Editing Protean (section)

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''Rudi waded through the shallow waters, looking over his shoulder to see if his pursuers were tracking him now heâ€™d left the land and stopped leaving a trail. He couldnâ€™t see them, but he could definitely hear their howls. He cursed. Meeting with lupines was never a safe proposition, but reacting the way he did, brandishing his claws and threatening to take out that werewolf pupâ€™s eyesâ€¦ He should have had better control over his anger. Heâ€™s not a Brujah. 

''The Gangrel was no expert when it came to sensing the unseen, but he knew the pack was close. He was still miles from Copenhagen, and would never make it on foot. Stopping for a second, he surveyed the night air and then the water beneath him. To take to the sky and try to outrace the sun, or to bed down for the night in the dirt and silt. He needed blood, but he needed to survive another night first. 

''The werewolves bayed as they closed on him, only to see the coward Gangrel give a mock salute as he shifted into the earth. The outraged pup swiped at the fetid water and stamped at the ground before being dragged away by her kin.

Werewolves despise vampires for their possession of this ability. They consider it a mockery of their own nature, as undead beings become wolves or bats, bearing claws and gnashing fangs like one of their own. Yet, Protean has flowed through the Blood for almost as long as the Kindred have existed. The power to mutate, shift form, and become ever-deadlier predators is as natural to the vampire as it is to the lupine. 

Practitioners of Protean employ the Discipline for its utility. The power enables a vampire to become a beast, turn their limbs into weapons, or change their shape into clouds of mist to evade capture, glide through keyholes, or slip through cracks in a window.

===Characteristics===
Protean powers that change the shape or in other ways transform the body of the vampire also affect clothing, swallowed items, and other small (under a few grams) wearables. Protean does not affect larger carried items, including backpacks, duffel and sports bags. For this reason users of Protean often travel light.

'''Type: 
Physical<br>
'''Masquerade threat: 
High. One of the most overt Disciplines available to vampires, more or less all Protean powers can breach the Masquerade on their own.<br>
'''Blood Resonance: 
Animal blood, especially animals matching shape-shifted forms; the blood of werewolves, changelings, and other supernatural chimeras of man and beast.

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==Level 1==
{{Disc_Template|Eyes of the Beast|The vampire can will a supernatural red gleam into their eyes, giving them sight even in the total absence of light.||Free|As long as desired|No roll is required to activate Eyes of the Beast. While active the user ignores any sight penalties imposed by darkness, including supernatural. While active, the inhuman appearance of the eyes confers two bonus dice to Intimidation pools against mortals.|1}}

{{Disc_Template|Weight of the Feather|The vampire can reduce their effective mass and density, making themselves almost weightless. This allows them to avoid triggering pressure sensors as well as avoiding major damage from falls, collisions, or being thrown. The power cannot be used for longer leaps, as the vampireâ€™s strength is proportionally reduced.|Wits + Survival|Free|As long as desired|If the vampire has time to prepare, no roll is required. As a reaction, such as during a sudden fall, activating the power requires a Wits + Survival roll at Difficulty 3. As long as the power is in effect, the vampire is immune to damage from falls, collisions, and being thrown. The user also avoids triggering devices that rely on pressure, at the Storytellerâ€™s discretion.|1}}


==Level 2==
{{Disc_Template|Feral Weapons|The vampire can extend their natural weapons to monstrous proportions. This usually takes the form of fingernails extending into wicked talons but can also come in other forms such as fangs elongating into veritable daggers, as from a gigantic serpent.||One Rouse Check|One scene|No skill roll is needed to activate this power. When activated, the vampire adds a +2 modifier to their Brawl damage, and causes Aggravated Health damage to mortals. Superficial damage inflicted from Feral Weapons is not halved.|2}}


==Level 3==
{{Disc_Template|Earth Meld|Becoming one with the soil, the vampire sinks into the earth. Unless in torpor, the vampire rises again the following night.||One Rouse Check|One day or more, or until disturbed|No test is required, but the vampire must be on a natural surface: rocks, raw earth, grass, etc. This power does not work on concrete, asphalt, or other artificial surfaces. It takes a turn for the vampire to sink into the earth, leaving carried objects behind atop the soil. While in the earth the vampire is aware of their surroundings, except during day-sleep. At those times, disturbances (e.g., digging or loud noises) awaken them or not as with all vampires (p. 219).|3}}

{{Disc_Template|Shapechange|The vampire can assume the shape of an animal roughly the same size as their original mass. The vampire can only change into one type of animal (usually a wolf, sometimes a large feline or a giant snake), usually one associated with their clan or the type of prey they most commonly feed on. The animal, while usually a spectacular example of their species, shows no signs to a mundane observer of being supernatural.||One Rouse Check|One scene unless ended voluntarily before that|No test is required. The transformation takes one turn, during which the user may take no other actions. Upon transformation, the vampire gains the Physical Attributes, senses, and native Skills associated with that animal (see p. 373) and also gains that animalâ€™s natural limits of communication, manipulation (most animals can carry one thing in their mouth), and so forth. The vampire can use other Disciplines, at the Storytellerâ€™s discretion. (By and large, they can use Auspex, Animalism, Celerity, Fortitude, Potence, and Protean; many powers of Dominate, Obfuscate, and Presence pose problems; Blood Sorcery is completely off the table.)|3}}


==Level 4==
{{Disc_Template|Metamorphosis (Prerequisite: Shapechange)|This power grants an additional animal form to the user, this time also enabling them to change their size. Vampires most commonly metamorphose into bats, rats, unusually large insects, or snakes. (see p. 373).||One Rouse Check|One scene unless ended voluntarily before that|Same as Shapechange.|4}}


==Level 5==
{{Disc_Template|Mist Form|The vampire gains the legendary power to turn into a cloud of mist, perceivable to the eye but untouchable by anything save fire, sunlight, and supernatural aggression. They can fit through pipes, crevices, and cracks. While strong winds might buffet them, no natural force can disperse the cloud.||One to three Rouse Checks|One scene unless ended voluntarily before that.|No roll is required. The transformation takes three turns, though it can be sped up with additional Rouse Checks on a one-for-one basis. While in mist form, the vampire moves at walking pace and perceives their surroundings through mystical means as if there as normal. A vampire in mist form cannot make eye contact or speak. They can use only those Disciplines requiring no physical form or presence, at the Storytellerâ€™s discretion. While in mist form the vampire can only be damaged by sunlight, fire, and immaterial supernatural attacks (such as some Rituals).|5}}

{{Disc_Template|The Unfettered Heart|Having mastered the power of Protean, the very insides of the user become malleable, almost viscous. The heart, seat of the vitae and unlife of the vampire, detaches and moves freely, if sluggishly, within the chest. This makes the vampire exceedingly hard to stake as the position of their heart changes nightly, and can even allow the user to free themselves from paralysis.||Free|Passive|Increases the Difficulty on any non-combat test to stake the vampire by three. In Melee combat, only if the stake-wielder rolls a critical win does the stake penetrate the userâ€™s heart. Even if staked, the user can make a Rouse Check and roll their Strength + Resolve (Difficulty 5) once per hour. A win means they manage to free themselves from paralysis as the stake is pushed out of their body. They cannot attempt such stake expulsion at Hunger 5.|5}}


{{Discipline_List}}