Obfuscate

Obfuscate is a vampiric praxis which enables its users to alter erase their presences from the perceptions of those around them.

Cloak of Shadows
At this level, the vampire must rely on nearby shadows and cover to assist in hiding their presence. They step into an out-of-the-way, shadowed place and ease themselves from normal sight. The vampire remains unnoticed as long as they stay silent, still, under some degree of cover (such as a curtain, bush, door frame, lamppost, or alley), and out of direct lighting. The immortal’s concealment vanishes if they move, attack, or fall under direct light. Furthermore, the vampire’s deception cannot stand up to concentrated observation without fading.

System: No roll is required as long as the character fulfills the criteria described above. So long as he remains quiet and motionless, virtually no one but another Kindred with a high enough Auspex rating will see him.

Unseen Presence
At this point, the Cainite can now move about unseen. Shadows cling to them, and kine and Cainite alike look away, their minds not allowing them to see the shadowy monster that lurks in their periphery. While the Discipline protects them from being seen or heard in casual progress, any direct interaction with the world shatters the illusion. Kine will step aside, unknowing, to let an Obfuscated Cainite pass them, but should the Cainite crush a bed of roses, kick a sleeping hound, or pull on a tapestry by passing too close to it, they are outed.

System: There is no roll necessary to conjure an Unseen Presence. Should a Cainite draw attention to themselves by sneak attack, blunder, or speech, accidental attention will call for a Wits + Stealth roll, difficulty from 5 to 9, based on the amount of noise or calamity the Cainite has caused. Willful attempts to violate the secrecy of Unseen Presence while still maintaining it may call for a high difficulty and multiple successes. For example, whispering to an enemy without giving away her location would require three or so successes at a difficulty of 7. Even when seen or unseen, a secondary use of this power allows a Cainite to conceal small items already on their person, or with a successful Manipulation + Subterfuge from 5 to 9, based on the amount of observation they can grasp and conceal an easily moved item.

Ghost in the Machine
The user can now transmit the effects of Obfuscate through electronic media, allowing the vampire to appear invisible or masked when viewed live on screen. If an observer views the image later, as in a photograph or recording, the effect lessens: the image seems slightly blurred, making identification hard. In addition, automated surveillance has a tendency to glitch in the presence of the vampire, lessening their chance of being caught by automated systems.

Mask of a Thousand Faces
Instead of disappearing, the vampire using this power can make themselves appear as a nondescript stranger, someone expected to be present in the area. Unlike other Obfuscate powers, this allows the user to interact and communicate with those they might run into. They arouse little suspicion as long as their presence is at all plausible (meaning that it will not fool people who do not expect anyone or would be hostile against anyone they didn’t know). The power also does not provide any personal identification or other ways of misleading an identity check.

Conceal
Amalgam: Auspex 3

This ability allows the user to cloak an inanimate object such as a door, a car, or a small structure. As with other Obfuscate powers, this does not actually make the object invisible, but creates a lingering hypnotic effect that causes most people to simply ignore it. In this case the power is especially effective, given that the object is unlikely to call attention to itself. Unless something causes passersby to collide with it or someone points it out, people behave as if the object wasn’t there, moving around larger objects if need be.

Vanish from the Mind's Eye
Prerequisite: Cloak of Shadows

This potent expression of Obfuscate enables the vampire to disappear from plain view. So profound is this vanishing that the immortal can fade away even if he stands directly in front of someone. While the disappearance itself is quietly subtle, its impact on those who see it is anything but. Most kine panic and flee in the aftermath. Especially weak-willed individuals wipe the memory of the Kindred from their minds. Although vampires are not shaken so easily, even Kindred may be momentarily surprised by a sudden vanishing.

Cloak the Gathering
At this degree of power, the vampire may extend his concealing abilities to cover an area. The immortal may use any Obfuscate power upon those nearby as well as upon himself, if he wishes. Any protected person who compromises the cloak exposes himself to view. Further, if the one who invokes the power gives himself away, the cloak falls from everyone. This power is particularly useful if the vampire needs to bring his retinue through a secure location without drawing the notice of others.

Impostor’s Guise
Prerequisite: Mask of a Thousand Faces

With some preparation the vampire can make themselves appear as a specific individual of any build and gender. The user must carefully study the subject, otherwise the charade fails when meeting anyone with more than a casual familiarity with the person being mimicked.

Conceal
The vampire may mask an inanimate object up to the size of a house (Obfuscate cannot be used to disguise inanimate objects without the use of this power). If the object is hidden, so are all of its contents. While Conceal is in effect, passersby walk around the concealed object as if it were still visible, but refuse to acknowledge that they are making any kind of detour.

Mind Blank
A vampire with this power is able to shrug off telepathic contact, easily withstanding invasive probes of her mind.

Soul Mask
In addition to concealing her form, a vampire who has developed Soul Mask is able to conceal her aura. She may display whatever combination of colors and shades she wishes, or may appear to have no aura whatsoever. This power is of particular use to those of elder Generation who have reached such heights of power through diablerie.

Cache
Most Obfuscate powers require the individual using them to be within a short distance of the subjects of the concealment. Cache extends this range considerably, allowing an elder with this power to leave people or objects safely hidden while he goes about his business elsewhere.

Veil of Blissful Ignorance
The Veil of Blissful Ignorance allows a vampire to Obfuscate an unwilling victim, removing him from the notice of others. Some vampires use this power to teach a humbling lesson to individuals who take the presence and aid of others for granted, while others utilize it to remove an essential member of a group in the midst of a crisis.

Old Friend
Many elder vampires have made reputations for omniscience with the secrets they learn through creative uses of this power. A variation of Mask of a Thousand Faces, Old Friend allows a vampire to probe a subject’s subconscious and take the semblance of the individual whom that victim trusts over anyone else. Someone using this power does not appear as someone who the victim is frightened of or awed by, but rather someone to whom the victim feels comfortable revealing intimate secrets. Old Friend doesn’t necessarily make its user appear as someone who is still among the living; a long- dead friend or relative is just as likely, and in such cases the subject remembers the encounter as a dream or a ghostly visitation.

Create Name
Some call this power the ultimate development of method acting. Create Name allows a character to create a completely new identity; face, speech pattern, aura, even thought processes are constructed according to the vampire’s desired identity. The power can be used to impersonate an existing individual, or it can project the semblance of a completely fictional identity with perfect accuracy.