The unique talent of the Ventrue clan, vampires who possess the power of Dominate can force others to obey their will, progressing from immediate obedience to simple stated commands, to more complex and insidious forms of control such that the victim may never know they were in thrall to the vampire.
The victim must be in the vampire’s presence, and the vampire must have the victim’s attention through conversation, or other less subtle means, but eye contact is not required to use this power.
Available to: Ventrue.
1) Simple Command
The character may impose their will on others in a simple and direct manner. They may clearly speak up a command of up to three words to their target, which the target must carry out at once. If the target is a supernatural creature, it may not be used to cause them to do themselves direct physical harm. Against mortals, no such restriction applies.
Failure
Your target’s will is stronger than your own on this occasion, and your command goes unnoticed.
Success
Please show the following text to your target:
[Name] has successfully used their power of Simple Command on you. You may chose *one* of the following options, as seems most appropriate to circumstance:
Follow their command as they intend, immediately, but after complying your character will be aware they this power has been used on them, and by who.
Follow their command, immediately, but you may pervert their command by complying with the letter but not the spirit of their command in some creative way, but your character will not be aware that the power has been used on them - they will rationalise whatever they do as their own decision.
Obviously, it is possible that one or both of these may be inappropriate to pick, if for example, they have not attempted to be subtle in their use of this power, or if there is not reasonable way to pervert the command.
Exceptional Success
Please show the following text to your target:
[Name] has successfully used their power of Simple Command on you. Please comply with their command, immediately, ensuring your character actually does what the character using the power intends them to - complying with the intent and spirit as much as the letter. If they have been subtle about their use of this power, then your character will have no idea that it has been used on them, and will rationalise their actions as their own intention. (If they've clearly issued a direct command, this does not apply.)
2) Delayed Simple Command
The character may impose their will on others in a more complex manner. They may issue the target of this power with a verbal command that the target will carry out at a time of their choosing in the near future. The command should be clearly expressed in a “When X, then Y” form. Note that the time component must not be conditional – it cannot be of the form “If X”, it must be of the form “When X”. X must be less than 5 words. The command in Y retains all the limitations Simple Command power. This power includes a mild memory-warping effect – in all cases, when carrying out the action, the target will be aware that they are not acting of their own volition, but they will not specifically recall having been given the command, or by who.
Failure
Your target’s will is stronger than your own on this occasion, and your command goes unnoticed.
Success
Please show the following text to your target:
[Name] has successfully used their power of Delayed Simple Command on your character. You may chose *one* of the following options. Please let the person using the power on your character know which you have chosen:
Follow their command as they intend, but if the trigger does not occur within the span of time covered by the current game session, and the next session that your current character attends, the command lapses.
You may pervert their command by complying with the letter but not the spirit of their command, but the compulsion will remain indefinitely until the task is completed.
In both cases, when carrying out the action, your character will be aware that they are not acting of their own volition, but they will not specifically recall having been given the command, or by who.
Exceptional Success
Please show the following text to your target:
[Name] has successfully used their power of Delayed Simple Command on your character. Please comply with their command in the way that they intend when the condition they have specified comes to pass. When carrying out the action, your character will be aware that they are not acting of their own volition, but they will not specifically recall having been given the command, or by who.
3) Complex Command
Your character’s command over the wills of others is such that they may issue complicated commands, and have them followed. They may issue the target of this power with a command of up to 25 words total, which may include a time component, and a conditional component if so desired. Prior to completing the task, the target will have no memory of this power being used on them.
Failure
Your target’s will is stronger than your own on this occasion, and your command goes unnoticed.
Success
Please show the following text to your target:
[Name] has successfully used their power of Complex Command on your character. You may chose *one* of the following options. Please let the person using the power on your character know which you have chosen:
Follow their command as they intend, but once they have completed it, your character will recall being given the command, and by who.
You may pervert their command by complying with the letter but not the spirit of their command, but upon completing the task, your character will not recall having been given the command.
Exceptional Success
Please show the following text to your target:
[Name] has successfully used their power of Simple Command on your character. Please comply with their command, immediately, ensuring your character actually does what the character using the power intends them to - complying with the intent and spirit as much as the letter. If they have been subtle about their use of this power, then your character will have no idea that it has been used on them, and will rationalise their actions as their own intention. (If they've clearly issued a direct command, this does not apply.)