# Auspex Auspex can be used to pre-sort beings you meet at rank 2: Aura Perception <sup>1</sup>. The visible Auras tell quite clearly into what category the target belongs: > * Vampire - Aura colors are pale > * Ghoul - Pale blotches in the aura > * Magic - Use Myriad sparkles in aura > * Werebeast - Bright, vibrant aura > * Ghost - Weak, intermittent aura > * Faerie - Rainbow highlights in aura <sup>1</sup> However, Auspex 2 does **not** offer a magical lie detector, and the use as one is explicitly disclaimed by the rules: > Note that it is nearly impossible to determine with certainty if a particular character is lying or not with this power – vampires are inherently deceitful by nature, but even mortals might react with anxiety to questions while still being truthful. <sup>1</sup> It does however help to identify Malkavians and Diablerists on its own: the former because they are showing up as Psychotic, the latter because of the black stripes. Auspex 3, The Spirit’s Touch, can be used perversely to gain information too: if they roll 5 or more successes they know literally **everything** they want to know about the person that handled the object. This includes the clan of a vampire. # Blood Sorcery The Path of Blood <sup>2</sup> starts with "A Taste of Blood", which allows asking questions about a person in question the user has a **single** drop of blood from. Generation, current blood pool, if they are a vampire... and even the Clan of a vampire are things that can be asked for as information. This is pretty much the most basic blood sorcery, most Tremere chantries have at least several apprentices that can do this and even the Assamite Vizirs know this trick, old Tzimisce can use it, Kiasyd might know of the trick... pretty much any vampire with Thaumaturgy has access to the Path of Blood. # Dominate The basic trick of Dominate - Command <sup>3</sup> - is to force a one-word command. This can be done by first posing a question, and if the answer does not come, the command is **Answer!** - they have to give an answer now, though not necessarily the one the asker wants. Dominate 4 - Conditioning <sup>4</sup> - is able to erode someone's personality away and make them a servile person. Once a master Dominator had the neonate in their claws for a couple of weeks, they have spilled *everything*, and come out as a totally different person - broken and enslaved if used by a particularly cruel master. # Presence Dominate 4 is crude, but Presence 3 - Entrancement <sup>5</sup> - makes the target by itself willing to *spill the beans* just to be *allowed* to serve them. They'd even willingly take on a blood bond to the entrancing vampire, so telling who they are and such is the least. # Rituals There's a Rank 4 Rite called *Bone of Lies* <sup>6</sup>. It enchants an item and whoever holds it can't lie: no power can stop them from blurting out the truth if they thought of telling a lie. # The Traditions and Lex Talionis Besides those tricks, there is simply the danger of *law of retribution* (sometimes *lex talonis* - law of claws) being called upon an unrepentant vampire that lies to a prince once to many. Lex Talionis allows a prince or other domain holder to declare someone an outcast and send them packing - or even put them to death if they don't comply with the other demands of the Camarilla. Wait, you don't know that term? Maybe *The sixth Tradition: Destruction* is better known to you: > ## The Sixth Tradition: Destruction > The Blood Hunt — the Lextalionis — is the Princely decree that declares another vampire persona non grata. The right of Princes (or “elders,” depending upon the interpretation of the Tradition) to call the Blood Hunt effectively forfeits the hunted Kindred’s unlife [...] <sup>7</sup> Lying about your clan or trying to hide it is a violation of the 2nd Tradition (Domain), as it shows absolutely no respect to the holder of the domain. The allowance to stay in a town under the 5th Tradition (Hospitality) hinges on the vampire presenting themselves *with their proper clan* and all. And violating both of these can be used to cast them out of town - or in extreme cases call for Lex Talionis and the final death of the vampire. ---- 1 - V20 p.135/136<br>2 - V20 p.213<br>3 - V20 p.152<br>4 - V20 p.154<br>5 - V20 p.195<br>6 - V20 p.237<br>7 - V20 p.22-24