by: Benedira for Sanguinus Curae
Memoria has been hailed as an expansion on the extrasensory perceptions of psychometry. Pioneered by a Caitiff, Memoria was initially thought to be a fine tuned reflection of certain abilities of Auspex. As his childer and grandchilder developed it further, however, it became clear that Memoria was its own unique set of powers. The bloodline spawned by this Caitiff have practiced and perfected this discipline, but so far, only the founding father himself has managed to reach the higher levels.
One thing is true of all levels of Memoria: it is better to know exactly what you seek. If a Kindred is searching for a particular memory, or has some idea of what memory they might be seeking, they will either find what they're looking for or not. To probe an object or person without direction, however, is quite another story. If they succeed in finding a memory, it will be one of the most powerful associated with the object or person. These powerful memories are often violent or painful. Because the Kindred sees these memories in their mind's eye, these powerful visions can be temporarily devastating, if not permanently damaging. To avoid this random flood of memory, the Kindred must have a reasonable clue as to what they are looking for before attempting the use of Memoria.
Seeing these visions is also distracting, as they appear to overlay whatever the kindred is seeing with her eyes. If she keeps her eyes open, the Kindred suffers a +2 difficulty to all perception rolls. Closing her eyes will allow her complete command of the memory she is witnessing (no perception roll necessary), but she becomes completely oblivious to the outside world for the duration of the vision.
Successful retrieval of memories takes some getting used to, but by the time a Kindred has reached the second level she has gained functional control over the ability. She may stop the memories whenever she chooses, view them in fast or slow motion, or focus on certain aspects.
A botch on any Memoria roll can have horribly unpredictable consequences. In some cases, the Kindred might find they cannot use Memoria for the rest of the night. In the case of a weighty botch, the Kindred's use of the discipline may be curtailed for a week. Occasionally, a far more horrendous and frightening consequence arises. The Kindred finds herself trapped in one of the memories of a person or object, from the first person point of view. The Kindred may suddenly find themselves the victim of a brutal murder or stranded at the top of a burning building and jumping off, with no way to discern their present situation from reality. They will feel the same things the person in the memory felt, be it pain, fear, ecstasy or desperation. While the actions and emotions will seem to belong to the Kindred, she will be powerless to control or alter them - she must ride the memory out to completion.
System: The system for every level of Memoria is the same. The player rolls Perception + Empathy at a difficulty of 8. The difficulty is reduced by one for each level of Memoria the Kindred possesses over the one she is attempting to use (i.e., a Kindred who has achieved level 4 would have a difficulty of 5 to use Terrenus, but a difficulty of 7 to use Claritas). The player must be in physical contact with the person or thing she is probing for memories.
This most basic ability allows the Kindred to ascertain any memory associated with a metal or stone object. This includes crystals and alloys.
At this level, the Kindred my ascertain a memory associated with any object, provided it is non-sentient. What constitutes an object is left to storyteller discretion.
The Kindred can now recall all her own memories with stunning clarity. This includes memories from birth and possibly before, and offers the opportunity to notice things she may have missed the first time around.
With this power, the kindred can ascertain memories from a person, kindred, or any other sentient being. The person being probed may notice this invasion of their memory with a Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 8), though simply realizing it is happening is not enough to stop it.
The Kindred can now call forth memories from places such as rooms, wooded groves, or parking lots, allowing her to see events that happened there.
At this level Memoria becomes more esoteric still, allowing the Kindred access to genetic memories from her birth family. The memories of long dead relatives become accessible, with no limit on how far back the Kindred may search her family tree. She does not need to be touching the family member in question to search for these memories.
The Kindred may now probe the genetic memories of the birth families of others, much as she can search her own. She must be in contact with the person who's family tree she is probing.
The Kindred now has access to the memories of her vampiric ancestors, much as she achieved with her birth ancestors. From her sire all the way back to the First One, the memories of her blood are hers to command. She does not need to be touching the kindred ancestor in question to search for these memories.
The jewel in the crown of Memoria, Consanguineous Major grants the Kindred access to memories of the vampiric ancestors of others just as Propagines granted her access to the memories of their birth families. She must be in contact with the person who's bloodline she is probing.
This level is truly the most powerful, and the largest threat to elders and neonates alike. The Kindred who wields Consanguineous Major need never lay eyes on you to know your secrets when they can simply ply them from your unwitting great grandchilde.