Passion's Light

Passion's Light (•)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Unrolled
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble perceives the emotional state of the people around her as a wash of color around their bodies, their aura. She can make Perception rolls to notice people in the throes of strong emotion, or of emotion significantly unlike what other people present are feeling (e.g. deep gloom at a party, or satisfied pleasure at a funeral.) She can also detect the emotions of people (or stranger beings) who are hiding or in Twilight. Supernatural powers that conceal emotions or auras oppose the Charm - if the Noble looks for people so disguised, it triggers a Clash of Wills.

Like the supernatural Aura Reading Merit [CofD 56] Passion's Light need not manifest as a visual perception, though that's the most common form; murmuring voices is nearly as frequent among the Nobility. If a Noble's player likes, the Noble's version of the Charm can appeal to any or all of her senses.

Revealing
The Noble can gain detailed information about a person by examining his aura closely. When she does so, she may roll Wits + Empathy - the target's Composure.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble takes the Misled Condition. The Storyteller gives a false or misleading answer to one of the questions below; the Noble will believe the answer unless confronted with clear evidence contradicting it. The Charm will not reveal the true answer to that question during the current scene.
 * Failure: The Noble learns nothing from her scrutiny.
 * Success: The Noble learns the answer to one of the following questions.
 * What is the character's most prominent emotion?
 * What is the character paying the closest attention to?
 * Is there anything here the character feels strongly about; if so, what sort of feelings does he have?
 * Has the character's current emotional state been altered, chemically or magically?
 * Is the character a supernatural being; if so, what type of being is he (among those the Noble has seen before?) A transformed Noble's aura, for instance, appears to shed light in her vicinity - things and people near her reflect her current color, in addition to any aura they have themselves. Vampires have a washed-out or faded aura; shapeshifters' auras show intense, saturated colors; mages move in a twinkling cloud of sparks. None of the Hopeful, as yet, have read the auras of other types of supernatural beings and recorded a description.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble learns the answer to two questions.

Examining the aura of a person whose aura has been magically disguised also triggers a Clash of Wills.