[RPG] How to handle lowering Generation to third or lower with Blood of Potency

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Blood of Potency (Path of Blood •••) allows lowering one's Generation, and this power is very underestimated: noone among those who I asked has seen it's great potential.

With appropriate optimization, one may have 11 dice + 2 automatical successes on this power: Willpower of 10, True Love 4-pt merit, Path of Mars • power, and lower his or her Generation to 3d or lower (expected amount of successes is 6.4). A player could use one success to prolong the power and make it last 2 hours, and use 5 successes to lower his Generation by 5 — to 3d. However, stats of such low Generations aren't published — what should I do?

How should I handle such a situation if a player attempts to do it while I am the GM? What should I suggest to the Storyteller if I try something like this and he has no idea what to do?

Please, don't forget to back your answer up with playing/GMing experience or books.

Best Answer

I'm going to challenge your question a bit.

Why would you do it?

I don't understand why your character would cast this power as you describe it.

  • The only increase you experience is a bigger blood pool (once you have slacked your thirst) and you can spend more blood points per turn than before.
  • You can pump your physical attributes to a higher level
  • None of your stats (Attributes, skills or disicplines) are increased.
  • The ritual can't be used to learn more advanced disciplines / rituals.

Which leads me to the True Love merit. As an ST I would require a good explanation for your character to be so focused on power. It takes actual play time to learn how to cast this in an optimal way (paid for in failed attempts and favors / lessons from other Tremere). Time spent on studying means time away from your True Love.

A merit is a boon for your character, but it still has strings attached to it. Ignore them for too long and the merit is gone.

A more practical application?

What about:

  • Lower your generation by two steps (costs two successes): you go from 8th to 6th. This effectivly doubles your blood pool (I hope you have some snacks nearby) and the number of blood points you can spend each turn.
  • Use the remaining successes (about four)to extend the duration of the power. This gives you four more hours, for a total duration of five.

Now you can run around as a 6th generation character (with regards to bloodpool and blood point/turn) for half a night. This gives you a lot of options* if you know that you're heading towards a combat heavy zone, such as:

  • The chantry is attacked by a Sabbat war party!
  • You're on the trail of a Sabbat party and are going to smoke them out.
  • The city is under siege and your True Love is in danger, go forth and be the Knight in Shining armour!

Vampire doesn't really lend itself to throwing around Antediluvean levels of power. Which is reinforced by them generally not being described in much detail. Some things are better left unexplored.

If you do want some descriptions, then it's best to check the Time of Judgement: Gehenna book. On p 181- 182 they summarize all level ten discipline powers as Plot Device.

Cain can be boiled down to: You * lose.

If you want to throw this level of power around, then I suggest to talk about this with your ST and fellow players (to see if they are on the same page). If they agree, you can start a new chronicle in the Second City, Carthage (as 4th or 5th generation childer) or start with either the Transylvanian or Giovanni Chronicles (were you start as 6th generation).

*I'm assuming that you character has some physical disciplines. In our group it was common that each character had some points in Celerity, Fortitude and Potence.

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