Obtenebration
Shadow stuff of nightmares, sin incarnate, the reach of the Abyss, the memory of the Universe before God brought forth the light. Lasombra have debated the stuff of Obtenebration since the clan was formed. It has no weight, no chemically discernable substance, and yet it absorbs sounds smells and even light, and can entangle targets and even inflict damage. It is wholly unnatural, firmly entrenched in the Occult, much to the dismay of more scientifically minded Lasombra.
As for the Abyss... where is it? what is it? "Beyond" the world? "Outside it? "Beneath" it? What is its connection with our own?
The following is a collection of further rules concerning Obtenebration. The laws are not static and variations are rife. Player derived
Obtenebration functions as described in the side bar on page 66 of Clan Book: Lasombra; which is to say that its uses are obvious breaches of the Masquerade. It is not a subtle power. As far as leaving a blood residue, as per the MET ruling, a player can spend an additional trait of the type requited to have the option of leaving a residue or not, otherwise its up to Storyteller discretion. We request that you describe to those around you how the blood/shadow-stuff leaves your body (through cuts on the skin, the mouth, like tears from your eyes, etc.).
Combo DisciplinesCombo Disciplines require instruction from a character that knows the power in question. If the student is not a Lasombra she must drink a point of Lasombra blood before training and even then it may not work properly (Storyteller discretion). Out of Clan Experience point cost is +2.
Shroud of Absence (8 XP)Requires Dominate (3) and Obtenebration (3)
No rule changes.
Armor of Darkness (8 XP)Requires Fortitude (2) and Obtenebration (3)
This power costs one Willpower to activate plus one Mental trait per level of protection. The user is wrapped in an inky blackness. Each level of protection will defend against one level of damage from either fire or sunlight before being destroyed. While this power is active the Lasombra must bid an additional trait on all challenges due to the concentration required to maintain the armor.
Dark Steel (9 XP)Requires Obtenebration (3) and Potence (4)
Should you choose to activate Dark Steel you must spend an extra blood point when summoning Arms of the Abyss. Each tentacle now has 6 Physical Traits, plus two more Physical traits for each point of blood you spend on it.
Shadow Eyes (6 XP)Requires Auspex (3) and Obtenebration (3)
To invoke this power you must expend one Blood Trait. You can then generate a small patch of darkness that you can use to blind an opponent. He suffers the effects of being in Shroud of Night. Alternatively you can use the power on yourself to gain the bonus Social trait of Intimidating. This power lasts for the duration of one conflict or 10 minutes.
Smothering Darkness (5 XP)Requires Obfuscate (2) and Obtenebration (2)
Each mental trait that you spend causes a bat like shadow to fly out and smother one light source. Each of the shadows can also smother a flame no greater than torch sized. Larger flames require more shadows to smother as determined by the ST.
Shadow OccultismAncient Lasombra lore speaks of those Thaumaturges that predate the Tremere. Shadow Sorcerers practicing eldritch arts from the black depths of the Abyss. Prerequisites for utilizing Shadow Occultism: the practitioner must possess Obtenebration 5, Occult 5 with the specialty Abyss. At present there are two rituals and one path that can be researched using Occult Influence. These are described below:
Summon Abyssal CreatureThis requires a successful Occult 4 Influence action to research and is considered an Intermediate Ritual – costs 4xp to learn.
This ritual takes one hour to perform. During this time the caster must spend one blood point and win a static Mental Challenge against 7 traits. If the ritual is successful the caster then summons a single Arm of the Abyss. It has all the normal attributes typical to the Arm plus one Mental trait per level of Obtenebration possessed by the caster. The Storyteller chooses the exact traits. Additionally the summoner can sacrifice his own Mental traits to increase the Mental traits of the Abyssal Creature. Each additional blood point spent in the summoning of the Arm also gives an additional Mental trait.
The Abyss Creature is immune to Social challenges – but not Mental challenges.
The Abyss Creature possesses at least one derangement as chosen by the ST as well as an obsession that resembles a sin from a path – as chosen by the ST. Each Abyssal Creature has a goal, which may not be the same as the one that summoned it. It can move independently at normal movement rate. Intense light will dispel the creature. The creature will exist for one hour or until destroyed.
The summoner can repeat the ritual to reinforce the creature’s presence. An additional hour long ritual against the same difficulty will allow the creature to exist until it is destroyed as long as the caster feeds it (15-Obtenebration levels) in blood per night.
The summoner can attempt to absorb the manifestation into himself. This requires the summoner defeat the creature in combat. Once this is done he drinks its darkness into himself. He then gains the creature’s attributes that are added to his own for the duration of the night. He also gains the creatures derangements and cannot spend Willpower to resist its effects.
If the creature is able to reduce the summoner to torpor, it can invade his body and control it for the rest of the night. This is resolved with a Mental challenge. It can also return the following night and try again. If it can do this three nights in a row – it possesses the summoner until driven out.
Driving out the beast involves another practitioner of Shadow Occultism to perform the ritual as described above.
The summoner can summon any particular Abyssal Creature he has summoned in the past and it will have the same statistics. He must still perform the ritual however.
Descent into DarknessThis ritual requires the successful use of Occult 5 influence in order to learn and is considered an advanced ritual – cost to learn is 6 XP.
By performing this hour long ritual, expending one blood point and winning a Mental challenge vs. 9 traits the caster is able to physically enter the Abyss – the Obtenebration equivalent of Psychic Projection. The one glaring difference is the caster’s physical body enters as well.
The caster can move as if he has fleetness and peer into any real world environment in near or total darkness. He can step out of a shadowy spot and return to the real world. However, it does have its hazards: for every 10 minutes the caster spends in the Abyss there is the possibility that he encounters an Abyssal creature. A simple test is conducted; on a win or a tie there is no encounter. If the test failed, the Occultist encounters an Abyssal Creature that will try to place him in torpor and possess his body as described in Summon Abyssal Creature above. Combat in the Abyss does damage to Willpower, just as in Astral Combat. However, if all of a character’s Willpower is lost the Abyss spits her out into the nearest dark place in the material world.
The creature has the following stats: Physical Traits: 3, Health Levels: 3, Mental Traits: (Equal to the Caster’s level’s of Obtenebration +1), Potence, and a Derangement as determined by the ST. It also is obsessed with a particular sin, also as described above.