BLACK WIDOWS By Raoul "Violence" Borges (p7f1ma32@cicrp.jussieu.fr) Description The Black Widows Bloodline was created by Catherine "Violence" Sauvenay, a french Vampire whose crime was to be a Caitiff in Paris. As a Neonate, she was called by a Toreador named Alexis to become member of a little Coterie, whose missions was to execute orders of Villon. Receiving orders of the Prince of Paris carried a form of prestige, but the young Cainites didn't realised that they were simply pawns. Then Cath made a mistake. In one mission, she lost her self-control and destroyed three men who tried to kill her. A Toreador "friend" found a video copy of the scene, and instead of destroying them, he gave them to the Prince. Villon was furious. When called, Cath tried to defend herself, and showed one video of the same "friend" when he was losing his self-control in front of a pacifist Mage. The trial was fast and the condemnation simple: The two Neonates were to live alone without any Background, until Villon decided it over. The Toreador was nearly destroyed by the loss of his Nightclub, Ghoul, but Catherine realised, after some (hard) time that she was able to create disciplines. Instead of trying to regain her Status (of one!) waiting for the Prince, she decided that the Toreador would pay for their crime. She would attack them in their Weakness. Cath developed three Disciplines to help her, and was then the first of the Black Widows Bloodline. First of all, she developed Sensualis as a parallel of Presence, which was too general: Sensualis is attuned to the Seduction of others by sensual and sexual appeal (inspired by the Hetaerae's Ekstasis). The second was Neferis, which is for the Appearance the same thing that Potence is for Strength. Then she developed Arachnea (inspired by the Atargia's Arachnos and the Ananasi bete Tribe), which gave her mastery over toxins and some arachnid's powers. Completed with Obfuscate and Obtenebration, the Black Widows were becoming a dark, creepy and seducing Bloodline. As Cath is a 13th Generation Vampire (in the time of the new year 1994-1995), any Black Widow would be 14th or more. Here's one possibility to play Black Widows: Someone, sleeping in Torpor, inspires a Caitiff to learn the Black Widow's Disciplines. Catherine is one example, but there could be others (even ten) Caitiffs around the World, who were chosen (how & why them?) by this torporous Vampire to be her pawn (or new member of the Black Widows). Then, any female Caitiff whose background seems appropriate, could create the Black Widow's Disciplines and become one... Nickname None (but Spiders, or Succubi...) Haven Any. The Black Widows love luxury, but they love their independence more. They can live in a luxuous penthouse or a sewer chamber without any problem. Background Feminist women, of any social milieu. After gaining her independance, a Neonate must have learned how to act in any type of social milieu. Character Creation The Concept an Behavior must reflect her willpower and independance: Lawyers, Cops, Gang chief... She secretly desires to love and be loved by someone who could understand her. She's passionate; she likes to seduce and stimulate, to better destroy her victim later. Social Attributes are Primary. As she must lose former ties to her former life, the Black Widows are created differently: Like a Sabbat Character, a Black Widow starts with 4 Disciplines Points (she must use them in the Bloodline Disciplines or in Neferis) but start with no Background points. She can use her Bonus Points as she like. More importantly: A Black Widow must start with 3 or more in Appearance... Disciplines Arachnea, Sensualis, Obtenebration. Also Neferis is a Non-Clan Discipline. Black Widows who learn Animalism can us it to affect spiders. Weakness First, they can Sire only female Vampires. Second, each has a tattoo somewhere on her body: a Black Widow Tattoo with a red hourglass. See Merits and Flaws. Organisation No Organisation. There are so few Black Widows that the only prestige that the Bloodline has is histories of their vengeances: A Black Widow's Mission is to Avenge the Innocent (Caitiff...) with the more "poetic" media possible (have you ever seen "the Crow"?) Preferred Path Path of Vengeful Justice Stereotypes No Stereotypes. There isn't a significant number of them. No one knows them. They masquerade as Caitiffs, or other Clans. Merit And Flaws Any Black Widow possesses some Tattoo on her body, a 3 centimeters Tattoo that can be seen. The Tattoo can't be erased, even by Vivissitude (the Tattoo returns the night after). It's simple to recognize them. Discret Tattoo (2 Merit) Little Tattoo (less than one centimeter, and in a discret part of her body). Indiscreet Tattoo (2 Flaw) A Significantly large Tattoo, or a Tattoo seen immediately (a big tattoo in the back, or a tattoo in the hand). Visible Tattoo (5 Flaw) A significantly large Tattoo, like on the face, or covering 90% of the body. Invisible Tattoo (5 Merit) No Tattoo. Arachnea Inspired by Feryn's Arachnosdiscipline. Description Arachnea is the Spider Discipline and is the reason behind the Black Widows' name. This discipline is a new and secret one. No Black Widow will teach it to anyone. The only medium to learn it is trough Diablerie. It's a Discipline of Venom and Webs. With this Discipline (using superior levels, perhaps), the Black Widow can command Spiders (no other arachnids) and transform into a giant spider. The active powers of this Discipline are: The ability to Soak damage taken from toxins, venoms, and the like: Normal Damage is Soaked like: Stamina+Arachnea+(Fortitude if possessed). Aggravaded Damage is Soaked like: Arachnea+(Fortitude if possessed). The possibility to not be affected by glue and the like: Add the Arachnea score to any Dice Roll to try to free herself of any sticky substance. Everyone learning Arachnea will be afflicted with the Tattoo's Weakness of the Black Widow but with no Choice of location or size. Roll a d10 and consult the following table. 1 Evident Tattoo (like the 5 point Flaw) 2-3 Indiscret Tattoo (like the 2 point Flaw) 4-7 Normal Tattoo (like the normal Black Widow Weakness) 8-9 Discreet Tattoo (like the 2 point Merit) 10 Invisible Tattoo (like the 5 point Merit) Note: "Black Widow" indicates the vampire while "black widow" means the spider. * Spider Climb The Black Widow can climb walls, sticking to vertical, and even horizontal walls with her hands and feet. She can even glue a little object to her hand (or feet), if she wants to hide it from a search. System: Automatic. Costs 1 Blood Point. The power lasts for the Scene. She is glued to the surface with a strengh equal to her actual Strengh+Potence. The Black Widow can use this power to cling to someone with more efficiency. If the Black Widow is climbing walls and the like, ignore all 1's: In normal conditions, she can't fall. ** The Black Widow's Kiss The Black Widow can inject venom in the system of anyone she is biting if she so chooses. The venom is actually a very small quantity of Blood that she transforms into poison. The victim is then paralysed. If the Black Widow uses the power of her Blood (using 1 Bloodpoint) she can kill her victim. System: Rule Dexterity+Medicine or Toxicology, Diff: 6. If the Black Widow succeeds in biting her victim (in fight conditions, she must make 1 Damage), and uses this power, the Black Widows roll (Dexterity+Medicine or Toxicology, Diff:6). Each success "steals" one die from any Dice Roll of the victim (he can try to Soak this normal "virtual damage"). The victim gains one lost dice per hour after the "bite." If the Black Widow use one Bloodpoint while biting, the victime is affected like before, but the Damage is real (and not virtual) and Aggravated. A Black Widow isn't affected by her own Venom and can drink poisoned blood. However, she can't inject venom and drink blood the same time. *** The Arachnid's Web The Black Widow has developed claws (non-aggravated damage) that she can retract as she wants. But more importantly, she have developed between the claws and the fingers little spinerets. She can spin strong threads of silk, and the like. The problem is that this silk is like snow in the sun... System: Automatic, X Bloodpoints. The damage of the claws are Strength, non aggravated. The Black Widow can make with 1 Bloodpoint one silk cord of 20 meters, or webs (cube's side of 1 meter) with 3 points of Strength, Stamina, and Health Levels (0,-1,-2, Destroyed). The web cannot soak aggravated damage (or damge inflicted by a Black Widow's claws). The Black Widow can concentrate Blood points: using 3 Bloodpoints, she can make a 60 meters cord with 3 points of Strengh/Stamina/Health (0/-1/-2/Destroyed) or three cubic meters of web with the same stats, or she can concentrate it to make a 20 meters cord with 9 points of Strangh/Stamina/Health (0/-1/-2/-3/.../-8/Destroyed), or one cubic meter of web with the same Stats. **** The Crawling Death The Black Widow can assume a form like the one of the Ananasi Tribe (Garou Player Guide). It's formed by thousands of black widows spiders. The awareness of the Black Widow is distributed among all the spiders. She can attack someone whose only option is trying flee! System: Automatic. Cost: 1-3 blood points. It takes 4 - (blood points spent) turns to achieve the transformation (minimum one turn). Any attack made by the Crawling form is made normally (using the stats of the Black Widow) but the attacks can't be dodged! Any local attack is ineffective (killing one spider won't change anything), though wide area affects work normally. The problem is that the Black Widow can't use her blood to augment her physical Attributes or Heal Damage. Note that only one spider needs to survive for the vampire to survive. However, if reduced to only one spider the Black Widow must heal an aggravated point of damage to return to human form and even then she will be considered incapacitated (though she can then heal normally). ***** Death Caress of the Ermordenung The Black Widow can kill now with only one touch. This power isn't active in the Crawling Death form. Her skin become even paler (baby face become a normal vampire, a normal vampire become like a Cappadocian from Dark Ages and a Cappadocian becomes bluer and her lips turnpurple) while this power is active. Any one touching her (skin to skin) will be affected by the venom. System: Cost: 3 Blood points, Willpower, Diff:6 The Black Widow must use 3 Blood points and make a Willpower Roll (difficulty: 6). the number of success is the "Virulence" of the Venom. Any one touching her, dead or alive, mortal or awakened, will take X Aggravated Damage (X = the Virulence of the Venom). She is imune to her own power, and while this power is active, to any Death Caress of another Black Widow. If the Black Widow thinks (the Player shouldn't know the number of successes) the Venom isn't sufficiently powerful, she can re-initiate the power. The final Virulence is the greater one. Special Powers The following special powers (see Vampire: the Dark Ages) can only be learned by being taught by someone who knows how to use them. Blood Cocoon Requirements: 20 XPs, Arachnea 3 and Vicissitude 3 Description: The Black Widow can make a Cocoon (2 cubic meters of web) and use it to heal herself or someone else. She must put one Bloodpoint for the Cocoon, and X Bloodpoints which will be used in the healing. The Blood Cocoon will heal first (by entering the "victim" system trough the skin) the Aggravated Damage (2 Blood Points per Aggravated Damage) and then the Normal Damage (1 per 1). The remaining Blood will enter the skin of the Victim and add to her bloodpool. It takes some time to heal (1 hour per Health Level). Note that it is a good medium to make Blood Bonds! Spy Spider Requirements: 18 XPs, Arachnea 4 and Protean 2 The Black Widow can create one spider per 2 Bloodpoints (one to create it, and one for the Bloodpool of the Spider). She can control it without any problem and see through the spider's eyes. Note that the Spy Spider can use Arachnea 1, 2 and 3 (the Spider can create any web she wants to move herself). But if the Black Widow dies, the Spy Spider dies too (different from the Crawling Death). If the Spider is absorbed by the Black Widow, she may add the remaining Blood point to her Blood pool. The Spy Spider dies after 24 hours if not fed with Vampiric Blood. Sensualis Inspired by Ekstasis Description Catherine 'Violence' Sauvenay desired the power to instigate precise emotions in others. Adept at seduction, she found that Presence wasn't specialized enough. Instigating fear and awe, or calling someone from the other side of the world wasn't for her. Then, she created Sensualis... As Sensualis is similar to Presence, one can resist Sensualis in the same manner (Blase, however, provides no immunity to Sensualis...) Sexual preferences don't change the effects of Sensualis. Learning or creating Sensualis give one Weakness: The Cainite loses the possibility to Embrace male Childer. The Cainite must have 3 in Appearance (or more) to use this Discipline. It's one reason for the creation of Neferis. * Adulation The simple presence of the Black Widow causes all eyes converge on her, and instigate interest, or even mild desire in people who see her. People tend to mass around her as long as it doesn't seem dangerous to do so. This power can have astonishing effects, as others looking at the Black Widow will ignore any fact that would demean or embarrass her (say, if she were clothed with jeans at a Toreador "soiree"). System: (Appearance+Comedy, Diff: 7) This power is similar to Presence 1 (Awe). Successes People affected 1 1 2 2 3 6 4 20 5 Everyone who can see her. ** Sensual Caress The touch of the Black Widow is so soft and so pleasing that her caress is a delight for her... victim. Used with all power, this touch can even paralyse the victim as he becomes overrun by waves of pleasure. This power is very effective with Toreador. System: (Dexterity+Seduction, Diff: Wits+3) This power is always active in the first form. Anyone touched by her will want to be touched another time; the urge is not overwhelming but powerful nevertheless. If the Black Widow really wants to affect her victim, she can, with one caress, paralyse her victim. Each success against the Wits of the victim +3 (or +1 if it is a Toreador, or if the victim was using Auspex) is a die draw out from the Dice Pool. This power is similar in game effects to the Presence 2 power (Dread Gaze), but in this case, the Turn is generally a 3 minute Turn, and not a 3 second combat Turn. *** Suggestion of the Sirine Like Murmurs of the False Will (Dominate 2), the Black Widow can give orders or make "suggestions" to others. The difference with Domination is that this power come with the Voice, and not the Eye Contact. Someone to be affected must hear the Black Widow and feel her with another of the five senses, like seeing her or touching her. However, this power is more "Presence" than "Dominate." The victim is free to use his imagination to serve the Black Widow even better. While it can be a blessing, it can make the Black Widow's life a little more difficult. System: (Manipulation+Seduction, Diff: Willpower) This power is similar in game effects, to Dominate 2. Three successes are needed to make someone do something that can seem strange to him, and five to put him in obvious danger. The effects of this power are more subtle than Dominate: A cop Dominated to throw down his weapon won't be able to explain his action. A cop Suggested by a Black Widow will rationalize and think (in an extreme case) that he had done that because he had fallen in love with her. **** Seduction of the Succubi The Black Widow is now able to actively seduce her victim simply wanting to be desired. The victim seeing (or hearing) the Black Widow will eventualy succumb to her instincts, and will desire to possess her (an young innocent boy will fall in love while a criminal pander will only desire her in a more physical sense). System: (Manipulation+Seduction, Diff: Willpower). The victim must see and/or hear the Black Widow (thus the phone is out as he can't see her). This power is like the Presence 3 power with some changes: The victim falls in love and will do virtually anything to please her. When the effects wear off, she can try another time to seduce him. A botched roll will immunize the victim to future attempts of manipulations by Sensualis. Successes Duration 1 1 hour 2 1 day 3 1 week 4 1 month 5 1 year Seduction of the Succubi can be an extended roll: If the Black Widow succeeds in collecting successes five or ten times the victim's Wits, the victim won't be able to free himself from the Black Widow's influence. This Victim will be added to the Herd of the Black Widow, but retain too much free will (and Willpower) to be added as a Slave. This power is the only one to add 2 to the Black Widow's Difficulty if she tries to seduce someone who could be repulsed by the idea of an "affair" with her (An female Heterosexual, or a male Homosexual). ***** Charms of the Muse This power is similar to Majesty (Presence 5) but it's more subtle, and the effects are a little more visual. Anyone seeing a Black Widow using this power will see things that he wouldn't see normally. Wind will make her her floating in graceful curves in the air; he will lose himself in her gaze, charmed by the details of her iris; he will be in the right place to see a little more of her breasts (but not too much!) when she will bow to him, be in the right place to feel her perfume, transported by the wind. All these effects are created by this power. Charms of the Muse is what makes some details more important and more charming; it's the wind that make her dress fly. Charms of the Muse is the power that make the Black Widow a living, moving "Oeuvre d'Art". There will always be some external factor, apparently caused by chance (or by the subconscience of the victim), and one sense to see and memorize the scene. System: (Self-Control, Diff: Appearance+Seduction of the Black Widow) This power is similar to Majesty. Any victim in the presence of the Black Widow must roll Self-Control to be unaffected by this power and do one thing that would displease her. No one is immune and even vampires seems to have memories of mortal love. Only Old Vampires (non-Toreador) have a bonus of 2 to the Difficulty of the Roll (note that no matter the Difficulty, for the same old vampire, the Difficulty can't more than nine). Using Auspex while in the Black Widow's presence adds one to the Difficulty. Special Powers Shadow Linen Requirements: 6 XPs, Sensualis 1 and Obtenebration 1 Description: Adding the Sensualis effects to Obtenebration, the Black Widow can clothe herself in shadows, magnify her curves and make up her body with shadows. This form of Obtenebration doesn't induce fear, but used in feeble lights (Nightclubs, et al.), it lowers the Difficulty of Seductions by one. Embrace Ecstasis Requirements: 9 XPs, Sensualis 2 and Vicissitude 1 With this power, the Black Widow is able to "drink" blood from a victim with a simple contact. The number of bloodpoints absorbed in one turn (not combat turn) is function of the surface of contact: Amount of contact # of blood points Kiss, Massage 1 Nude torso, et al 2 Bikini or totally nude 3 In all other effects, this Embrace Ecstasis is similar to the Kiss. There is no blood, even if the victim and the Black Widow are violently separated, and no marks. Neferis Description As the vampires of legend were known to possess great physical prowess, so were they known for their incredible beauty. Neferis is similar to Potence and Fortitude in that it adds to a vampire's attributes, in this case enhancing Appearance. Like Potence, these added levels confer automatic successes to any rolls involving Appearance. This Discipline was created by Catherine "Cath'/Violence" Sauvenay, a Caitiff of Paris, for her Bloodline. It's not a Bloodline Discipline, and a Black Widow must pay 7 Xps per level to learn each level (2nd Edition).