***Merits***

**All the merits following are allowed at ST discretion. Anything not listed here require prior ST approval to purchase.

Properly used Merits and Flaws help players create and individualize their characters. Merits are special abilities or advantages that are ran or unique in the general Kindred population, while Flaws art liabilities or disadvantages that pose challenges to a character’: nightly existence. These Traits can provide player character with added depth and personality.

Merits and Flaws can be selected only during character creation and are purchased using freebie points. Each Merit has its own point cost, while each Flaw has a point value which ndds to the amount of freebie points a player can spend during the creation process. A character may take as many Merits as the player can afford, but no character may have more than seven points’ worth of Flaws.

Merits and Flaws are divided into four categories: physical, mental, social and supernatural. The physical category describes Merits or Flaws that deal with a character’s physical makeup or abilities, while the mental category addresses intellectual abilities or patterns of behavior. The social category comprises relationships and individual status in Kindred or mortal society, while supernatural Merits and Flaws concern the paranormal abilities of vampires and the way they interact with the physical world.

PHYSICAL

ACUTE SENSE (l-pT. MERIT)
One of your senses is exceptionally sharp, be it sight, hearing, smell, touch or taste. The difficulties for all tasks involving the use of this particular sense are reduced by two. This Merit can be combined with the Discipline Auspex to produce superhuman sensory acuity.

AMBIDEXTROUS (1pt. MERIT)
You have a high degree of off-hand dexterity and can perform tasks with the "wren$ hand at no penalty. You must stilluse the rules for taking multiple actions, but will not suffer a difficulty penalty if, say, you use two weapons or are forced to use your off hand.

EAT FOOD (l-pT. MERIT)
You have the capacity to eat food and even savor its taste. While you cannot derive any nourishment from eating regular foods, this ability will serve you well in maintaining the Masquerade. Of course, you can’t digest what you eat, and there will be some point during the evening when you must force yourself to heave it back up.

CATLIKE BALANCE (l-pT. MERIT)
You possess an innately perfect sense of balance. Characters with this Merit reduce difficulties of all balance-related rolls (e.g., Dexterity + Athletics to walk along anarrow ledge) by two.

BLUSH OF HEALTH (2-PT . MERIT)
You look more hale and healthy in appearance than other vampires, allowing you to blend with human society much more easily. You still retain the color of a living mortal, and your skin feels only slightly cool to the touch.

ENCHANTING VOICE (2-PT. MERIT)
There is something about your voice that others cannot ignore. When you command, they are cowed. When you seduce, they swoon. Whether thunderous, gentle, persuading or simply talking, your voice commands attention. The difficulties of all die rolls involving the use of the voice to persuade, charm or command are reduced by two.

DAREDEVIL (3-pT. MERIT)
You are good at taking risks, and even better at surviving them. When attempting exceptionally risky actions (such as leaping from one moving car to another), characters with this Merit add an additional three dice to their rolls, and negate a single botch die that may result from such a roll. Generally, such actions must be at least difficulty 8 and have the potential to inflict at least three health levels of damage if failed.

EFFICIENT DIGESTION (3-PT. MERIT)
You are able to draw more than the usual amount of nourishment from blood. When feeding, you gain an additional point to your blood pool for every two points of blood you consume. This does not allow you to exceed your blood pool maximum.

HUGE SIZE (4-PT. MERIT)
You are abnormally large in size, at least 6‘10” and 300 pounds in weight. Aside from making you extremely noticeable in public, this extra mass bestows an additional Bruised health level. Characters with this Merit may also gain bonuses to push objects, open barred doors, avoid being knocked down, etc.

MENTAL

COMMON SENSE (I-PT. MERIT)
You have a significant amount ofpractical, everyday wisdom. Whenever the character is about to act in a way contrary to common sense, the Storyteller can make suggestions or warnings about the implications of said action. This is a very useful Merit to give to beginning players unfamiliar with the game.

CONCENTRATION (l-PT. MERIT)
You have the ability to focus your mind and shut out any distractions or annoyances. Characters with this merit are unaffected by any penalties stemming from distracting circumstances (e.g. loud noices, strobe lights, hanging upside down)

TIME SENSE (l-pT. MERIT)
You have an innate sense of time and are able to estimate the passage of time accurately without using a watch or other mechanical device.

CODE OF HONOR(2 -PT. MERIT)
You have a personal code of ethics to which you adhere. The specificsofthis code must be workedout with the Storyteller prior toplay, and the character must follow it strictly. Characters with this Merit gain two additional dice to all Willpower or Virtue rolls when acting in accordance with their code (e.g., defending the helpless) or when attempting to avoid situations that might force them to violate their code.

EIDETIC MEMORY (2- PT. MERIT)
You remember, with perfect detail, things seen and heard. Documents, photographs, conversations, etc., can be committed to memory with only minor concentration. Under stressful conditions involving numerous distractions, you must make a Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 6) to summon enough concentration to absorb what your senses detect.

LIGHTSLEEPER (2-PT. MERIT)
You can awaken instantly at any sign of trouble or danger, and do so without any sleepiness or hesitation. You may ignore rules regarding how Humanitypath restricts the number of dice available during the day.

NATURAL LINGUIST (2-PT. MERIT)
You have a flair for language, you may add 3 dice pool involving written or spoken languages.

CALM HEART (3- pT. MERIT)
You are naturally calm and do not easily fly off the handle. You receive two extra dice when attempting to resist a frenzy. Brujah may not take this Trait.

IRON WILL (3-PT. MERIT)
When you are determined and your mind is set, nothing can thwart you from your goals. When you are affected by a Dominate power, you may spend a point of Willpower to shake off the effects. In addition, you receive three extra dice to resist the effects of any mind-altering magic, spell or Thaumaturgy path. This Merit does not affect Presence or other powers dealing with the emotions.

SOCIAL

PRESTIGIOU5 SIRE (l-pT. MERIT)
Your sire has or had great status in her sect or clan, and this has accorded you with a certain amount of prestige. Though your sire may no longer have any dealings with you, the simple fact of your ancestry has marked you forever. This prestige might aid you greatly in dealings with your elders or other neonates, or it might engender jealousy or contempt. (requires ST approval)

NATURAL LEADER (l- pT. MERIT)
You are gifted with a certain magnetism to which others naturally defer. You receive two extra dice when making Leadership rolls. You must have a Charisma rating of 3 or greater to purchase this Merit.

SUPERNATURAL


DECEPTIVE AURA 1PT MERIT)
Your aura is unnaturally bright and colorful for a vampire. You register as a mortal on all attempts to read your aura.

HEALING TOUCH (l PT. MERIT)
Normally vampires can only seal the wounds they inflict bylicking them. With but a touch, you can achieve the same effect.

INOFFENSIVE TO ANIMALS (1 PT. MERIT)
With rare exceptions, animals usually despise the Kindred. Some flee, others attack, but all dislike being in the presence of a vampire. You have no such problem. Animals may not enjoy being in your company, but they don’t actively flee from you.

MEDIUM(2- PT. MERIT)
You possess the natural affinity to sense and hear spirits, ghosts, and shades. Though you cannot see them, you can sense them, speak to them and, through pleading or cajoling, draw them to your presence. You may call upon them for aid or advice, but there will always be a price.

MAGIC RESISTANCE (2-PT . MERIT)
You have an inherent resistance to the rituals of the Tremere and the spells of the mages of other creeds and orders. The difficulty of all such magic, both malicious and beneficent, is two higher when directed at you. You may never learn the Discipline of Thaumaturgy.

ORACULAR ABILITY (3-PT. MERIT)
You can see and interpret signs and omens. You are able to draw advice from these omens, for they provide hints of the future and warnings of the present. When the Storyteller feels that you are in position to see an omen, you will be required to make a Perception + Occult roll, with the difficulty relative to how well the omen is concealed. If successful, you may then roll Intelligence + Occult to interpret what you have seen, the difficulty again relative to the complexity of the omen.

SPIRIT MENTOR (3-PT. MERIT)
You have a ghostly companion and guide. The identity and exact powers of this spirit are up to the Storyteller, but it can be called upon in difficult situations for help and guidance.

TRUE LOVE(4 -pT. MERIT)
You have discovered, perhaps too late, a true love. He or she is mortal, but is the center of your existence, and inspires you to keep going in a world of darkness and despair. Whenever you suffer, the thought of your true love gives you the strength to persevere. This Merit grants you one automatic success on all Willpower rolls, which can be negated only by a botch die. This can be a great gift and also a hindrance, for your true love may require protection and occasionally rescue.