•••• The Exchange of Things Past
Having gained mastery over blood-ties and learned how to read the collective memory of the blood, the Mnemosyne develops the power to access another person’s memories, human or vampire.
Effect
The character reaches into the mind of a vampire with whom he has a blood-tie or a mortal whose blood he has tasted.
Dramatic Failure: The character accidentally wipes out a chunk of her own memory, losing several years of her mortal memories and the last month of her time as a vampire. She gains the Flaw: Amnesia (The World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 218). This is indefinite, although it can be healed with the Devotion The Restoration of Things Lost (see p. 110).
Failure: The Mnemosyne cannot exchange memories with the target.
Success: The Mnemosyne exchanges memories with the target. He can access any part of the target’s memory, but for every memory he takes from the target, he must offer a memory of equal length, which the target suddenly remembers. This lasts about a scene.
The player and storyteller should talk about what memories the character chooses to give up: it could be anything from his wedding day as a mortal, or his first kiss, the death of a parent or loved one, to his death, an experience of feeding, or any other memory of horror or joy, pleasure or pain. The character and the target both know that these aren’t their memories, and become aware of holes in their own memories, even though they don’t know what they lost. Targets of this power become confused and frightened. A vampire target of this power must roll to avoid Fear Frenzy.
While the power is in effect, both the character and the target forget the things they exchanged. After the end of the scene, both the character and the target get back their own memories, but don’t forget the memories they received from the other. After this experience, the player of a mortal target must roll Resolve + Composure to avoid gaining a derangement.
Exceptional Success: As for success, but the Mnemosyne can elect to exchange some or all of the memories permanently. This can be seductive: the vampire doesn’t know what he has lost, and doesn’t know if it matters or not. Many elder Mnemosyne become repositories of vast stores of memory, with no memories of their own.
Dramatic Failure: The character accidentally wipes out a chunk of her own memory, losing several years of her mortal memories and the last month of her time as a vampire. She gains the Flaw: Amnesia (The World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 218). This is indefinite, although it can be healed with the Devotion The Restoration of Things Lost (see p. 110).
Failure: The Mnemosyne cannot exchange memories with the target.
Success: The Mnemosyne exchanges memories with the target. He can access any part of the target’s memory, but for every memory he takes from the target, he must offer a memory of equal length, which the target suddenly remembers. This lasts about a scene.
The player and storyteller should talk about what memories the character chooses to give up: it could be anything from his wedding day as a mortal, or his first kiss, the death of a parent or loved one, to his death, an experience of feeding, or any other memory of horror or joy, pleasure or pain. The character and the target both know that these aren’t their memories, and become aware of holes in their own memories, even though they don’t know what they lost. Targets of this power become confused and frightened. A vampire target of this power must roll to avoid Fear Frenzy.
While the power is in effect, both the character and the target forget the things they exchanged. After the end of the scene, both the character and the target get back their own memories, but don’t forget the memories they received from the other. After this experience, the player of a mortal target must roll Resolve + Composure to avoid gaining a derangement.
Exceptional Success: As for success, but the Mnemosyne can elect to exchange some or all of the memories permanently. This can be seductive: the vampire doesn’t know what he has lost, and doesn’t know if it matters or not. Many elder Mnemosyne become repositories of vast stores of memory, with no memories of their own.
Material Components
Cost: One Willpower
Gestures & Ritual
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Empathy + Meminisse minus the subject's Composure + Blood Potency
Related Discipline
Effect Casting Time
Contested; resistance is reflexive
Level
4
Applied Restriction
Suggested Modifiers: Target is bound to character with Vinculum (+3), character is bound by Vinculum to target (-3), memories the character wishes to take from the target are repressed, secret or traumatic (-2).