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All vampires shrug off wounds that might kill mortals. But vampires with Fortitude become veritable juggernauts, unstoppable by anything but fire and sunlight. Every vampire manifests Fortitude differently. Some simply possess too solid flesh; nothing punctures their statuesque beauty. Others ignore the trauma: their bodies continue to move regardless of the harm caused. No matter how Fortitude manifests, it’s a frightening prospect to any mortal witness.

A character’s Fortitude rating adds to all her Stamina-based dice pools, including her soak rating for bashing and lethal damage. A vampire may use her Fortitude dice as a soak pool against aggravated wounds, which vampires typically have no recourse against. Once per turn, she may spend a blood point to automatically soak her Fortitude in damage, instead of adding it to her Stamina. This can be used to soak aggravated damage as well, but not damage from fire or sunlight. Derisively named after a tough-as-hell Baron, Alabastard allows the Kindred to ignore wound penalties for any injuries she suffers. At any point after the vampire activates this power, she suffers no dice pool penalties nor movement penalties that come as a result of suffering damage. In certain cases, the Storyteller may choose to impose logical situational penalties: A Kindred who has been cut in half should probably have some difficulty moving. This power costs one blood point to activate, and remains in effect for the duration of the scene. An unusual application of Fortitude, this power allows a Ventrue who has been successfully staked to slowly restructure her very heart around the offending stake so that it ceases to paralyze the Ventrue. The player spends a Willpower point and rolls Stamina + Survival (difficulty 9). The number of successes determines how quickly the stake can be negated, according to the chart below. Each use of this power affects a single stake.

On a failed roll, the player can spend another Willpower and roll again, but he cannot combine successes from multiple rolls. Only the roll with the most successes applies. On a botch, the vampire may not attempt to neutralize the stake again.

1 success — One month
2 successes — One week
3 successes — Immediately

The power only removes the stake from the heart, not from the body. It will remain trapped in the Ventrue’s dead flesh until removed.

The advanced practitioner of Fortitude’s flesh stands as indiscernible from wrought iron. When mortal weapons strike her, they shatter on impact. When mortal hands strike her, the mortal’s bones and flesh suffer as if his blow hit armor. Spend two blood points to activate The Knight’s Bane for the scene. When struck with a weapon, if your soak roll reduces damage to zero, The Knight’s Bane destroys the weapon. Additionally, when struck by an unarmed attack, apply your soak successes as bashing damage to the attacker. With such mastery of Fortitude, the vampire is capable of reinforcing their very being, allowing them to brave onslaughts only creatures of legend could hope to withstand. The player spends three blood points and rolls Fortitude (difficulty 6). Each success grants the character an additional Bruised health level for the rest of the night.

Should any damage remain once the additional health levels expire, the player rolls Stamina + Survival (difficulty 7) as the character enters daysleep, with a level of damage healed per success, regardless of type. Any remaining damage is shifted down onto the permanent section of the vampire’s health track. If this damage pushes them into Torpor or Final Death, one point of Willpower per health level is automatically spent to heal them to Crippled. Characters unable to heal to Crippled suffer the effects of whatever health level they obtain, whether that be Torpor or Final Death.

According to Noddist lore, Archangel Michael cursed Caine and his children to fear his Holy Flame for as long as they walked the earth. Cainites who have honed their resilience to such an extent scoff at such claims, shrugging off burns as easily as mundane nail and blade, provided the Beast isn’t lurking too closely as the door. Upon learning this power, the character permanently gains an additional two dice to resist Rötschreck provoked by fire. Additionally, the player can spend a point of Willpower, and roll Stamina + Courage (difficulty 7). On a success, all fire damage with a soak difficulty equal to or less their Humanity/Path rating is received as lethal damage as opposed to aggravated. This effect lasts until the end of the scene. This ability, developed by a Salubri warrior, allows a master of Fortitude to bless another with her preternatural resilience. To give the blessing, she paints a small mark of blood upon her subject’s forehead, on the seat of the third eye. To activate the power, the vampire spends one blood per dot of Fortitude she wishes to bestow upon another (up to a limit of her own dots), and a single point of Willpower. Roll Stamina + Survival, difficulty 8. Consult the below chart to determine the duration:

1 success — One turn
2 successes — One scene
3 successes — One night
4 successes — One week
5 successes — One month
6 successes — One year
7 successes — Indefinitely

Note that this can bestow Fortitude beyond the subject’s normal trait limit. This replaces any Fortitude the subject al - ready has; it does not add to any Fortitude the subject possesses.