Potence

Potence is a Discipline that endows vampires with physical vigour and preternatural
strength. Vampires with Potence possess physical strength beyond mortal bounds.
This Discipline is responsible for the legends of vampires possessing the
strength of 10 men. Potence allows vampires to leap great distances, lift
massive weights and strike opponents with terrifying force.

Even the lowest ranks of this
Discipline gift a vampire with physical might far above human capacity. More
powerful immortals have been known to leap so far they seem to be flying, throw
or toss cars aside like tin cans, and punch through concrete as if it were
cardboard. In the Dark Ages, vampire nobles were known to break open fortress
gates with their bare hands and cut war horses in two with one stroke of a
greatsword.

Members of Clans Parox,
Tenebrous, Thanatos and Vorvolak are naturally gifted with this Discipline, although
almost every clan finds some use for it, and members of other clans often make
a point to find someone who can teach them this awesome power. It is also a
fairly common discipline among dhampirs.

Potence's aspect in the curse is
that a vampire slowly forgets how to be gentle. Those who rely too much on
Potence begin to show complete disregard for what they perceive as the fragility
of others, putting all their strength in any physical action, regardless how
mundane it is.

### **0 - Brawn**

Your undead muscles are endowed
with supernatural clout. You get a bonus to your STR score equal to your levels
in Potence (minimum bonus of +1 at level 0).

### **1 - Sundering Strike**

Your
unarmed and clubbing attacks hit incredibly hard, and you may choose to deal
lethal damage with them if you so wish.

### **2 - Might of the Damned**

You are
capable of feats of supernatural strength. You may re-roll any attempt to carry
out a task that is modified by your STR score or your STR Rating.

### **3 - Fist of the Maul**

Your attacks strike with such force that they gain Armour
Surpass equal to your levels in Potence/2, rounded down.

### **4 - Unrelenting Force**

Your
unnatural strength grows further. On any roll that involves STR, you may spend
1 Vitae to double your roll total.

### **5 - Herculean Strength**

Your
physical power begins to reach impossible levels. By spending 1 point of Vitae,
you may double your lifting and body slam capacity for a single scene.

### **6 - Render of Steel**

Your
punches hit with the power of a locomotive. By spending 1 point of Vitae you
may deal a number of additional points of damage equal to your levels in
Potence. You must succeed on your attack before this bonus is added to your
attack total, however.

### **7 - Tremour**

By
striking the ground at your feet, you create a shockwave that can knock
opponents prone, shake the foundations of buildings and crack hardened earth,
leaving small fissures. This power requires 2 points of spent Vitae.

### **8 - Beneath My Contempt**

A
backhand from you could send another flying through the air with ease. By making
the smallest of gestures (shoves, flicks of your fingers etc.) you are able to bring
to bear your full strength against any opponent that you can touch. This does
any damage that you would normally do in hand to hand combat.

### **9 - Engine of Destruction**

Your
blows can connect with such force that they disrupt the tissues of those you
strike on the molecular level. By spending 3 points of Vitae, you may choose to
convert a number of points of damage on your next attack equal to your STR
Rating to aggravated damage. You must make this decision before you make the
attack roll, of course.

### **10 - Atomize**

By
concentrating all of your strength into a single blow, you attempt to hit with
energy sufficient to annihilate your foe. This power requires you to spend 5
points of Vitae. You make a single attack roll against your opponent. If you hit,
he rolls Conditioning (Life Force) against your attack total. If he succeeds,
any damage he suffers from your attack is aggravated damage. If he fails, he
disintegrates, in spectacular fashion, under the force of your impact. Vampires
explode into fine dust; mortals into a bloody mist.