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I have a blood bond to a vampire. She's the best thing that ever happened and I am very lucky she chose me and all.

Last night, something weird happened. I saw here, thought I saw her, I heard her calling me, almost sure she did, but I could not quite reach her. She was in danger but no matter how hard I tried to reach her, to save her, she was always gone once I got there, always in the corner of my eye, but never closer. Thinking about it, I am not even sure if she was really there or if someone tampered with my mind to haunt me with such images.

Then she appeared again, and this time she seemed worried, tried to touch me, but I was wary and did not trust her to be real and it hurt my heart but I drove her away. Obviously, I feel horrible now.

Now I'm asking myself: Would the blood bond help me see through illusions of my domitor, allowing me to sense if she is real or not? Would I feel the same for a hallucination as I feel for the real thing? What about a good actor, or a Tzimisce in disguise, thus impostors not created by my own mind? Would the bond help see through such deception? It's possible that the bond is only in me and that my love towards her depends on whether I believe what I see is really her or not. In that case, could I rebel against my domitor just by believing it's not her?

I could not find anything in the Masquerade Revised rulebook, but maybe Fatal Addiction or something about blood have more information? Do house rules exist for this sort of thing?

Bonus question: What about my sire to whom I only bound once? He's been a good mentor to me and I quite adore him but I have tasted his blood only once and spent a few weeks without him lately. Would I stand a chance at distinguishing him from a hallucination or someone trying to impersonate him?

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    \$\begingroup\$ Although it wouldn't be a traditional use of Path of Blood (or Hunter's Mark), I personally might allow a character Blood Bound to someone to use their blood (which is still influenced by the domitor's blood) as a focus to determine if a given vampire is their domitor. \$\endgroup\$
    – FluxIX
    Jul 16, 2017 at 18:40
  • \$\begingroup\$ That would require me to know some sort of blood-based magics, though, wouldn't it? I was thinking that maybe Eyes of Chaos might reveal something about the things I'm seeing (whether they are real or if the person is trying to fool me), would you consider our connection a boon in such cases? \$\endgroup\$
    – ethan
    Jul 16, 2017 at 19:12
  • \$\begingroup\$ Path of Blood is certainly a Thaumaturgy Path found in multiple schools, but Tracker's Mark (not Hunter's Mark as I incorrectly stated before) (found on p. 44 of the Salubri clanbook) is a purchasable ability available to those Blooded under the Code of Samiel which provides information about the source of the tasted blood. \$\endgroup\$
    – FluxIX
    Jul 16, 2017 at 21:02
  • \$\begingroup\$ The point I'm getting as it (as far as I am concerned) some ability which let you get information from blood might be used in a fashion to give you more information which could rule out a possible illusion or imposter. It should be noted you could not easily prove someone was a sire or domitor, but you don't need to prove someone is, just demonstrate they aren't. \$\endgroup\$
    – FluxIX
    Jul 16, 2017 at 21:06
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    \$\begingroup\$ Yes, they could given the responsibilities and rights a sire has for and to their childer. \$\endgroup\$
    – FluxIX
    Jul 18, 2017 at 3:15

2 Answers 2

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The bond's powers are in your feelings. Therefore, you would only not feel the bond's attraction if you recognize a fake as one.

The bond does not help with illusions or disguises. Only your senses. If a disguise (the Tzimice for example) fools your sense, the bond will kick in full power. Yes, it means betraying your lady and you will probably spend a century regretting your foolishness after you learn you were fooled.

But the bond is an imprinting upon the thrall's soul. It reflects on their every behaviour as if it were the strongest of all loves, but does not impart other supernatural powers. What you can do is to give out hints of differences in behaviour. Since the thrall knows the lady so well, any slight on the part of the impersonator can be a clue that something is amiss.

As a game ruling (I GM'd vampire - both table and LARP - for over a decade), the difficulty to deceive a thrall can be increased based on the familiarity of the thrall with the lady.

If you took your sire's blood only once, you are not bound. It takes 3 times in 3 different nights to bond.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ The Embrace imparts one point of the Bond, so they could be two-points into a Bond. \$\endgroup\$
    – FluxIX
    Jul 16, 2017 at 18:16
  • \$\begingroup\$ That was my impression from what I've read so far, however, as with many things, the RAW are quite vague on the Blood Bond and everything it entails, so maybe I was hoping for a loophole. : ) As for the sire, yes, it's not a full bond, but since the first step already has influence on the thrall's behavior I supposed it might also already help recognizing in case of deception - if that is possible in the first place. \$\endgroup\$
    – ethan
    Jul 16, 2017 at 19:16
  • \$\begingroup\$ @ethan the bond is an imprinting upon the thrall's soul. It reflects on their every behaviour as if it were the strongest of all loves, but does not impart other supernatural powers. What you can do is to give out hints of differences in behaviour. Since the thrall knows the lady so well, any slight on the part of the impersonator can be a clue that something is amiss. \$\endgroup\$
    – Mindwin Remember Monica
    Jul 16, 2017 at 19:44
  • \$\begingroup\$ Do you know, for example, that the Blood Bond will "shatter" (according to the book) if the Domitor dies, and the Thrall will feel it? \$\endgroup\$
    – R.I.P.30.12.21Baskakov_Dmitriy
    Jul 16, 2017 at 23:53
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Mindwin I like the suggestion that I should be able to read my domitor's behaviour very well, since I spend so much time adoring her. If the hallucinations spring from my own mind, I'm probably going to have them behave in a way I expect - but it gives me a chance to spot an impostor! \$\endgroup\$
    – ethan
    Jul 17, 2017 at 16:35
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This is not covered by the rules -- at least by the rules of V20. You should ask your Storyteller about that. The Blood Bond is not explained in much detail, it is very, very vague, like many other things in the book, even though it is so essential.

Noone ever knows better than your Storyteller. Never ever hesitate to ask him if you want to know something about the setting and can't find it in the book. Even if some Clanbook has it on paragraph 14 on page 88, it doesn't matter, because your Storyteller can likely have a different opinion, or it is possible that he just didn't read that book. Unless he/she has directly said that rules are used as written, it is not so in in WoD.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Good point. Its explicit openness is one thing I love about the World of Darkness - yet, there is so much source material I sometimes forget that, in the end, it comes down to what happens at the table. \$\endgroup\$
    – ethan
    Jul 17, 2017 at 16:39

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