Djinn What you claim to know is nothing compared to the knowledge of o f the smokeless flame. Off all the new finds in the world, the Djinn Nicknames: Genies, but they prefer to be are one of the most ancient of relics recently called Djinn. Covenant: Most Djinn are wanted by the uncovered. Hidden away in the sands of the different covenants as they are social ancient Middle East, the Djinn are the ancient founders of the vampire masters but they are largely lineage now known as the Gangrel. unconcerned with politics. The most ancient of all Vampire They often associate with the Ordo Draul and the Circle lines, the Djinn have been accounted in text as far back as of the Crone, just because of the the creation of the world itself. sheer mystic power that can The Djinn take their name supplement their already impressive natural disciplines. They from the term for the spirits created at the beginning of time can be found in all the other covenants but itself. They claim to be formed from the rarely among the Lancea Sanctum, as few are combination of the spirits known as the accepting of the invading religion that Ifrit, creatures formed of the smokeless attacked during the Crusades. The Lancea flame, and the earthly shell of a human. The Sanctum take this as a personal offense but the Djinn are known to be a bit more concerned memory of the Djinn is long and they can with the ways of mortals and the power one recall the number of kindred that attacked along side the invading Christians, the blood can find among the political places. Regardless, the Djinn have just begun to of the Djinn’s herds flowed all too freely as the awaken from their slumbering. All of the clan kindred fed upon the wounded. went into torpor or suffered at the hands of Appearances: The Djinn all appear to be of Gangrel dilaberists. All that remains are the some sort of Middle Eastern descent. This is four Sultans and the Scheherazade herself, the because of the limited mortal stock from which oldest and wisest of all the Djinn, enemies to embrace from. In the modern nights the feared to attempt amaranth upon her due to selection has broadened. However those that her mystic abilities. It is because of the fame are embraced not of Middle Eastern descent and mystic might of the Scheherazade that the find themselves affected by a physical change Djinn are receiving recognition in the new age. in addition to the need to feed on blood. Those Sadly, the Djinn must not of Middle Eastern now contend with the descent find there degenerate offspring that features will warp to Daeva: So degenerated from the former glory you are now the Gangrel. The once hold. appear that they have Gangrel: You have fallen from your former glory Gangrel elders that first the blood of the Middle once held by us, the Ifrit have claimed you. betrayed the Djinn have East in their veins. Skin Mekhet: Shadow from whence you came, only begun to let the fog of will take on a darker flame must you fear. memory invade the cast and eyes will Nosferatu: Horrors of flesh, but full of memory of Djinn. The become more almond in knowledge. Djinn have now begun shape. This can be seen Ventrue: You are lords of nothing but madness. their schemes of revenge as a blessing to some some as *** against the Gangrel mortal relatives will not Lupines: You are beasts, but we remember your elders, the remaining be able to identify them father, respect for the children. young have a chance of as easily. Beyond this Mages: The wise men bound the Ifrit; we will not survival but the those many different fall into the same trap. that cling to their sires Mortals: You are food to us, but we rule honestly. individuals can be must fear Djinn revenge. found among the Djinn.
Havens: Most of the Djinn prefer to make their havens in places that show of power. The haven may be comfortable and beautiful, often showing great great wealth in some manner, manner, but their haven will always intimidate anyone brought to it. Further mo re, if the Djinn owes a debt to anyone, they are forced to grant the repayment, as long as it is within their abilities, if the debt is called upon in their haven. Background: Djinn, as stated earlier are often embraced from any sort of background. The most common connection between the Djinn is their desire for power. The Djinn find that those who hunger for power, in any form, are more ready to accept damnation. Some Djinn also find a sense of duty to embrace those wishing for power or wealth, it i t is the classical ‘be careful what you wish for’ legacy associated with Djinn from legend. Character Creation: Social attributes and skills are often primary, with physical attributes and skill being secondary. Depending on the role on which the individual feels best suited, these can be reversed as the Djinn are now beginning to seek out warriors to bolster their ranks before they enact their revenge. Favored Attributes: Composure or Resolve Clan Disciplines: Fortitude, Resistance, Samaja Weakness: As with the Gangrel, the Djinn are more in touch with their inner beast, in their case the Ifrit. However due to the wealth of knowledge the Ifrit has, the deep connection with the font of knowledge within causes their minds to become weakened. The Djinn suffer a -2 penalty on any roll to avoid developing a derangement. This is because during times of weakness the Ifrit within likes to enforce its strength of knowledge. Also due to their connection with their Ifrit within, all Djinn are treated by other vampires as being of a blood potency two levels higher. Organization: The Djinn are now slowly taking their place among the night. Once they held seats of power, the oldest of the Elders remember their once held positions and are working to reintegrate themselves into kindred society. They prefer to stay among the tribes that were formed by their grandsires. Bloodlines: There are three know bloodlines to exist among the Djinn: Jann (Djinn that specialize in control over the Earth), Efreet ( Djinn that specialize in control over fire) and Jinn (Djinn that specialize in control over air). Also found among the Djinn are a special ghoul family known as the Marid. Ali- baba style thief Concepts: Desert Knight, Sultan in modern age, Ali-baba
Samaja Appearances are very important to the Djinn. This ability is exactly the same as the Kamen discipline of the Sotoha bloodline, the reason being that the Djinn are considered to be noble savages at best. The state of one’s true feelings is held to be of little concern to others, but the way that things appear is very important. i mportant. It also has supernatural consequences. Samaja (“the Mask”), the Djinn’s unique Discipline, is devoted to keeping the Kindred’s outward image intact. This Discipline has little effect on his inner state, but with a mastery of this mystic art, it becomes all but impossible for others to know what that inner state is. At the highest levels, l evels, a Djinn vampire can even present a calm face when his soul is in the throes of frenzy.
• Harem Veil The first Samaja power allows a Kindred to hide his emotions perfectly. This power only truly allows a Kindred to suggest that his true thoughts match the ones he is displaying. He cannot choose to look like a loyal servant pretending to be discontent; he must either look like a loyal servant who is displaying his loyalty or a discontent servant displaying his discontent. This limits the subtlety of the deceptions a Kindred with this Discipline can practice. The emotion displayed is normally quite general, so that the mask remains useful for the whole of a conversation. Thus, it would be normal to fake loyalty, friendliness or sympathy but not amusement at a particular joke. However, faking amusement amusement at a comedy performance would be reasonable. It is not uncommon for Djinn Kindred to use this power all the time. Cost: — Dice Pool: Manipulation + Expression + Samaja Action: Instant, normally. Characters may contest attempts to use supernatural abilities to see through the Kindred’s mask with Composure + Expression + Samaja. Mundane attempts to assess what the Kindred is feeling always conclude that the facade he is projecting is wholly genuine. Supernatural attempts may also be fooled, unless they can overcome the Discipline in an
opposed roll. In addition, the Kindred must attempt to keep the deception up. Actions that clearly break the image also end the effect of the power. Thus, a Kindred faking interest i nterest in a lecture would not continue to appear interested if he started reading a book instead. However, the power of the Discipline does mean that the Kindred does not need to make a great effort to maintain the façade. The Kindred using this power need not be faking his displayed emotion. Even when a Kindred is sincere, it may be to his advantage to definitely appear so. If a supernatural attempt to pierce the Discipline succeeds, the user knows that it has, even if the emotion revealed is the same as the one the Discipline was displaying. Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The character’s true feelings, and the fact that he is trying to hide them, are obvious to everyone. The character does not, however, realize that he is so transparent. He suffers a –2 penalty on all Social dice pools for the remainder of the scene. Failure: The character must rely on his mundane acting abilities to hide his true feelings. He is aware that his attempt to activate the Discipline failed. Success: The character can maintain one’s poise perfectly. That is, he can choose to have one emotion look entirely genuine for the duration of a scene. To change the emotion, however, he must activate the power (and the player must roll) again. For example, a character makes his act of friendliness towards a Carthian troublemaker appear genuine. Later, the Prince’s enforcers descend, and the character needs to make his show of loyalty to the Prince seem genuine. This requires a new roll. Exceptional Success: The character can change his mask at will for the duration of the scene. Thus, in the example above, a new roll would not be required to make his loyalty appear genuine.
•• The Fitting Time The first stage of control over the Beast allows a Kindred to delay entering a frenzy. Ideally, this gives her enough time to get somewhere
out of sight of others before relinquishing control, but low levels of success may grant her merely a moment to take some action acti on to lessen the likely impact. For example, a Kindred who delays a hunger frenzy might run from her friends, so that she does not feed on them. Cost: — Dice Pool: Resolve + Composure + Samaja Action: Reflexive. The roll is made immediately after failing to resist frenzy, to delay the onset of that frenzy. Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The frenzy starts immediately, and is less amenable to control than even a normal failure. The Kindred may not spend Willpower to direct the frenzy in any way. Failure: The frenzy starts immediately, as normal. Success: The Kindred can delay entering the frenzy for a certain period of time determined by the successes rolled. She may choose to enter frenzy at any point within that time, but if she has not done so earlier, she automatically goes into frenzy when the time period expires. Exceptional Success: No benefit beyond being able to delay the frenzy until the following night, as indicated on the table below. Successes Maximum Time 1 success One turns 2 successes Five turns 3–4 successes One scene 5+ successes One night. If the Kindred does not enter frenzy before laying down to sleep at dawn, she wakes in frenzy the following evening. When the Kindred does enter frenzy, it is the same as any other involuntary frenzy.
••• The Wave Is the Man When a Kindred with this power “rides the wave” of frenzy, she has much more control over her actions and appearance than normal. She may appear as calm as she wishes, and take actions that require thought and deliberate decision, including the use of Disciplines such as Dominate. The benefits of being in frenzy still apply, however: the vampire ignores wound penalties, gets a bonus die to all physical dice pools and gets a bonus to resist attempts at mental dominatio n. From the outside, it is almost impossible to determine that the vampire is in frenzy. Supernatural abilities such as Auspex can do
so by examining the vampire’s aura, but to mundane observation she appears no different from normal. While the Kindred may choose to behave in a wild manner, she need not, and virtually all Djinn choose to remain icily calm even while they frenzy. However, she is still in frenzy, and observers may be able to deduce that from her behavior. The frenzying kindred has an absolute focus on the target of her frenzy. f renzy. She can do nothing that she does not judge to be the fastest and most effective way to achieve her end. As the frenzy was invoked voluntarily, the vampire no doubt has an end in mind. While the frenzying vampire cannot do anything she does not judge to be the fastest and most effective means to her end, that does not mean she should spend a long time contemplating options. On the contrary, she must decide quickly from among the options that come immediately to mind. If two seem equally effective, she is free to choose either, as long as she chooses quickly. In certain cases, the fastest and most effective way to achieve an end might require lots of careful planning, which is fine. However, the Kindred cannot be distracted from those plans. If the frenzy lasts a long time, the vampire may take reasonable precautions when she sleeps and feeds, as long as they do not distract from her target. The same applies to any other needs that she has for survival, since the vampire’s survival is generally essential to achieving the end of a frenzy. If the Kindred is a Djinn, the frenzy does not subside automatically when it has reached its end. She must gain a success on a Resolve + Composure roll to end it, as normal. Cost: — Dice Pool: This power requires no roll. It automatically affects any voluntary frenzy that the vampire enters. Action: Reflexive
•••• Face of the Moment The Kindred with this power can fit fi t perfectly into any social situation, even one of which he was completely ignorant. He knows what the people around him consider to be correct behavior for him in the current circumstances, and thus he never accidentally breaks the local rules of etiquette. If the Kindred is appearing as himself, the power is most useful in a new society. If he is in disguise, however, he knows how the
people around him think that the type of person he is pretending to be should shoul d behave, and also whether they expect him to behave properly. This is a great help in maintaining a successful disguise. In addition, lies the Kindred tells to support any act he is sustaining appear sincere to any mundane examination and to any supernatural investigation that fails to overcome this power. This power does not help a Kindred keep track of the lies that he should be telling in a particular situation, however. Most Kindred with Face of the Moment also use Harem Veil at the same time. These two powers may be activated together in a single action, although the rolls must still be made separately, and it is possible for one to succeed and one to fail. It is, of course, also possible to use one power without the other. As with Harem Veil, some powerful Djinn Kindred keep this power in effect all the time. Cost: — Dice Pool: Wits + Socialize + Samaja. Composure + Expression + Samaja to resist supernatural attempts to pierce his lies. Action: Instant Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The vampire appears to all around him as an impostor. If he is in disguise, everyone realizes that he is disguised, although they may not immediately realize who he really is, particularly if the disguise is supernatural. If he is not in i n disguise, everyone who interacts with him becomes convinced that he is i s either a supernaturally disguised impostor or is possessed by some spirit making his body behave strangely. This effect lasts for a scene. Failure: The vampire must rely on his other resources to navigate the social reefs of a new environment or to support a deception. Success: The Kindred can act as if he were long accustomed to his role for a period of time depending on the number of successes rolled. Successes Duration 1 success 10 minutes 2 successes 30 minutes 3 successes One hour or one scene 4+ successes One night While the power is in effect, the Kindred suffers no penalties to social dice pools that would normally apply to an outsider in the
society. In addition, he knows what the accepted etiquette is. If he is in disguise, he instinctively knows how the person he is impersonating would be expected to behave and what would be the polite behavior for that person. The Kindred’s actions are not constrained. He can choose to be impolite or to be just barely polite enough to avoid giving an insult. However, such fine judgments do require a die roll, as they would for someone naturally familiar with the society. Exceptional Success: The effect lasts for one night, as for four successes. In addition, the Kindred gets a +3 bonus to all social dice pools, reflecting the amazing ease with which he can manipulate the social expectations of the group.
••••• Masking the Beast The final power of Samaja functions like The Wave Is the Man, above, but for involuntary frenzies. No matter how deep the vampire may be in frenzy, she can appear completely calm and rational, taking sensible steps to best achieve the ends of the frenzy. Cost: — Dice Pool: This power requires no roll. It automatically affects any involuntary frenzy the vampire enters. This power requires some adjudication between the player and Storyteller. It does not make the vampire immune to frenzy, although al though there are some Kindred who believe that it does. On the other hand, this power is a major advantage to a frenzying vampire. At the very least, a vampire with this power can use any of her other powers while in a frenzy, regardless of how much calm and concentration they take, and can always appear calm and in control. The vampire also has considerable control over her actions, within the limits of the frenzy. A vampire in hunger frenzy must feed to satiation as soon as possible. If the only vessel around is her beloved, she drains him dry. On the other hand, if the two of them are in a hotel room, she can charge out and into the next room, looking for another victim. She cannot, however, decide to take her beloved home first and feed later in the evening. If the vampire enters hunger frenzy while feeding, she can still break off to feed from another vessel, as long as she believes that there is another easily available. A vampire in fear frenzy must get away from the cause of the fear as quickly as possible. A
vampire forced into frenzy by another vampire waving a lighter in her face at a social gathering may make a cutting remark as she turns to stalk haughtily from the room, rather than freaking out and running screaming, but she must still leave. A vampire driven to fear frenzy by a candle could blow it out. Similarly, a vampire terrified by the sunlight coming through a window could duck around the light to close the shutters. If they failed to completely block the light, she would have to leave the room. Fear frenzies are possibly the least restricted, as about the only thing the vampire cannot do is bravely endure the threat; and most Kindred would not risk their Requiems in that way in any case. A vampire in anger frenzy must express her anger. She need not, however, do so through physical violence. If the frenzy was provoked as anger with a particular individual, it must be taken out on that individual. If, on the other hand, it was provoked by general frustration, the vampire can choose how to express it. In no case will a vampire with this power involuntarily attack her friends while in an anger frenzy, unless they are disguised as her enemies. A vampire provoked into an anger frenzy in a social situation could choose to take it out in a stream of highly polished verbal abuse, possibly challenging her opponent to a duel. A vampire who enters anger frenzy in combat gets the bonuses of being in frenzy, f renzy, but otherwise may continue the combat as if nothing had happened. Action: Reflexive
