Disciplines

Valeren
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Valeren

This Discipline was first manifested by Saulot, who refined the raw power of healing gifts. The secondary uses of this Discipline are lost for the most part to vampires in the 20th century, who would recognize the Discipline as Obeah. Some Salubri learned the secondary uses of this Discipline for martial and darker purposes, and the Tremere may have encountered these rowers when they went after their first victim. The Discipline is almost never taught to outsiders as it makes rigorous demands of its users, and the Salubri wish to preserve their usefulness.

The third eye appears about the time the Salubri masters the second level of Valeren. The eye opens when she uses any power above second level. Even the Salubri are uncertain why this is. The most common theory purports that the third eye grants "sight-beyond-sight," literally examining the tenuous threads of life and death. What the Salubri actually see is a secret.  

A Salubri must decide which path (Healer or Warrior) she studies before purchasing levels of Valeren. Once she has started down a path, she may only make use of the powers listed for her path. If she wishes to study a secondary power, the initial cost is the same as for purchasing a new Discipline, and subsequent costs are at + 1 to reflect that she is studying something that is at odds with her initial path (and quite possibly her Nature). Where two powers for a given level of mastery are listed, the first belongs to the Healer path and the second belongs to the Warrior path.

Level 1 - Sense Vitality The vampire can feel the flow of a subject's life force after touching him/her. This can be used to determine how much damage a person can withstand before death. It can also aid in medical diagnosis and feeding, as it can reveal infections and diseases. One success identifies the subject as vampire, ghoul, or other creature. Two successes reveal how much damage the subject has suffered. Three successes tell how full the subject's blood pool is. Four successes reveal any diseases in the subject's bloodstream. The antitribu can use this power on herself if if he/she has injuries but somehow has forgotten how they were received.

Level 2 - Anesthetic Touch This power may be used to block a voluntary subject's pain from wounds or disease, or to put a mortal to sleep. Physical contact is required. This power can not be used to block the Cainite's own pain. This power allows the subject to enjoy all wound penalties for one turn per success. Cost one bloodpoint and be reapplied once the first one expires, at the cost of another blood point. To put a mortal to sleep, the same system applies. The subject will sleep peacefully and does not suffer nightmares or the effects of any derangement. He/She may be awaken normally. Cainites are unaffected by this power--their corpselike bodies are too tied to death.

Level 3 - Burning Touch The vampire touchs the subject, shocking His/her with a searing pain. This power causes no actual damage to the subject though prolonged exposure to this unnatural pain sometimes leaves victims traumatized. The Salubri antitribu use this power to extract information from their enemies, and also to cause additional pain to those who have hunted and persecuted them before delivering true Final Death. The effects diminish rapidly after the antitribu's hand is removed. Costs one blood point to activate and each blood point spent reduces the victim's dice pools by two.

Level 4 - Ending the Watch The watch referred to in this power's name is the death watch. An ancient tale refers to two Salubri who prowled the streets of the Second City, granting merciful release to those who suffered and rotted in the streets. If a person truly wished to die, these Salubri would bestow the gift of death. The "Death Angels" were seen as truly divine entities by those who sought their solace. In modern night, the Salubri antitribu use this power frequently, as many nihilistic and desperate individuals seek any escape they can from the bleakness of the Final Nights. The vampire places his/her hand over the subject's heart and spends a Willpower point. The subject must be willing to end his/her life, his/her heart will slowly cease to beat and death becomes an eternal sleep. Subjects of Ending the Watch may not be subsequently Embraced, and none has ever been reported to have become a wraith.

Lesson5 - Vengeance of Samiel  By invoking the names of mighty Salubri warriors of nights past, the Salubri antitribu strikes his foe with inhuman force and accuracy. This power causes the third eye to open and glow with a baleful redness. Some antitribu close their normal eyes, signifying their distain for their foes and horrifying them at the same time. This costs 3 blood points. Any single attack made by the vampire automatically hits the target as mystic forces guide the blow. Attacks made in this manner may not be dodged, though they may be blocked, parried or soaked as normal. This power does not work for ranged weapons, only bare hands or melee weapons.

Lesson 6 - Blissful Agony  The vampire may cause pain with a mere touch, as per Burning Touch, but this pain lingers and swells even after the touch is removed. If applied with enough intensity, this power can drive vampires to frenzy, incapacitate lupines and kill mortals outright. Costs one blood point and lasts for one scene. At the vampire option, he/she may cause physical damage to the victim at the rate of one health level per blood point spent, though touch must be maintained for this to happen. Damage to vampires and other supernatural creatures vanishs at the next sunset, but mortals must heal the damage normally. This damage is considered lethal, and it may not be soaked by mortals. To induce a frenzy, the Salubri must cause damage in access of the subject's Willpower.

Lesson 6 - Watching the Passage This power can only be used by those who have accepted the gift of Ending the Watch. While those who pass on thus go to eternal peace, talented Salubri can gain some benefit from helping them go. Watching the Passage leave behind pyschic echoes of the dearly departed in the chamber in which he died, and the Salubri can draw upon those echoes for strength and knowledge. Costs one Willpower point. This grants the Salubri a chance to knowing any fact that the dead man knew, including whereabouts of documents or treasure, interesting secrets and so on. Alternately, the Salubri may choose to simply draw in all of the remaining essence of the departed soul. Each success heals a level of damage. Doing so drains the essence of the departed permanently, however. Watching the Passage can only be used up to a week after the death of the mortal in question.

Level 7 - Not by righteous of spirit and vigorous training alone were the warriors of Samiel's band able to put the Baali to flight. The most talented were also able to call upon this power, which made their swords blaze with the cleansing fire of righteousness. By running his/her hand along the blade of his weapon and coating it with his/her own blood (coincidentally taking a health level of damage), a Salubri can make his/her sword blaze with heavenly fire. The sword blazes is light with golden flames that last until the end of the scene. These flames cannot be smothered with powers of shadow of a lesser expertise and anyone attacking the Salubri has more difficulty because of the brightness of the flames. Futhermore, the sword does additional aggravated damage.

Additional Powers

2 Powers of the Blooding. These powers are granted by the ritual of the blooding and available only to those warriors who have gone through an accurate version of the practice, a la the Code of Samiel. False or degraded versions of the blooding do not unlock the powers that a proper blooding provides. Powers of the Blooding


Tracker's Mark The Salubri may gain insight into his target if he prey has spilt any of his own blood. The mere touch and scent of the blood is enough to trigger this power. If the target has left a trail of blood, the Warrior may track him by it.
The Salubri takes a little of his target's blood onto his fingers or tongue and concentrates. For each success, he gains a single piece of information about his target, such as generation, clan, occupation, age, diablerist or not, and so on. It's never a straightforward thing--most find their senses react to stimulants in the blood
(the Beast grumbles in response to a Brujah's frenzied blood, for example). Strangely enough, the older the blood being tasted, the more information it gives and the more pronounced the side effects it produces.

Blessing of the Name There's a reason the warriors name themselves after angels. A Salubri who calls on this power presents a formidable sight, one terrifying enough to strike abject terror into the hearts of her foes or inspire a tired army to a fresh stand. Her third eye opens, shedding a harsh golden light that bathes the warrior and all she looks upon. Mud and grime vanish, rusty armor gleams as though newly forged, and the warrior seems to have the look of an avenging member of the Lord's host. Asked later about the event, most witnesses will remember something marvelous happening, but no two will agree on what they say.
The Salubri calls this power by invoking the angel whose name she shares and specifying what she wishes to use it for
("Michael, leader of the Heavenly Host! Stand with me now and bring terror to my enemies!"). She can be considered to have Presence 5 from this point and it will last the duration of the scene. Futhermore, she can ignore all wound penalties for that scene. When the scene ends, the effect leaves her, and any mud, rust, injuries, etc that the power covered up are more pronounced. The character's vampirism may seem more prominent (pronounced pallor, prominent fangs, etc) for the new few minutes as well. If her injuries haven't reduced her to Incapacitated or Torpor, the Salubri will be ravenously hungry.
Be warned, though, the Heavenly Host do not like their names being used in vain, and a Salubri who uses this effect when not in life-threatening danger, for less-than-altruistic reasons or to randomly terrorize may find her divine protection running out at inconvenient times. She may even make someone up there very angry...