by: Belladonna for Sanguinus Curae
Tachyus is to action what Potence is to strength and is viewed by many to be the truer answer to Kindred speed than the bastard child of Temporis - Celerity.
With Tachyus, the Kindred will find herself operating, moving, and reacting at greatly increased speed - and while the effect may seem similar to that of Celerity, the practical application and experience vary greatly from the first instance of use. Tachyus affects both the mind and body of the Kindred wielding it, altering her perceptions of the world around her as she speeds up and the rest of her environment seems to slow down to a crawl. With Tachyus, a Kindred can cross a room in an eyeblink, perform complex actions in a fraction of the normally required time, a run for extended periods faster than any modern vehicle. This preternatural ability is not without its costs, however, and the risks can be great - especially at higher levels. At higher levels, the Kindred risks damage from heat generated by the vastly increased speed - but the benefits are more than worth it.
For each dot in Tachyus, the vampire must spend a blood point to activate the ability (1 BP per level), gains one action per turn, does more damage with a strike, and is capable of moving at quite a bit more than their normal rate of speed. This discipline may take several turns to activate - depending on the Kindred's ability to spend blood in a single turn.
Once activated, Tachyus remains functioning for the rest of the scene or until the Kindred is rendered incapacitated or chooses to return to normal. While using Tachyus, the vampire's actions, reactions, and speech are all sped up according to the perception of onlookers. Appendages may blur out of vision momentarily, speech will seem incredible fast and of a higher pitch, and the vampire may blur completely while moving.
1 BP cost
+1 Initiative
+1 action - 2 actions per turn, that may be divided normally, and may be used for any type of action - including discipline use.
+1 damage to any physical or muscle-powered-weapon attack.
Move at (24 + (Dexterity x 2)) yards per turn (26 to 34 feet/second), or run at (40 + (6 x Dexterity)) yards per turn (31 to 47 mph).
2 BP cost
+2 Initiative
+2 actions - 3 actions per turn, that may be divided normally, and may be used for any type of action - including discipline use.
+2 damage to any physical or muscle-powered-weapon attack.
Move at (36 + (Dexterity x 3)) yards per turn (39 to 51 feet/second), or run at (60 + (9 x Dexterity)) yards per turn (47 to 71 mph).
Take 1 die aggravated damage from heat - which can be soaked by Fortitude - rolled as normal (6 or better to cause damage).
3 BP cost
+3 Initiative
+3 actions - 4 actions per turn, that may be divided normally, and may be used for any type of action - including discipline use.
+3 damage to any physical or muscle-powered-weapon attack.
Move at (48 + (Dexterity x 4)) yards per turn (52 to 68 feet/second), or run at (80 + (12 x Dexterity)) yards per turn (53 to 95 mph).
Take 2 dice aggravated damage from heat - which can be soaked by Fortitude - rolled as normal (6 or better to cause damage).
4 BP cost
+4 Initiative
+4 actions - 5 actions per turn, that may be divided normally, and may be used for any type of action - including discipline use.
+4 damage to any physical or muscle-powered-weapon attack.
Move at (60 + (Dexterity x 5)) yards per turn (65 to 85 feet/second), or run at (100 + (15 x Dexterity)) yards per turn (78 to 120 mph).
Take 3 dice aggravated damage from heat - which can be soaked by Fortitude - rolled as normal (6 or better to cause damage).
5 BP cost
+5 Initiative
+5 actions - 6 actions per turn, that may be divided normally, and may be used for any type of action - including discipline use.
+5 damage to any physical or muscle-powered-weapon attack.
Move at (72 + (Dexterity x 6)) yards per turn (78 to 102 feet/second), or run at (120 + (18 x Dexterity)) yards per turn (94 to 143 mph).
Take 4 dice aggravated damage from heat - which can be soaked by Fortitude - rolled as normal (6 or better to cause damage).
Exactly as the previous progression.
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