| Main Menu
WolfSpoor Forums
[Access Forum] | | | | MEMBERS ONLINE | | | Currently no members online. | 
You are an anonymous user. You can register for free by clicking here |
| |
Calendar of Events
Syndicate Our News
WolfSpoor Store
Donations
Donate to keep WolfSpoor up and running
Top Donators
Matt McElroy Sameer Yalamanchi Adam Krump Jay Palmer
All upcoming releases
Sep 12
-
-
Sep 26
-
Oct 3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Oct 17
-
Oct 31
-
-
-
-
Nov 1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Dec 19
-
-
-
-
-
Jan 1
-
-
Jan 2
-
Feb 1
-
|
|
| Author |
Message |
|
|
Post subject: Daeva Bloodline: Malatesti (FrayedEdge)
 Posted: Feb 20, 2005 - 06:25 PM
|
|
Omega
Joined: Feb 15, 2005
Posts: 5
|
|
Malatesti
“Beauty such as yours mustn’t go to waste.”
The origins of these most sensual of Succubi lie, appropriately, in one of history’s most legendary love affairs.
Such was the beauty of Francesca da Polenta, daughter of the lord of Ravenna, that she captured the eyes and hearts of no fewer than three of Rimini’s most noble inhabitants. The first of these was the city’s Daeva prince, who was so won over by Francesca’s beauty, which was considerable enough to light a spark of lust in even his withered heart, that he used his influence to arrange the political marriage of Francesca to Giovanni Malatesta, the hunchbacked son of Rimini’s podestà, so that she would come to reside in Rimini.
Francesca married Giovanni by proxy – his younger brother, Paolo the Fair, was sent to marry her in his place. When she came to Rimini, however, she saw why her new husband was nicknamed the Lame, and her affections naturally gravitated to the handsomer Paolo. Paolo reciprocated her love, and the marriage fell victim to the infidelity customary to the time.
But Giovanni was so captivated by his wife’s beauty that he loved her with full faithfulness and sincerity, which made his discovery of her betrayal all the worse. When, one night, the news spread through the palace that Giovanni had caught his wife and brother in bed together and instantly slain them both, the prince wasted no time rushing to the scene of the murder, whisking away her cooling body, and Embracing her in privacy.
Francesca Malatesta defied expectations by adapting quickly to the Requiem and with remarkable aplomb, achieving greater political success in a few short decades than many Kindred do in their entire unlives. As her attachments to her mortal life died with her paramour, she felt little need to deny what she’d become, so she learned the steps of the Danse Macabre with the fervency of someone who did not wish to dwell on the past. One thing that she never escaped, however, was the circumstances of her death. Killed in the throes of carnal passion, her lust left a mark on her vampiric nature. It limited her ability to feed, but eventually granted her unique power over the passions of others.
This birthright passed through the blood to her childer (which, in time, grew quite numerous, due to Francesca’s appreciation for the security and company of numbers). As bloodlines go, the Malatesti are one of the more successful vampiric strains to prowl the modern night, but they experienced their most rapid growth during the heyday of the Rennaisance, and much of the temperament of that day survives in them as a fondness for secular living, epicurean pursuits, sensual indulgence, and social intercourse. A Malatesta newly-arrived at court stands to become a potent political force, and typically bears watching by fellow Kindred.
Parent Clan: Daeva
Nickname: Courtesans
Covenant: For the most part, Courtesans have very little preference for or against most covenants. The Carthian Movement’s philosophy of personal freedom and self-determination has its appeal, but its political agenda quickly bores. Malatesti are drawn to the Circle of the Crown by the respect that covenant has for the natural impulses of the flesh, and Malatesti Acolytes are notorious for the erotic spin they often give to the pagan rites and rituals of Crúac. They don’t care much for the ambitiousness of the Invictus, but they do appreciate its resultant affluence and luxury, and often find membership in the First Estate to be very rewarding. The Ordo Dracul can be too staid for Malatesti tastes, but their investigations into the vampiric condition often pave the way to better understanding of a Malatesta’s passion. The only covenant in which Malatesti are notably underrepresented is the Lanceae Sanctum, whose priests usually view the sexual escapades of Courtesans as unbecoming of Kindred, if not downright immoral.
Appearance: Malatesti are, as one might expect, generally quite beautiful, but their good looks are notable for being so un-self-conscious; even a Malatesta who puts no thought whatsoever into his appearance will still be effortlessly attractive. Because they are also often Embraced at very young ages (they are as likely as not to be Embraced in their teens) their seeming youthfulness often leads even the most seasoned vampires to underestimate them. Beyond these traits, Malatesti are usually independent-minded enough that they’ll dress however the hell they like, in whatever clothes they find most enjoyable or comfortable, and give little thought to the expectations of others.
Haven: When it comes to Malatesti havens, luxury (or, at the very least, comfort) is the operative word. Courtesans don’t fancy living in squalor, especially when, as is the case for many, their havens are where they lure most of their prey for feeding. Trendy and well-appointed lofts, penthouses, and high-rise apartments are not uncommon. The desire to feed conveniently often leads them to choose havens close to Racks and other convenient hunting grounds.
Background: Malatesti Embracees are stereotyped as being young, attractive, and privileged, and while this isn’t always the case, it’s true often enough to be the norm. Even before the Embrace, new Malatesti are usually already experts at using their gifts to get what they want from other people, and the gifts of the Curse only make such transactions smoother. After the Embrace, they usually throw themselves into the Requiem with little hesitation, quickly learning the Danse Macabre’s steps and relishing their new role as social masters over the mortal herd.
Character Creation: Social Attributes are obviously foremost for Malatesti, but bodily health enhances physical attractiveness, and a sharp wit is an invaluable aid in courtly intrigue, so Courtesans are usually well-rounded. It pays to know people, and money makes friends, so Contacts and Resources are in ready supply. Havens emphasize proximity to hunting grounds, and Striking Looks are standard.
Bloodline Disciplines: Celerity, Eros, Majesty, Vigor
Weakness: The hunger of the Malatesti is colored by the circumstances of their progenitor’s death – they can only gain sustenance from mortals who are in a state of sexual arousal. They can otherwise feed at anytime, but the blood they swallow won’t provide any nourishment. This limitation makes seduction an indispensable part of a Malatesta’s modus operandi. Unfortunately for would-be diablerists, this handicap also applies to feeding from Kindred (meaning that the victim vampire must have burnt the blood necessary for sexual functioning before a Courtesan can hope to suck his soul).
Organization: Although the Malatesti have no formal organization, they maintain cliquish ties with each other, often falling to bitter internecine squabbling yet uniting when necessary against external aggressors (though more than one Kindred has succeeded in pitting Courtesans against each other by playing on their pride). Generally, however, Malatesti avoid each other’s company when possible. They prefer to be the best-looking person in the room, and don’t very much appreciate competition.
Concepts: black widow, Casanova, consort, escort, femme (or homme) fatale, fetishist, flame to the moth, jailbait, Kama Sutra master, Mrs. Robinson, playboy, sex therapist, swinger, social butterfly
Symbol: The symbol is a heraldic holdover from the bloodline's origins: A child's face (borrowed from the Malatesti coat of arms) fused with a rose (a symbol in no need of explanation).
Eros
This technique of mastery over the sexual cravings of others is not only the Malatesti’s signature Discipline, but, by necessity, the very first they usually develop. With Eros, a Malatesta can alter and ignite a person’s carnal desires, arouse or satisfy desire with a look, and tighten libido like a leash over the will of others.
Although Kindred technically do not possess a sex instinct, this Discipline reveals their thirst for blood to be an unsettlingly close relative, and Malatesti are adept at using Eros to coax and cajole Kindred hunger in much the same way it affects mortal lust.
By its nature, Eros is reserved for mature roleplay, and a Storyteller should obtain the consent of all players in a troupe before allowing its entry into play. Troupes wishing to make use of the Malatesti bloodline without using Eros would not do wrong to substitute Dominate (or Auspex) for Eros as the Malatesti’s fourth bloodline Discipline.
* Heart’s Perversion
One of the more curious (and, in its way, most disturbing) powers available to Kindred, Heart’s Perversion allows a Malatesti to effectively “reorient” a target’s sexual orientation, imbuing him with new and unfamiliar desires or depriving him of enjoyment of activities he used to love. The new orientation can be so precise that the target can only enjoy a specific act with a specific person under specific circumstances, or so vague that the target becomes essentially omnisexual. The only thing Heart’s Perversion cannot do is make someone asexual – it can redirect desire, not erase it entirely.
This Discipline doesn’t seem useful until its psychological implications are considered, then it becomes an excellent tool for the manipulation or torture of kine. A Malatesti can avenge himself upon a mortal by making him homosexual, and influence or destroy a public figure by giving him a temporary taste for bestiality or child pornography.
Heart’s Perversion has no effect on Kindred.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Persuasion + Eros versus Resolve + Blood Potency
Action: Contested; resistance is reflexive
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The target’s natural orientation affirms itself, and the target becomes immune, for a number of weeks equal to the target’s Resolve, to any further uses of Heart’s Perversion by the Malatesta who made the dramatic failure.
Failure: The target’s natural orientation affirms itself, and the target becomes immune, for the rest of the scene, to any further uses of Heart’s Perversion by the Malatesta who made the failure.
Success: The change in orientation takes hold for a period of time that the Malatesta specifies, not to exceed a number of days equal to the Malatesta’s dots of Willpower, after which time the target’s natural orientation reasserts itself.
Exceptional Success: The change in orientation takes hold, and the Malatesta has the option of making the new orientation permanent.
** Carnal Urgency
Although the need for physical gratification is an ever-present drive, Carnal Urgency makes that need more immediate, turning it into a demand for satisfaction right now at this moment. The target of this Discipline is overcome with a sudden, irresistible wave of what can best described as horniness, and, once affected, he will drop whatever he’s doing and see to that need in the safest, most expedient manner possible. For mortals, this means bedding with the first available sexual partner or, failing that, engaging in a bit of onanism. For Kindred, this means drinking from the first convenient source of vitae, regardless of whether the Kindred is in need of it. Kindred affected with Carnal Urgency who are somehow restrained or otherwise prevented from gaining blood must immediately roll to resist frenzy.
This Discipline has important limits. The victim will not pursue a source of sex or blood if doing so puts himself at personal risk – so a mortal won’t try to rape someone in public, and a Kindred won’t Blood Bond himself by drinking from a fellow vampire, no matter how graciously the wrist is offered. Furthermore, a target can only be affected with Carnal Urgency once per scene.
Most Malatesti use Carnal Urgency as an aid to hunting. They affect a mortal with the power, and then makes themselves available to the mortal for sex. But this Discipline also provides an excellent way to rid oneself of undesired company; a Kindred target will leave in immediate search of prey, while a mortal will go find a private place to masturbate.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Empathy + Eros versus Resolve + Blood Potency
Action: Contested
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: No effect. Furthermore, the target will be immune to further uses of Carnal Urgency for the rest of the scene.
Failure: No effect.
Success: The target immediately does everything in his power – short of putting himself at personal risk – to satisfy the appropriate appetite: sex in the case of mortals and blood in the case of vampires.
Exceptional Success: As with a success, except the target is vulnerable to being affected with the power an additional time during the same scene.
*** Sudden Ecstasy
It sounds nice, and it even feels nice, but it’s not.
Sudden Ecstasy temporarily debilitates the target – Kindred or kine – by sending waves of pleasure coursing through his body with such intensity that he can do little more than collapse to the floor, quiver, and moan. The pleasure elicited by Sudden Ecstasy is sexual in degree, and kine have been known to spontaneously orgasm while experiencing its effects.
Although clever Malatesti find many uses for this Discipline, it usually comes to their aid in battle, as an efficient means of incapacitating opponents. Although a victim of Sudden Ecstasy is in no shape to attack its user, the Malatesta should still think twice before taking the opportunity to attack his helpless enemy, as any physical pain or injury received while experiencing Sudden Ecstasy will dispel its effects, instantly ending it. Although this is a convenient escape for the victim, it is up to someone else to shock him free in this manner, as he will simply be enjoying the experience too much to want to end it by wounding himself.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Presence + Empathy + Eros versus Stamina + Blood Potency
Action: Contested
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The target suffers no effect, and is rendered immune to Sudden Ecstasy for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The target suffers no effect.
Success: The target is debilitated for a number of turns equal to the user’s successes. He can shorten the duration of this effect by one turn for every Willpower he expends.
Exceptional Success: The target is debilitated for as long as the Discipline’s user remains in his vicinity and wishes to maintain the effect. (Although physical injury will still shock him free.)
**** Unquenchable Lust
Applications of Eros get particularly brutal at higher levels. Like Carnal Urgency, Unquenchable Lust compels its target to pursue immediate gratification. Unlike that lesser Discipline, however, the target of Unquenchable Lust will respect fewer boundaries while satisfying his need. There are few limits on the potential of this Discipline to traumatize not only its target, but those unfortunate enough to be in the target’s vicinity at the time.
For starters, considerations of discretion, law, social mores, and personal safety all go right out the window, with the target immediately pursuing (and even attacking) the first available source of physical pleasure, even if it means sexual assault or a Masquerade breach. Furthermore, the target will, like a kangaroo rat, “binge” on the source of pleasure, continuing long after he has reached climax or filled up with blood. (The Kindred in this case would simply burn through vitae to make room for more.)
As with Carnal Urgency, Kindred afflicted with Unquenchable Lust who are unable to feed their hunger must immediately roll to resist frenzy.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Presence + Empathy + Eros versus Composure + Blood Potency
Action: Contested
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The target suffers no effect, and is rendered immune to Unquenchable Lust for the rest of the scene.
Failure: No effect.
Success: The target becomes subject to Unquenchable Lust for one hour per success.
Exceptional Success: No additional effect.
***** Bond of Love
The most powerful of the Eros Disciplines, Bond of Love is rarely used, and even less often used to its maximum effect, but the rare instances where its full power is implemented are truly terrifying.
Bond of Love can only be used on a target that is bound to the character through the Vinculum, and only while in that character’s vicinity. When these conditions are met, the sovereign Kindred can, through Bond of Love, temporarily increase the strength of his Vinculum over the thrall by one stage. A first-stage Vinculum acts as a second-stage, and a second-stage Vinculum acts as a third-stage.
In the unfortunate case of thralls already under the full effect of the Vinculum, Bond of Love elevates that thralldom to an effective “fourth” stage, in which the victim undergoes a terrible loss of personal will hardly imaginable by anyone who has not experienced it. Such victims are described by Malatesti as being “Love Bound,” and the utter devotion they feel toward their thralls runs deep through their minds and spirits, to the very flesh of their bodies.
A Love Bound character experiences the full effects of third-stage Vinculum. In addition, his devotion to his regnant is such that he will do everything in his power to please his regnant, and avoid doing anything that would displease the regnant. Success and failure of these attempts carry their own rewards and punishments, inflicted by the Bond of Love itself. Every turn the thrall does something that he perceives as pleasing to the regnant, he receives a point of Willpower (up to his maximum Willpower). But every turn that the character does something that he believes displeases the regnant – whether he intended to or not – he loses a point of Willpower. If he has run out of Willpower, then he will begin to physically feel the ill effects of his failures in the form of bashing damage – one point for every turn he displeases his regnant. (So yes, it is possible for a Love Bound character to die from this. Teachers of Eros often tell their students the story of a Love Bound thrall to Francesca Malatesta who so angered his regnant that she verbally berated him until he vomited blood and died of internal hemorrhaging.)
Displeasure can be caused by sins of omission – failing to pick up a napkin the regnant has dropped, for example, would incur the punishment, even if the regnant did not explicitly order the thrall to pick it up, or wasn’t even aware she dropped anything.
Cost: 1 Blood and 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + Eros versus Stamina + Blood Potency
Action: Contested
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The effect backfires, and the Vinculum actually weakens by a stage, and will remain weakened for a number of hours equal to the target’s Stamina + Blood Potency.
Failure: No effect.
Success: The Vinculum temporarily increases by one stage for a number of hours equal to the successes on the role, and for as long as the regnant and thrall remain in the same vicinity.
Exceptional Success: No additional effect. |
Last edited by FrayedEdge on Feb 26, 2005 - 02:43 PM; edited 1 time in total
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Post subject: RE: Bloodline Challenge: Malatesti
Posted: Feb 24, 2005 - 08:08 AM
|
|
|
|
Hi there I think the bloodline is great but the first level of Eros The Heart's Perversion is way to powerful. Changing a mortals desire for a scene I can understand but to change it for weeks on end is to much. Especially if based on the Kindreds willpower as it will be close to two months for most.
Also I can understand a leaning to a new sexual direction or the blocking of a current one. But maybe it should have to be done multipule times one for each change such as a normal striaght guy being l turned to a gay sadomascist would need two seperate rolls.
But like I said the idea behind the bloodline is a cool one. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Post subject: RE: Bloodline Challenge: Malatesti
Posted: Feb 26, 2005 - 02:42 PM
|
|
Omega
Joined: Feb 15, 2005
Posts: 5
|
|
Hmmm .... you think a week per Willpower dot is too long, but I think an hour per dot is too short, so let's compromise. How about one day per dot?  |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Post subject: RE: Bloodline Challenge: Malatesti
Posted: Mar 02, 2005 - 05:09 AM
|
|
|
|
Hi again
Have logged in this time and I still think its a bit powerfull but that's up to how your system works I suppose.
But what about the other bit about a roll per change??
I also think there weakness goes very much in keeping with their own disciplane and history 
Also I think it might be a bit easy for this bloodline to get its special disciplane powers off considering how poerful they are?? |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Search WW Wiki
White Wolf News
Past Articles
Random Book
Warning: mysql_num_rows(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /home/my00tant/public_html/modules/books/pnblocks/newbook.php on line 61
Warning: mysql_num_rows(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /home/my00tant/public_html/modules/books/pnblocks/newbook.php on line 71
Warning: mysql_fetch_array(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /home/my00tant/public_html/modules/books/pnblocks/newbook.php on line 93
Warning: mysql_fetch_array(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /home/my00tant/public_html/modules/books/pnblocks/newbook.php on line 109
New Releases
Last Releases (Dec 31)
Next Releases (Dec 31)
Poll
|
![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif){kind=small}
FAQ
Search
Register
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
