Embassy: Night

The Embassy Of Night Nickname: ??

Quote: There's no reason we have to fight.

There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. This world belongs to mankind, but he is not alone. He shares the night with supernatural creatures -- vampires, werewolves, faeries, and creatures stranger still -- that lurk in the darkness and shadows, hiding from his sight, preying on his weak. Some, mortal hunters on a great Vigil, think these creatures must be eradicated to ensure mankind's safety. The Embassy of Night seeks to find peaceful coexistence between humanity and the lurkers in darkness.

There is no reason, the Embassy says, that a vampire must be an embodiment of parasitism and predation rather than undying love, no reason that werewolves must embody blind fury and not staunch loyalty. These patterns that cause humankind so much pain are merely patterns, not an immutable expression of something's innate nature. Many monsters were once human, at least somewhat, and they all try and cling to what remaining shreds of humanity they have. That essential humanity makes them our brothers and sisters, and it must be protected, nurtured, allowed to grow.

The Embassy finds the creatures of the night, and attempts to remove the threat they pose by reforming them, not destroying them. They have the ability to move among them, gain their respect and trust, show them a better way -- and protect themselves from harm by those who cling to the old, painful ways.

Regalia: The regalia of {nickname} resembles the popular conception of some kind of monster, but made more nonthreatening somehow, sometimes even silly or childish. Those who deal with vampires might have long, red-lined cloaks with huge collars and a perpetual fanged overbite; others may look as if they have been sewn together from a multicolor patchwork quilt of parts, or have the ears, tail, and outward demeanor of big, playful puppies. This is not to say that they are themselves childish or incapable -- they merely work to disarm the horrifying mystique of those they seek to reform, to help them better integrate with society.

Embassy benefits:

At Inner Light (***)

Know Your Own: Any time you encounter an individual with a major supernatural template, you have the ability to see them for what they truly are. If the template in question has an innate ability to asses each other, such as the Predator's Taint for a vampire or the Measure for a Promethean, you experience it as if your Inner Light were the supernatural Power Stat in question; if the template in question can see each other's true nature, as with Changelings and the Mask, you automatically see through to the true form. Otherwise, roll the individual's Power Stat and add your Occult skill; on a success, you gain a general idea of what kind of creature they are. This ability works whether or not you are Transformed, and it does not cause the individual to know anything about your supernatural nature.

Shroud of Night: When any supernatural being uses a power on you meant to compel or alter your mind in some manner while you are Transformed -- dominate you, erase your memory, influence your emotions in some manner, etc -- your Inner Light is tripled for the purposes of resisting it. If the power in question is resisted by something other than your Inner Light, double that stat instead. If it is based solely on their abilities and not your own, such as the Promethean's Disquiet or a Leviathan's Wake, halve their Power Stat for purposes of affecting you, rounding down. This power has no effect on any magical abilities used by other Princesses.

Night's Cool Embrace: You take some small token amount of blood from a targeted individual that somehow reflects whatever supernatural type you do (a vampire Princess would draw a tiny amount of blood through her fangs, a changeling Princess might poke with a rose stem, etc.), enough to inflict only one level of bashing damage. By inflicting this damage and spending one Wisp, you grant the target resistance against the creatures of the night's ability to cloud their minds. Until the next sunrise, double their Inner Light (or supernatural Power Stat) for purposes of resisting mind-affecting supernatural abilities, as above; if they have no Inner Light or their Inner Light is lower than yours, use your Inner Light as the base instead. If the mind-affecting ability in question is resisted by some other stat, double it instead. The target gains the benefits of the Sleepwalker Merit for the duration. This power has no effect on magical abilities used by other Princesses.

At Inner Light (*****)

Going Native: You may flawlessly copy the visual and magical appearance of other supernatural creatures. To use this ability, you must spend one Wisp and have an "intimate" sympathetic connection to a member of the supernatural template you wish to impersonate. Until the nest sunrise, you will appear to be of the same "type" as that individual (a member of the same vampire Clan, Promethean Lineage, etc). You may not use any "learned" powers (such as Gifts, Disciplines, shapeshifting, most things requiring a die roll) granted to the type in question, but you are granted all of their "innate" abilities (A mage's universal Unseen Sense, a Leviathan's Wake, and so on) and appear to all scrutiny to be a member of that supernatural template. Any attempt to magically discern you are not a member of the type in question is penalized by your Inner Light. The Storyteller is the final arbiter of what effects are "learned" or "innate", and may rule some things that are technically learned abilities are so universal as to be an innate part of the template and usable by a Transformed Princess (here we're thinking of Mage Sight).