 |
The Focused Mind
Developed by a Tremere Kabbalistic scholar, this extremely rare path is only practiced by a select few. The serenity and dedication necessary to train the mind is often lacking in these chaotic nights, but those few who master their own thoughts become frighteningly effective opponents. This path retests on the Occult Ability, and thaumaturges must have at least seven Mental Traits to begin it.
| |
|
basic Path of the focused mind |
| |
|
Readiness |
This power grants the ability to jumpstart sluggish synapses, allowing for a quicker and more lucid understanding of a situation. While it is only usable upon the thaumaturge herself, she will be three Traits up on Mental Challenges relating to leaps of logic, investigation, memory or reasoning. This power lasts from one scene to an hour.
By muttering soothing words to himself or another, the caster can influence a person's psyche, even talking her out of frenzy. While experiencing this serenity, the target is better able to focus on tasks and problems ahead other, even ignoring pain and the threat of bodily harm. Some magi in fear of frenzy use this on themselves. For the duration of the power, the target is unaffected by wound penalties; additionally, for every Mental Trait the thaumaturge spends (up to three), the target gains a Trait to defend against any attempt to evoke emotion and resist (or break out of) frenzy, even those which resulted from Disciplines. The target must be within earshot of and able to hear the caster, and the caster must spend at least one full turn speaking to the target. This power lasts for one scene or an hour.
| |
|
intermediate Path of the focused mind |
| |
|
One-Tracked Mind |
By extending her focus to another person and speaking to them rationally, the thaumaturge may fixate her subject upon a single action or thought. The target ignores any and all distractions around him, and simply concentrates on the idea in front of him. If cast during combat, the target may not perform any other actions for the remainder of the combat other than the one he most recently declared at the rime of casting; even extra actions gained through Celerity are directed toward this end. As a bonus, the target gain an extra Trait that may be added to any challenges made in pursuit of his target obsession. This fixation will fade at the end of the combat. If cast outside a combat, the target must continue doing exactly what he was doing at the time of casting for one scene. In both cases, the target's actions are perfectly logical to him, and he will even believe it was his idea. To fixate a subject, the thaumaturge must first succeed in a Mental Challenge with the target and speak with the target for one action. The target must be within earshot and able to hear the caster.
This degree of mental perfection permits the thaumaturge to concentrate on two completely different tasks and perform them both with equal acumen. By spending a temporary Willpower, the caster may now rake an extra action during her turn so long as that action is Mental in nature, be it Mental-based Disciplines or the tackling of a problem. These actions take place simultaneously on the thaumaturge's turn. There are no other benefits to this power; all actions still require any expenditures, challenges or penalties they would have if performed separately, and no more blood may be spent per turn than is allowed by the thaumaturge's generation. The power lasts for one scene or 10 minutes.
| |
|
advanced Path of the focused mind |
| |
|
Perfect Clarity |
With a burst of concentration, the thaumaturge is able to achieve a moment of pure thought, transcending emotion and distraction. By spending a temporary Willpower, the caster becomes temporarily immune to frenzy and Rotschreck (even through supernatural means), has a two-Trait bonus in am' challenge, and all opponents attempting to influence or control the thaumaturge in any way (including with Presence or Dominate) lose all ties to do so. This power lasts for one combat scene, or 10 minutes.
|
|