 and 7 can hold their ground and interact with you, but suffer a penalty of one die on all actions. Those rare individuals with a Willpower rating of 8 or more are severely discomforted by your presence, but may act normally. You cannot turn off your aura of fear, and it has no effect on supernatural beings, including ghouls. Lupines and their kin, and mages (although the aura affects the Blessed normally). Only vampires whose bodies are unnaturally twisted as a result of their clan or Flaws may purchase this Merit.
Animal Affinity (2pt. Merit)
You feel ties of kinship with a particular animal species. Such creature are not discomforted by your presence and generally like you (-1 difficulty to all pertinent Animal Ken rolls). In addition, Gangrel characters with this Merit only gain animal features associated with their "totem" animal.
Arcane (1 to 5pt. Merit)
You are mystically unknowable, shrouded from notice and record by the vagaries of circumstance and disinterest. Those who see you seldom care enough to remember you later. For every point invested in this Merit, subtract one die from any dice pool used to search for you actively (typically Perception and/or Investigation). Being anonymous isn’t the same as being invisible, however, and Arcane does not aid in Stealth rolls or other active attempts to hide. Characters with Influence or Status may not purchase Arcane or vice versa, and Arcane can also prove a detriment to other Backgrounds. Mentors may well lose interest in an Arcane pupil, for example. This Merit is less common among the status-conscience members of the High Clans than among the Low, though a disproportionate number of True Brujah possess it (which leads some to wonder how many Sages truly exist). It is thought that meddling with time can make time itself forget the meddler.
Arcane Resistance (2, 4 or 5pt. Merit)
You have an inherent resistance to the rituals of one or more forms of magical rituals and practices, such as those used by the Tremere, Assamite sorcerers, Cappadocians or living wizards. For two points you are resistant to a single form of magical practice (Assamite Sorcery, Koldunic Sorcery, Mortis, Setite Sorcery, Thaumaturgy or any one school of mortal magics). For four points, you are resistant to all magics of either the undying or mortal mages. For five points, you are resistant to them all. In any case, the difficulty of any appropriate magic directed at you, both malicious and beneficient, is two higher. This deals only with magics aimed specifically at you - a Mortis-born corpse-knight can still strike at you at no penalty, for example. Regardless of the nature of the resistance you take, you may never learn any form of magic (be it Thaumaturgy, Mortis or another).
Blazing Demise (1pt. Merit)
If you suffer Final Death, your body will instantly erupt into consuming fire. This spontaneous combustion sets flammable objects alight and inflicts three dice of aggravated damage on anything within a foot of your demise. As a result, you leave no evidence for witch hunters and may enact petty vengeance on your murderer from beyond the grave.
Discipline Prodigy (5pt. Merit)
You are especially skilled in the use of one of your clan Disciplines. The difficulty to use any level of this Discipline is reduced by 1, although this Merit can never reduce the difficulty of any roll below 4. Characters may purchase this Merit only once and gain no benefit when using Discipline techniques. Prodigies of Koldunic Sorcery or other forms of blood sorcery reduce the difficulty of all paths and rituals. Prodigies of Obtenebration also find Abyss rituals easier.
Gifts of the Beast (Variable Cost Merit)
Your Beast has a terrible awareness and power all its own that emerges when its wrath or fear overtakes you. You may select additional Traits that manifest only during frenzy or Rötschreck, as approved by the Storyteller. Such Beast Traits cost two fewer bonus points than normal, to a minimum cost of 1, and must be instinctive or physical in nature. In the case of Disciplines, only physical Disciplines are permitted (Celerity, Fortitude or Potence), even if they are not normally associated with your clan. Beast Traits are cumulative with normal traits, although they cannot exceed generational limits. Additional Beast Traits may not be gained or increased with experience. For example, the Toreador Justinius is normally quiet and reserved. When his slumbering Beast awakens, however, its speed and killing prowess possess him. He gains an additional dot of Celerity and Dexterity and three dots of Brawl. The total cost of the Merit is 10 bonus points (7 – 2 for the Celerity, 5 – 2 for the Dexterity, and 2 – 2, minimum 1 for each dot of Brawl).
Guardian Angel (6pt. Merit)
Some supernatural force watches over you and protects you from harm. You have no idea who or what it is or why it watches over you - in fact, you may not even know your guardian exists at all. However, in times of great need, peculiar circumstances defend you from harm. You have no control over this Merit and your protector cannot save you from your own recklessness. The Storyteller should decide why you are being watched and by what, keeping in mind your road and background. An actual angel is unlikely to intervene on behalf of an adherent to the Road of Sin, although a devilish thaumaturge might well have a demon or other malevolent entity looking out for him.
Hidden Amaranth (3pt. Merit)
Should you commit the foul sin of Amaranth, your halo will not betray your crime. This Merit cannot shroud a diablerist's aura of unease, nor can it protect against the divinations of blood sorcery. Assamites of the warrior caste cannot take this Merit.
Holy Art Natural (5pt. Merit) - Inquisitor Only
One of the paths of the Holy Art comes very easily to you. For some reason, the Lord has blessed you with a particular aptitude, so that you may serve him better. Whatever the cause, the experience cost for your chosen path is (current rating x4). You need not begin with any dots in your chosen art; if you choose not to, the cost to buy the first dot is 8 experience points.
Holy Aura (2pt. Merit) - Inquisitor Only
God's touch upon you has an odd effect on the people are you. They sense that there is something different about you. The religious are drawn to you, and the criminal or heretical tend to avoid you instinctively. However, everybody finds it hard to lie to you or hide his true nature from you. All difficulties on rolls to lie to you or conceal something from you are increase by 2.
Inoffensive to Animals (1 or 2pt. Merit)
Unlike most Cainites, you do not cause hostile or even unsettled reactions in animals you encounter. Instead, the animals simply treat you like an ordinary human. For one point, you can avoid upsetting a particular species. For two points, you can be inoffensive to all ordinary creatures (though those that are renowned for their affinity to the supernatural, such as black cats or owls, might still react unusually to your presence, at the Storyteller's discretion).
Lucky (3pt. Merit)
You were born lucky - or else the Devil looks after his own. Either way, you may repeat any three failed rolls per story, including botches, but you may try only once per failed roll.
Medium (2pt. Merit)
You possess the natural affinity to sense and hear spirits, ghosts and shades. Although you cannot see them, you can sense them, speak to them and, through pleading or cajoling, draw them to your presence. You may call upon them for aid or advice, but there will always be a price.
Nine Lives (6pt. Merit)
Fate has granted you the opportunity to come as close to Final Death as anyone can get and still survive. When a roll occurs that would result in your death, the roll is made again. If the next roll succeeds, then you live - and one of your nine lives is used up. If that subsequent roll fails, then another reroll is made, until either a successful roll occurs or your nine lives are used up. The Storyteller should keep careful count of how many lives the character has remaining.
Oracular Ability (3pt. Merit)
You can see and interpret signs and omens. You are able to draw advice from these omens, for they provide hints of the future and warnings of the present. When the Storyteller feels that you are in position to see an omen, you will be required to make a Perception + Occult roll, with the difficulty relative to how well the omen is concealed. If successful, you may then roll Intelligence + Occult to interpret what you have seen, the difficulty again relative to the complexity of the omen.
Personal Aura (2pt. Merit)
You do not project the aura associated with your road. Instead, your aura reflects some deeper aspect of your Nature or personality. You may choose the aura associated with any road or design your own (subject to Storyteller approval), calculating your aura modifier according to your permanent Willpower.
Promethean Clay (5pt. Merit)
Your flesh ripples and molds itself to your preternatural will, almost before you consciously invoke the change. The difficulty to use any Vicissitude power on you is 2 less than normal, and you may activate Vicissitude powers reflexively at your full dice pool while taking other actions. Powers that require multiple turns to activate still require the usual duration — the change simply occurs without conscious direction. As a final benefit, you need no physical sculpting to use the first three levels of Vicissitude on yourself, as your flesh undulates and extrudes to its desired shape. Only characters with at least one dot of Vicissitude may purchase this Merit.
Pure (5pt. Merit) - Inquisitor Only
Most inquisitors begin play with an Acolyte level Curse. You, however, do not - either you have atoned for your sins sufficiently to negate the need for divine retribution, or you simply lead such a blameless life that no contrition is necessary. Whatever the case, you begin with an order Endowment but no curse. Obviously, this Merit is not available to characters beginning with their order benefit and drawback in lieu of an Endowment.
Pure Blood (5pt. Merit)
The Curse of Caine runs strongly in your veins. You may spend one more blood point per turn than your generation should permit. You look especially pale and drawn under Soulsight and yet oddly flushed with abundant health.
Sanctifying Kiss (2pt. Merit)
Your lips have a particular crimson luster like roses or fine wine. Whenever you kiss someone, you leave traces of sweet vitae behind. This secretion is not sufficient to create a ghoul or sire progeny, although you may surreptitiously administer the blood oath if you kiss on the mouth or touch your lips to an open cut. It requires a Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 8) to notice the slight taste of your blood.
Sleep Unseen (2pt. Merit)
By spending a blood point, you can unconsciously maintain your Obfuscate Discipline during the day. Observers will ignore your sleeping form according to the power used, making you all but undetectable to mortals and vampires without Auspex. Characters without Obfuscate may purchase this Merit, representing an innate capacity that manifests if they ever learn the Discipline.
Spirit Mentor (3pt. Merit)
You have a ghostly companion and guide. The identity and exact powers of this spirit are up to the Storyteller, but it can be called upon in difficult situations for help and guidance.
Sweet Blood (1pt. Merit)
Your vitae tastes like the finest wine, sweet and heady without the slightest trace of salt or metallic tang. As such, you may hide your blood in a chalice or feed ghouls without betraying the true nature of their draught.
True Love (4pt. Merit)
Like a character from a troubador's song, you have discovered, perhaps too late, a true love. He or she is mortal, but is the center of your existance and inspires you to keep going in an age of darkness and despair. Whenever you suffer, the thought of your true love gives you the strength to persevere. This Merit grants you one automatic success on all Willpower rolls, which can be negated only by a botch die. This can be a great gift and also a hindrance, for your true love may require protection and occainally rescue.
Unbondable (3pt. Merit)
You are immune to the blood oath. Dominate, Presence and other forms of influence affect you just like any other vampire, however. Tremere may not take this Merit.