Table of Contents

Dementation is the Discipline that allows a vampire to focus and channel madness into the minds of those around him. Though it’s the natural legacy of the Malkavians, practitioners of Dementation need not actually be mad to use the Discipline… but it helps.

Disturbingly, Dementation doesn’t actually make their victims mad, but rather it seems to break down the doors to the hidden darkness of the target’s mind, releasing into the open whatever is found there. The Malkavians claim that this is because insanity is the next logical step in mental evolution, a transhumanist advancement of what modern people consider consciousness. Other Kindred scoff that this reasoning is an outright justification for the chaos that Dementation brings. They don’t scoff too loudly, however, lest the Malkavian advance their consciousness next.

The vampire stirs his victim’s emotions, either heightening them to a fevered pitch or blunting them until the target is completely desensitized. The Cainite may not choose which emotion is affected; she may only amplify or dull emotions already present in the target. In this way, a vampire can inflame mild irritation into quivering rage or atrophy true love into casual interest. The character talks to her victim, and the vampire’s player rolls Charisma + Empathy (difficulty equals the victim’s Humanity or Path rating). The number of successes determines the duration of the altered state of feeling. Effects of this power might include one- or two-point additions or subtractions to difficulties of frenzy rolls, Virtue rolls, rolls to resist Presence powers, etc.

1 success — One turn
2 successes — One hour
3 successes — One night
4 successes — One week
5 successes — One month
6+ successes — Three months

The vampire manipulates the sensory centers of his victim’s brain, flooding the victim’s senses with visions, sounds, scents, or feelings that aren’t really there. The images, regardless of the sense to which they appeal, are only fleeting “glimpses,” barely perceptible to the victim. The vampire using Dementation cannot control what the victim perceives, but may choose which sense is affected.

The “haunting” effects occur mainly when the victim is alone, and mostly at night. They may take the form of the subject’s repressed fears, guilty memories, or anything else that the Storyteller finds dramatically appropriate. The effects are never pleasant or unobtrusive, however. The Storyteller should let her imagination run wild when describing these sensory impressions; the victim may well feel as if she is going mad, or as if the world is.

After the vampire speaks to the victim, the player spends a blood point and rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty of his victim’s Perception + SelfControl/Instinct). The number of successes determines the length of the sensory “visitations.” The precise effects are up to the Storyteller, though particularly eerie or harrowing apparitions can certainly reduce dice pools for a turn or two after the manifestation.

1 success — One night
2 successes — Two nights
3 successes — One week
4 successes — One month
5 successes — Three months
6+ successes — One year

This peculiar power allows the vampire to take advantage of the fleeting clarity hidden in insanity. She may scrutinize the “patterns” of a person’s soul, the convolutions of a vampire’s inner nature, or even random events in nature itself. The Kindred with this power can discern the most well-hidden psychoses, or gain insight into a person’s true self. Malkavians with this power often have (or claim to have) knowledge of the moves and countermoves of the great Jyhad, or the patterns of fate. This power allows a vampire to determine a person’s true Nature, among other things. The vampire concentrates for a turn, then her player rolls Perception + Occult. The difficulty depends on the intricacy of the pattern. Discerning the Nature of a stranger would be difficulty 9, a casual acquaintance would be an 8, and an established ally a 6. The vampire could also read the message locked in a coded missive (difficulty 7), or even see the doings of an invisible hand in such events as the pattern of falling leaves (difficulty 6). Almost anything might contain some hidden insight, no matter how trivial or meaningless. The patterns are present in most things, but are often so intricate they can keep a vampire spellbound for hours while she tries to understand their message.

This is a potent power, subject to adjudication. Storytellers, this power is an effective way to introduce plot threads for a chronicle, reveal an overlooked clue, foreshadow important events, or communicate critical information a player seeks. Important to its use, though, is delivering the information properly. Secrets revealed via Eyes of Chaos are never simple facts; they’re tantalizing symbols adrift in a sea of madness. Describe the results of this power in terms of allegory: “The man before you appears as a crude marionette, with garish features painted in bright stage makeup, and strings vanishing up into the night sky.” Avoid stating plainly, “You learn that this ghoul is the minion of a powerful Methuselah.”

By merely addressing his victims aloud, the Kindred can drive targets into fits of blind rage or fear, forcing them to abandon reason and higher thought. Victims are plagued by hallucinations of their subconscious demons, and try to flee or destroy their hidden shames. Tragedy almost always follows in the wake of this power’s use, though offending Malkavians often claim that they were merely encouraging people to act “according to their natures.” Unfortunately for the vampire concerned, he runs a very real risk of falling prey to his own voice’s power. The player spends a blood point and makes a Manipulation + Empathy roll (difficulty 7). One target is affected per success, although all potential victims must be listening to the vampire’s voice.

Affected victims fly immediately into frenzy or a blind fear like Rötschreck. Kindred or other creatures capable of frenzy, such as Lupines, may make a frenzy check or Rötschreck test (Storyteller’s choice as to how they are affected) at +2 difficulty to resist the power. Mortals are automatically affected and don’t remember their actions while berserk. The frenzy or fear lasts for a scene, though vampires and Lupines may test as usual to snap out of it.

The vampire using Voice of Madness must also test for frenzy or Rötschreck upon invoking this power, though his difficulty to resist is one lower than normal. If the initial roll to invoke this power is a failure, however, the roll to resist the frenzy is one higher than normal. If the roll to invoke this power is a botch, the frenzy or Rötschreck response is automatic.

The vampire coaxes the madness from the deepest recesses of her target’s mind, focusing it into an overwhelming wave of insanity. This power has driven countless victims, vampire and mortal alike, to unfortunate ends. The Kindred must gain her target’s undivided attention for at least one full turn to enact this power. The player spends a blood point and rolls Manipulation + Intimidation (difficulty of her victim’s current Willpower points). If the roll is successful, the victim is afflicted with five derangements of the Storyteller’s choice (see p. 290). The number of successes determines the duration.

1 success — One turn
2 successes — One night
3 successes — One week
4 successes — One month
5+ successes — One year

On a botch… well, the Storyteller can decide what a vampire inflicts upon herself by attempting to incite the primal hells lurking within the darkest recesses of a victim’s mind.

The victim (or the target of a botch) can spend a number of Willpower points equal to the successes rolled to end the duration prematurely. The Storyteller decides when such Willpower points can be spent (such as after a therapy session or after a friend has managed to prove a particular delusion to be false)

This insidious power becomes the bane of all the victim's social interactions, as it breaks down inhibitions and social mores, while at the same time pulling subconscious impulses, ideas and opinions to the forefront. The Malkavian Giselle the Fury used this power to ruin a delicate negotiation between a group of Toreador elders in the Courts of Love - and the elder Malkavian subsequently found herself subject to a blood hunt, as her victims realized the likely source of their distress. In order to employ Devil in the Mind, the character makes eye contact with her target, and the player spends a point of Willpower and rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty of the target's Willpower). Devil in the Mind works in two ways. The first is to remove the normal social barriers that prevent people from speaking their minds, thus making the target say just what she feels and means instead of trying to cloak her words. This is an efficient method of ruining delicate circumstances such as seduction, negotiation or tense diplomatic negotiations. The second way is to strengthen impulses that would normally be suppressed and to make the victim focus on ideas and opinions that are inappropriate to the current situation. For example, a woman trying to coax information out of a man she finds unattractive might suddenly begin thinking just how repulsive he really is, and be hard-pressed to not just come right out and say it; while a servant envying his master's warm cloak might simply try to take it, and demand that it be given to him if he is stopped.

Devil in the Mind lasts for one scene. Supernatural creatures (including ghouls) can resist it by spending a Willpower point and rolling Willpower (difficulty 6) each time they wish to resist an impulse or comment. Even if this resistance succeeds, the victim loses one die from Subterfuge and Etiquette pools (additional efforts at resistance do not incur this penalty). Once the power subsides, the victim realizes that something was not right, though she does not necessarily suspect outside influence.

The Malkavians' familiarity with madness renders them peculiarly able to extract information from sources where it should not exist. Some elder Malkavians, including Demetrius, can reverse the process and plant information in hidden forms. They usually do this through speech or writing, but Malkavians have planted hidden messages in paintings, music, flower arrangements, trash scattered around the haven or anything else that the hand or mind could shape. A person who sees, hears or reads the Malkavian's work for an extended period recognizes the hidden meaning, though he cannot say exactly where the information comes from. Enigmatic communication requires a simple success on a Wits + Expression roll. The difficulty depends on the medium. Planting a hidden meaning in words is difficulty 6; in a nonverbal medium that is nevertheless a recognized form of communication, such as a painting, is difficulty 7; and a form that does not normally convey information at all, such as piles of pebbles or a table-setting, is difficulty 8. The power does not cost blood points. If, however, the Kindred wants to store the Enigmatic Text in a permanent form so that anyone can perceive the message later, this costs the character two points of Willpower.

If someone receives an Enigmatic Text directly from the Malkavian, no roll is needed; the target always understands the message. Imparting an Enigmatic Text directly takes a few minutes. “Reading” a stored Enigmatic Text takes at least an hour, and a lengthy Enigmatic Text may take nights or weeks to understand in full. The character’s player rolls Perception + Expression (difficulty 6) to receive the hidden meaning. This is an extended roll. The Storyteller decides how many successes the player must accumulate to comprehend the Enigmatic Text.

While lesser Dementation powers allow a vampire to inflict temporary (though often long-lasting) madness upon a victim, elders of the Clan have developed the ability to infect the minds of their victims with permanent maladies. Lingering Malaise causes permanent psychological shifts within the victim, making him, as one Gangrel elder remarked, “an honorary Lunatic.” The character speaks to his victim for at least a minute, describing the derangement that Lingering Malaise will inflict. The player rolls Manipulation + Empathy (difficulty equal to the victim’s current Willpower points); the victim resists with a Willpower roll (using his permanent Willpower at difficulty 8). If the user of Lingering Malaise scores more successes, the victim gains a permanent derangement chosen by the individual who inflicts it. Lingering Malaise may only be used to inflict one derangement per night on any given victim, though multiple attempts may be made until the derangement takes hold. Although Dementation’s low-level effects are primarily to initiate or promote insanity rather than to create it spontaneously, some of its more potent manifestations are not as subtle. The wielder of this fearsome power can transfer her own deranged mindset into the psyche of a hapless victim, spreading her own brand of insanity like a virus. The vampire must establish eye contact with her intended victim to apply this power. The player then rolls Charisma + Subterfuge (difficulty equal to the target’s current Willpower points) resisted by the target’s Wits + Self-Control/Instinct (difficulty equal to the Dementation user’s current Willpower points). If the aggressor wins, the target gains all of her derangements and Mental Flaws for a period of time determined by the number of net successes the aggressor scored:

Successes	Result
1 success	One hour
2 successes	One night
3 successes	One week
4 successes	One month
5 successes	Six months
6+ successes	One year per success over 5

The Dionysian walked many Roads in his long unlife before coming to rest in Sin. He developed this power millennia ago to facilitate changes in himself, but elder Malkavians are easily capable of replicating his feat. This power rends at the deep-seated aspects of a vampire’s morality, altering personality on the deepest level — a victim’s memories remain intact, but her outlook on life fundamentally changes in response to a crisis of faith. The Malkavian must lock eyes with the target. The player rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge, difficulty equal to the target’s Wits + Subterfuge. If the user can achieve success equal to or greater than the target’s Instincts/Self-Control, he may alter one of the target’s Virtues to whatever he desires, potentially prompting an incompatibility with the victim’s current Road. The victim cannot raise her Road rating and faces a degeneration check every night; the degeneration stops at a Road rating of 3, allowing the victim to change her Virtue back by studying with a tutor and questing to reaffirm their commitment to their Road. In this case, she rapidly restores her lost Road rating. Otherwise, this effect is permanent and can only be reversed with another application of Change the Soul, Brother’s Gift, or with the Healer Valeren power Unburden the Bestial Soul. A botch alters one of the vampire’s Virtues, though he may use this power on himself willingly. The elder with this fearsome power has the ability to twist his victims’ psyches at their most basic levels, warping their very beings. The subject of Restructure retains her memories, but her outlook on life changes completely, as if she has undergone a sudden epiphany or religious conversion. This effect goes much deeper than the implantation of a derangement; it actually performs a complete rewrite of the victim’s personality. As the description says, this power allows the vampire to change his target’s Nature to one more suitable to his ends. To accomplish this, the character must make eye contact with his intended victim. The player rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty equals the victim’s Wits + Subterfuge). If he rolls a number of successes equal to or greater than the target’s Self-Control/Instinct, the target’s Nature changes to whatever the player using Restructure desires. This effect is permanent and can be undone only by another application of Restructure (though subtle differences from the character’s original Nature may still remain, as it is impossible for such a fundamental change to occur flawlessly). A botch on this roll changes the character’s own Nature to that of his intended victim. This macabre power gained its name from a Goya print that has achieved remarkable popularity among the clan. The Malkavian with this ability can reach into his victim's mind, pull forth whatever hobgoblins he finds there, and set them buzzing to the attack. The player rolls Wits + Intimidation, difficulty 6. The Malkavian must spend one blood point for each hobgoblin he creates, up to a maximum number determined by the successes on the roll. Thus, if Fitzgerald were to get five successes on the Wits + Intimidation roll, he could create up to five hobgoblins at one blood point each.

The hobgoblins can appear as almost anything, but they’re usually caricatures of whatever insecurities or bad memories the target might possess. Since they are born of the victim’s frailties, the victim’s mental resilience determines just how powerful the hobgoblins are.

Each beastie’s statistics are as follows: Strength: 10 - victim’s Willpower Dexterity: 13 - victim’s Willpower Stamina: 12 - victim’s Willpower Health levels: 13 - victim’s Self-control + Courage

The hobgoblins have no Mental or Social Attributes of their own, and as creations of the victim’s own psyche, are immune to any mental powers the victim uses against them. A victim cannot use Obfuscate to hide from his own persecutors, nor can he Dominate them into leaving him alone. Other vampires can affect the victim’s hobgoblins with these Disciplines, but the difficulty to do so is the same as if they were using those powers against the victim himself. In any event, the hobgoblins will ignore all other beings save their target unless compelled otherwise, and cannot damage anyone other than their victim.

A hobgoblin can attack with a bite, punch, claw rake or whatever attack is reasonable for its form. All of these attacks inflict Strength + 1 lethal damage; however, this damage is purely psychic in nature, and will disappear at the end of the scene. The malicious little beasties can fly as quickly as their victim can run, and can find him wherever he runs. If not destroyed by the end of the scene, the hobgoblins melt back into the ether from which they sprang.

With this terrifying Discipline, the Malkavian wrecks a victim’s very sense of reality. She changes one fundamental truth for the victim, and the victim cannot fathom a world in which that false reality is challenged or untrue. The Sword of Malkav requires eye contact and a point of Willpower. The Malkavian must speak one truth she knows the victim believes. She then warps that truth and speaks a replacement. Roll Intelligence + Intimidation at a difficulty equal to the victim’s current Willpower points.

If successful, the victim’s belief, perceptions, and understanding shift in order to facilitate the falsehood. He believes the false truth before all; it becomes a piece of his very being while the power lasts. If he hears solid evidence that the truth is false, he suffers one health level of unsoakable aggravated damage per turn as every ounce of his identity fights the “falsehood”. If the victim is a Cainite, revelation that this truth is false becomes a frenzy provocation, at +3 difficulty to resist. Acting against that false truth becomes a level one sin against his Road.

Successes	Duration
1 success	One Turn
2 successes	One scene
3 successes	One day
4 successes	One week
5 successes	One month
6+ successes	One year