A new power: Ranged Vampirism

[vultur]

There's a recent WoJ about the Jade Court being able to feed on someone's Chi/Breath at a distance. I was thinking about how that would be modeled game-wise...

Ranged Vampirism [-1]
You can use your vampiric powers to feed on someone without the need for physical combat. The Jade Court is known and feared for their ability to draw the Chi (emotional energy/life force) from humans at great distances.
Musts: A vampiric feeding power: Blood Drinker, Emotional Vampire, or another power with "The Taste of Death" trapping
Distance Feeding. You can feed on mortal blood or emotions (as defined by the feeding power you possess) from a distance - this is an attack with a range of one zone, using the same skill and targeting the same stress track as your existing feeding power (Deceit or Intimidation and mental stress for Emotional Vampire, Fists or Weapons and physical stress for Blood Drinker). The Taste of Death works with this attack.
Long-Distance Feeding [-1] Your Distance Feeding has a range of three zones.
Weaponized Feeding [-1] Your attacks with Distance Feeding are weapon 2.
Deadly Feeding (Requires Weaponized Feeding) [-1] Your attacks with Distance Feeding are weapon 4.

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What do you think?

[Quantus]

Interesting. I think Id want to split it into two separate powers: one that lets you feed at line-of-sight range (rather than requiring the normal physical contact), and a separate power that lets you feed at a much longer range via an appropriate thaumaturgic connection.

[Sanctaphrax]

Not sure about this.

I don't see feeding attacks as fundamentally different from normal attacks. So if I was writing this, I'd basically just make it [-1]: Remove the physical contact requirement from Blood Drinker/Emotional Vampire. Let people provide the range and the weapon ratings with their own abilities.

But looking at the book again, it's not totally clear how Blood Drinker and Emotional Vampire are actually meant to work.

[vultur]

Not sure about this.

I don't see feeding attacks as fundamentally different from normal attacks. So if I was writing this, I'd basically just make it [-1]: Remove the physical contact requirement from Blood Drinker/Emotional Vampire. Let people provide the range and the weapon ratings with their own abilities.

I don't think that would do the same thing. That would let you steal emotions/blood from people by throwing knives at them or shooting them with guns, etc. What this is supposed to represent is the vampire just "inhaling" and drawing the chi/life force out of somebody across the street, the way the Jade Court is supposed to be able to do by WoJ.

With Blood Drinker instead of Emotional Vampire, I'd imagine it as an ultra-powerful Black Court Elder or something just waving its hand and telekinetically/magically ripping the blood out of people standing around it.

[Sanctaphrax]

The attack would still have to fit the method of feeding. So you could drain blood by shooting people, possibly by inhaling from the wounds, but for emotions you'd have to use ranged Incite Emotion attacks or something similar.

I'm pretty sure an elder BCV would have more powerful attack options than this. Like Evocation. With that in mind, maybe the way to go would be making vampirism powers compatible with attack spells. The image you had in mind would certainly be achievable that way.

[vultur]

The attack would still have to fit the method of feeding. So you could drain blood by shooting people, possibly by inhaling from the wounds, but for emotions you'd have to use ranged Incite Emotion attacks or something similar.

Yeah... but the thing is, that way how good a vampire is at "ranged feeding" is based on how good they are with guns or Incite Emotion or whatever. That's not really the effect I want here; it's an expansion of the basic feeding power, using the same skill, not bringing in "extraneous" skills or Powers like Guns or Incite Emotion.

The model I'm imagining is the eldest Jade Court being physically weak as supernaturals go - they never go above Inhuman Strength and never get any Speed powers at all (they're jiangshi/"hopping vampires", less mobile than a normal human) - but with an overwhelming "chi drain" attack.

I'm pretty sure an elder BCV would have more powerful attack options than this. Like Evocation.

I don't think BCVs necessarily automatically pick up spellcasting just by being old, but who knows -- Mavra might be just a wizard-turned-vampire. I'd at least prefer that they didn't, since at high Refresh levels spellcasting would outweigh their weird vampire powers.

With that in mind, maybe the way to go would be making vampirism powers compatible with attack spells. The image you had in mind would certainly be achievable that way.

That's closer to what I had in mind image-wise, but why can't ranged feeding be an attack power in itself? Spellcasting comes with a lot of other capabilities which I don't think should be available to the basic, newly-turned Jade Court vampire.

[Sanctaphrax]

I would argue that Incite Emotion, at least, is not extraneous to feeding.

Still, I see what you mean. The thing is, "skill roll to hit, weapon 4, range 3 zones" is a pretty puny attack by elder vampire standards. I can't see any Black Court elder, spellcaster or not, using such an attack much. And if that's the big gun of a Jade Court elder, they won't be much of a threat.

You could expand the power so that it's possible to invest, like, ten Refresh into strengthening it, but that seems like a hassle. Making ranged feeding into something that you use with Incite Emotion, Evocation, Natural Weaponry (chi drain), or whatever just seems easier.

[Taran]

As far as I can tell, Blood Drinker and Emotional Vampire net you two things - as long as you are touching your victim:
1) +1 to hit /+1 stress in a grapple for Blood Drinker
2) recovery if you kill someone.

+1 to attack when in the presence of your 'food'.  In both situations, you need to make a maneuver(or create a consequence) to create an aspect.  Blood drinker is done with Fists and Emotional vampire is done with Intimidation or Deception.  If you have Incite Emotion, you can use that to create the Aspect.

The +1 is for any Fists (blood drinker) or Deception/Intimidate(Emotional Vampire) rolls, as long as you are touching.

The advantage is, if you have Incite Emotion, you can get +1 to hit as well as +4 damage, if you also have potent emotion.  If you have Potent Emotion and the 'At Range' Upgrade, you wouldn't get the +1 to attack if you weren't touching.

The simplest thing is to have an 'At Range' upgrade on Blood Drinker/Emotional Vampire.

My feeling is that Jade Vampires are 'drinking' or breathing in a person's Chi or 'life force'.   I'm not sure how blood-drinker would work at range, but for Chi, I'd just make it a different kind of 'emotion' with a ranged upgrade on Emotional Vampire.

[vultur]

I would argue that Incite Emotion, at least, is not extraneous to feeding.

A good point. And the Blood Drinker version is just a cool side option, not really the main point of this power.

I really do like the mental image of an ultra-powerful Black Court vamp "telekinetically" ripping blood out of its foes. But that could be modeled with Incite Effect or something...

Still, I see what you mean. The thing is, "skill roll to hit, weapon 4, range 3 zones" is a pretty puny attack by elder vampire standards. I can't see any Black Court elder, spellcaster or not, using such an attack much. And if that's the big gun of a Jade Court elder, they won't be much of a threat.

Well, the top end of the White Court's Incite Emotion is skill roll to hit, weapon 4, range 1 zone. I don't see the Jade Court as nearly as overtly powerful as the pre-Changes Red Court or pre-Stokerlypse Black Court; that's part of why they're limited to a relatively small (if densely populated) part of China.

I'd also imagine their real Elders also have other stuff that works better in their native area...