Main_Page > Vampire: The Requiem > Bloodlines > The_Strigoi > Transviscera
The flesh-crafting discipline of the Strigoi is thought to be an amalgamation of the Protean discipline and the blood sorcery Cruác, combined during the Lizuca's transformative ritual in which she sacrificed the other members of her coven. Other kindred often find Transviscera unnerving and it is one of the reasons the Strigoi tend to be reviled by their peers. A vampire who can change shape is bizarre enough, but one who can warp the flesh of other vampires is a downright threat.
Modifications that strigoi make to their own bodies are enduring, lasting until they are intentionally reverted. Such a regressions cost 1 vitae and take a turn to accomplish. Reverting a change to one's original shape is usually a breach of the masquerade as the vampire's flesh pulses and undulates for all to see, although reverting very minor changes might go unnoticed if they are under heavy clothing. Onlookers are allowed a Wits + Occult roll to detect such a change.
Other vampires can revert the changes that are wrought with Transviscera by spending vitae to "heal" themselves. The specific costs depend on the level of the power used and are described in the individual descriptions. Only a vampire of greater blood potency than the subject can create "permanent" changes by spending a willpower dot. These changes cannot be healed normally unless the victim's blood potency is raised to match the vampire's who flesh-crafted them, at which point the vampire can heal their modifications as if they were aggravated wounds. Mortals, being at the bottom of the spectrum, can only reverse flesh crafted changes through corrective surgery, and often find wounds caused by transviscera leave lasting scars.
Though nosferatu vampires can be made to appear less monstrous through flesh-crafting, their curse does not abate. Mortals and others sense an aura of menace or feel an innate awareness of the nosferatu's bestial nature. They may catch sight of the nosferatu's original form out of the corner of their eye, or momentarily when they aren't paying attention. Most mortals don't know what it is they might have seen and usually attribute it to a trick of the mind, but their unease does not abate. Over time the nosferatu's form may even regress on its own, souring whatever grasp at vanity was attempted.
Using transviscera usually requires use of the hands manually sculpting the meat, fat, cartilage, and bone. The vampire's hands and fingers eventually learn to pass the barrier of the skin, and manipulate the body internally as the need arises. Even skin pigments, hair colors, etc must have at least one pass of the hand before they change. Uncooperative subjects (victims, that is) must be grappled or otherwise restrained before they can be forcibly modified or mangled. Most flesh crafting actions are extended rolls, but a few are instant actions.
Sufficed to say, Transviscera can have a detrimental effect of the humanity of those who practice it. Much like Cruác, a vampire's transviscera dots limit the total humanity dots the vampire can obtain. What a vampire does with transviscera might have its own detrimental effects on the vampire's humanity depending on how cruelly it is used.
• Supplication of Skin[]
At the most elementary level, a novice flesh-crafter begins by making minor changes in their own vampiric form. Supplication of the Skin allows the vampire to modify small details about their appearance, their hair or eye color, skin pigmentation, or how fat is carried. Young Strigoi often use this ability for purely aesthetic reasons, but more practiced members of the lines can use this ability to work a simple disguise if need be.
Cost: 1 vitae.
Dice Pool: Dexterity + Crafts + Transviscera.
Action: Extended (usually simple (5)).
Dramatic Failure: The vampire has botched the attempt and cannot revert the change without spending a willpower point. They suffer a -1 to all presence rolls while it persists.
Failure: The vampire fails to effect her flesh or the change reverts immediately.
Success: The vampire gains a modicum of success towards the desired effect.
Exceptional Success: The vampire does such good work she gains a +1 to all presence and manipulation rolls for using her appearance to entice, distract, or persuade others. These subtleties do not last, however, and disappear upon waking the next night.
Each roll takes 5 minutes to complete. Most tasks are simple (5) appearance changes, like changing hair color and length, to adding scars or other superficial features. A complex suite of changes can increase the threshold even higher, as determined by the storyteller.
Supplication of the Skin can also be used as a simple disguise, adding +1 to subterfuge checks made to pass off as someone else. As the vampire gains more dots in the discipline, more dramatic changes can be wrought. For each extra dot in transviscera, the vampire may increase the bonus dice provided by a disguise by +1. Each extra die increases the base threshold for the task by 5.
Suggested Modifiers
- +2 Live model or extensive research to copy an appearance.
- +1 Willpower spent to be able to use a mirror.
- - No special considerations or only working from photographs.
- -1 inferior research when copying an appearance.
- -1 Poor lighting or distracting noises.
- -2 Bad conditions (wretched work environment, constant interruptions, etc).
•• Exhortation of Corpulence[]
Passing the barrier of the skin, the vampire can now mold the fat, muscle, and sinew of his body into new and more efficacious shapes. In this way, raw strength of the vampire's frame can be traded for delicate maneuverability or compacted to provide more a dense and resistant flesh. Many strigoi morti use this ability to mold themselves into grotesque artworks, magnifying their inhumane appearance.
Cost: 1 vitae.
Dice Pool: Dexterity + Crafts + Transviscera.
Action: Extended (Attribute changes are involved (10)).
Dramatic Failure: The vampire botched the attempt and has lost a physical attribute point, determined by the storyteller. It can be restored with another involved (10) attempt.
Failure: The blood is spent but the flesh refuses to change or reverts immediately afterwords.
Success: The vampire gains a modicum of success towards the desired effect.
Exceptional Success: The trait is modified so effectively it receives a +1 die to all associated rolls for the rest of the night. Upon waking the next night, however, the bonus die is lost.
Each roll takes 5 minutes to complete. The vampire may use this ability to shift their physical attribute dots around, 1 dot at a time. Other functional modifications can be made to the body as well, ranging from slipping out of handcuffs (simple (5)), to pockets of flesh that open and close (elaborate (15)), to moving of the heart to another location in the body cavity (intricate 25).
The vampire cannot lower any of his physical attributes lower than one dot, and cannot create new flesh or muscle. The vampire must use what muscle and sinew that he has available. The storyteller may levy attribute penalties for particularly complicated reworking of the kindred's musculature to represent the costs involved.
Suggested Modifiers
- +1 Medicine specialty in anatomy, physical therapy, or surgery (counts only once).
- +1 Medicine of 3 or more dots.
- +1 Willpower spent to be able to use a mirror.
- - No special tools or advantages.
- -1 Poor lighting or distracting noises.
- -2 Bad conditions (wretched work environment, constant interruptions, etc).
••• Mandate of the Flesh[]
Strigoi vampire are infamous for use of this ability which allows for the use of transviscera on others. Some use it as a tool, enticing the vanity of kindred or mortals with promises of enhanced beauty. Others use it as a weapon, threatening to weaken or mangle an upstart cur, or ruin the flesh of an enemy. As such, many vampires know keeping a fiend or a creep at arms length is not just a turn of phrase.
Cost: 1 willpower point + cost of power used.
Dice Pool: If used to remove attribute dots, Strength + Crafts + Transviscera minus Stamina + Blood Potency
Action: Instant or extended (see below).
Dramatic Failure: The vampire fails to effect the subject and can no longer effect them for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The vampire fails to effect the subject's flesh while vitae and willpower are spent.
Success: The Vampire either gains a modicum of success, or in the case of instant actions, succeeds in effecting the target.
Exceptional Success: Same as the transviscera effect performed. In the case of reducing attribute dots, exceptional success reduces the afflicted attribute by two dots.
This ability allows the use of Supplication of the Skin and Exhortation of Corpulence on the subject, although unwilling subjects must be subdued for extended actions can be used on them. Used as an instant action, the vampire may just attempt to mangle the victim's flesh, reducing one of their strength, dexterity, stamina, or presence attributes by one dot. The vampire must first grapple the subject (or otherwise subdue them), and must make skin to skin contact. The victim may heal a lost attribute dot as if it was 4 lethal wounds.
Suggested Modifiers
- +2 Power is used on a vampire with which the character has a blood tie.
- +/- Modifiers from the level of transviscera used.
- -2 Attempting fine detail on a victim who is only partially restrained.
•••• Solicitation of Bone[]
Now capable of manipulating bones, her own or someone else's, the flesh-crafter may craft even more dramatic modifications to the mortal or vampiric form. This power may be used to modify the size of subject or add dermal protrusions such as claws or ridges of spines. In combat, it can be used to severely injure others, as bones are commanded to sprout barbs that internally lacerate the victim.
Cost: 1 vitae.
Dice Pool: Dexterity + Crafts + Transviscera, or Strength + Crafts + Transviscera minus Stamina.
Action: Instant or extended (simple (5) for barbs and claws, elaborate (15) for size changes).
Dramatic Failure: If used on herself the vampire looses a dot to stamina due to a fault in her bone structure. This dot can be restored with another successful attempt. Used against another character, the vampire fails to effect the character and can no longer effect them for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The vampire's atempt fails to effect the subject's or her own flesh while vitae is spent.
Success: The vampire gains a modicum of success, or in the case of an attack causes 1 lethal damage per success.
Exceptional Success: The vampire's modification gains a +1 bonus due to excellent craftsmanship. If used to enhance a creature's size, the effect costs one less attribute point than normal. If used in combat, exceptional success kills any normal human instantly, or in the case of a vampire ruptures the heart, cause 1/2 his blood points to erupt from his body.
If used as an extended action, 5 minutes is spent per roll. Using a Dexterity + Crafts + Tranviscera roll, this power can be used to allow the subject to shift dots between their stamina and size, although by no more than 2 points. Shifting size is an elaborate (15) task. The subject's stamina can never go below one dot. Solicitation of Bone can also be used to enhance the unarmed attacks of the subject, granting up to a maximum bonus of +2 and the ability to inflict lethal damage. The vampire must make 5 successes on an extended roll per bonus die.
Used directly as a weapon on a grappled opponent, the vampire can cause 1 lethal wound per success on a Strength + Crafts + Transviscera roll, minus the opponent's stamina. Exceptional success kills any mortal being effected by this ability as their internal organs are shredded to pieces. Against a vampire, exceptional success means that the vampire's heart has been pierced causing half their vitae to erupt from the orifices in addition to the damage.
Wounds caused the Solicitation of Bone are remarkable in their viciousness and take twice as much time or cost twice as much vitae to heal.
Suggested Modifiers
- +2 Power used on a vampire with which the character has a blood tie.
- +1 Medicine specialty in anatomy, physical therapy, or surgery (counts only once).
- +1 Medicine of 3 or more dots.
- - No particular advantage.
- -1 Poor lighting or distracting noises.
- -2 Attempting fine detail on a victim who is only partially restrained.
- -2 Bad conditions (wretched work environment, constant interruptions, etc).
••••• Mastery of the Vital Corpus[]
At this point the flesh-crafter's mastery of Transviscera means he no longer needs to use his hands to manually sculpt his own body, and needs but a touch to effect others. Use of this power is truly feared, as a vampire can pass on a debilitating deformity with but a light caress.
Cost: based on the level of Transviscera used.
Dice Pool: See below.
Extended rolls for using tranviscera now only take one turn per roll. In addition, the vampire no longer needs to grapple an opponent to work a change upon them. They only need the barest amount of skin to skin contact. The vampire uses either Brawl or Crafts, whichever is lower, when attempting to flesh-craft in combat without grappling.
New Merit - Familiar Form[]
Strigoi vampires skilled in transviscera often find specific transformations particularly useful. Through constant practice they can learn to assume these transformations quickly, as the need arrises. Combat ready strigoi may learn to quickly manifest claws, bone spurs, or other weapons, while those who favor subterfuge might memorize a particular disguise to be able to swop identities as a moment's notice, or manifest longer legs to run faster, etc.
Each familiar form is measured by the total threshold of successes needed to enact the change. Each form is also unique and may include multiple tranviscera levels, effecting the vampire's appearance, attributes, size, etc, and should be marked on the character sheet with specific name (such as (barbs) or (child disguise)). While the vampire may add to the form by increasing the merit's dots and selecting additional changes, she cannot alter the changes represented by the dots she has already purchased. Instead the vampire must purchase a new form. Familiar forms are specific to the individual vampire's body and cannot be used on others.
Assuming a familiar form costs 1 willpower, and a specific number of vitae based on the merit's dots. Assuming a familiar form usually takes an instant action, but may be enacted over several rounds as limited by the vampire's blood potency and the cost associated with the level of the merit.
• Simple change: 5 threshold or less, costs 1 vitae.
•• Involved change: 10 threshold, costs 2 vitae.
••• Elaborate change: 15 threshold, costs 3 vitae.
•••• Ornate change: 20 threshold, costs 4 vitae.
••••• Intricate change: 25 threshold, costs 5 vitae.