City of Shadows Mux City of Shadows Mux

NELAPSI

Parent Clan: Daeva Sobriquet: Locusts Source: Bloodlines: the Hidden, p. 88 Disciplines: Celerity, Majesty, Nightmare, Vigor Revised by: Ganymede

Background

After the Fall, the carefully-created fiefdoms of the Nelapsi collapsed. This forced the Locusts to do what all parasites must: profligate and find other places to exist. From the Czech Republic to the New World, the Locusts embraced and traveled with abandon, in a desperate bid to find communes and locations in which they could survive once more. That dream never came to be.

Unhinged and rapacious, the Locusts are dangerous Kindred because of their appetite. They can wipe out small groups of humans easily, and, unfortunately, most of humanity lives this way now. The fortunate Nelapsi either find larger groups to prey on, or coincidentally find more than one small group. The less-hungry and more-cunning of them eventually set themselves up as spiritual leaders or guides, and form nomadic groups that travel with them. The Locusts are careful not to reveal their true natures, lest they invite wise Kindred to take them out quickly.

The Locusts are inevitably driven to the largest of human populations, where they can hide most easily. From there, they watch over their vassals and followers, often posing as family or religious leaders in order to explain their control over large groups of humans. Until they have control over a territory, they are quick to serve as vassals and servants to appease the local lords, and give them time to set roots.

Then, the betrayal is inevitable, and the Locust becomes the Master.

Bloodline Gift

Locusts are masters of emotions and fear, a deadly combination. When activating either Awe or Dread Presence, anyone affected by the same also suffer from the Distracted Condition. Victims are often afflicted by the sound of insects buzzing right in their ear, even though the sound is illusory and cannot be picked up by recording devices.

Bloodline Bane

Locusts must spend Vitae equal to their Blood Potency to awaken each night. This makes it difficult to either remain potent or stay away from human populations for long. Further, they are always considered Hungry when they awaken, no matter how much Vitae they carry (V:tR 2E, p. 104), until they have imbibed at least one Vitae worth of blood.

Bloodline Devotions

Churchtower Gaze (Majesty **, Nightmare **)

Locusts are best known for the power to summon a subject’s gaze. When called upon, the subject turns to look, struck by the feeling of dread mounting in them. This power allows the Locust to use other powers effectively from a great distance without drawing the attention of others.

Cost: 1 Vitae Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + Majesty vs. Composure + Blood Potency Action: Instant Duration: One Scene

On success, the target is compelled to look at the Locust, wherever he might be, even if hidden from the sight of others. Locusts like to use this power from high locations, hence the name of the Devotion. The gaze may be broken if the target suffers lethal damage, but can be re-established by the Locust thereafter.

So long as the target is looking at him, the Locust may use Majesty and Nightmare against him or her, regardless of the distance, and the Locust’s whispers may be heard from the target, even if he or she could not feasibly hear them.

This Devotion costs 2 Experiences.

The Hungry Beast (Celerity *, Nightmare *)

A Locust’s Beast is a dark entity, its hunger heightened in a way that few other Kindred can comprehend. As such, when it rises up and lashes at another Beast, it reminds the conquered of the most basic of passions: hunger.

When the Locust successfully lashes the Beast of another, the subject is inflicted with the Deprived Condition, which can only be resolved if the subject feeds. Doing so does not result in gaining a Beat.

This Devotion costs 1 Experience.

The Heart of Darkness (Nightmare **, Vigor **)

The potent combination of Majesty and Nightmare combine to compel a target’s Beast to feel hunger as a Locust might. If the Locust successfully lashes at another Beast, the Locust’s own starving Beast consumes part of the target’s Beast, making it feel empty.

When the Locust successfully lashes the Beast of another, the subject is inflicted with the Drained Condition, which can only be resolved if the subject feeds. Additionally, while suffering from the Drained Condition, the target is also prone to Frenzy, and is considered Hungry (V:tR 2E, p. 104), no matter how much Vitae he has, until the Condition is resolved. Doing so does not result in gaining a Beat.

This Devotion costs 2 Experience.

Vitae Store (Celerity *, Vigor *)

Locusts use their power over their Vitae for this ritual, which allows them to render their blood inert and store it in containers for later use. The user simply spends a point of Vitae, which comes out of his body and falls (presumably) into a container of some sort. That Vitae may then be consumed by another Kindred or ghoul, which is inert and does not create a Vinculum. If the container is broken or the blood therein exposed to fire or sunlight, the Vitae is lost.

This Devotion costs 1 Experience.