Protean

Languages:

Protean

Morphing, Shapeshifting, Mutatio

Clan affinity:

Gangrel The Ministry Tzimisce

---

Type:Physical

---

Masquerade threat:High

---

Resonance:Animal Blood

Protean is a power that shapes and mutates the form of the user. This power is employed for its utility above all else, allowing the user to become a beast, turn their limbs into weapons or touch the more animalistic side of their Beast. Small items on the user are affected by this power, however, backpacks and other large items are not.

The Gangrel are perhaps the most mastered with this Discipline, as few possess the gifts. They use their abilities to Shapechange in many ways and notably consider feeding this way the best of kills. Ministers use this power to extend their monstrous fangs or to take the shape of animals, generally taking the form of a snake over a wolf. However, they still use Earth Meld as the Gangrel do to avoid the sun. Tzimisce are masters of their form, controlling their shape and appearance at will. With their combined mastery of Dominate, they can manipulate their flesh and that of others with powers such as Fleshcrafting and Vicissitude. They also use Protean to shape themselves into other forms such as a bat or wolf.

List of available powers

Level 1

Name	Effect	Cost	Prerequisite	Amalgam	Duration	Dice pool	Opposing pool	Additional Notes	Source
Eyes of the Beast	Allows the user to see in total darkness.	Free	None	No	As long as desired	N/A	N/A	+2 bonus dice to intimidation against mortals when active.	/ Corebook, page 269
Weight of the Feather	The user can make themselves almost weightless.	Free	None	No	As long as desired	Wits + Survival	N/A	Wits + Survival is only used when activated as a reaction.	/ Corebook, page 269

Level 2

Name	Effect	Cost	Prerequisite	Amalgam	Duration	Dice pool	Opposing pool	Additional Notes	Source
Feral Weapons	Elongate the user's nails into claws, gaining a +2 modifier to damage or elongate their fangs and not suffer a called shot penalty.	One Rouse Check	None	No	One scene	N/A	N/A	Superficial damage inflicted by the user is not halved while active.	/ Corebook, page 270
Vicissitude	Sculpt the flesh of bodies allowing changes to their own bodies.	One Rouse Check	None	Dominate ●●	Permanent	Resolve + Protean	N/A	Each success on the roll allows a single change to be made.	Companion, page 27

Level 3

Name	Effect	Cost	Prerequisite	Amalgam	Duration	Dice pool	Opposing pool	Additional Notes	Source
Earth Meld	Sink into the earth and become one with the soil.	One Rouse Check	None	No	One day or more, or until disturbed	N/A	N/A	This power only works on natural surfaces and not artificial such as concrete.	/ Corebook, page 270
Fleshcrafting	Extends the mastery over the flesh to be used on others.	One Rouse Check	Vicissitude	Dominate ●●	Permanent	Resolve + Protean	Stamina + Resolve	An unwilling subject may resist with the margin of the user's role counting as the number of changes able to be made.	Companion, page 27
Shapechange	Change into an animal with a similar body mass.	One Rouse Check	None	No	One scene unless voluntarily ended	N/A	N/A	Users gain the Physical Attributes and other traits of the animal they've changed into.	/ Corebook, page 270
Visceral Absorption	Draw in the remains of blood and body to the vampire to clean a scene.	One Rouse Check	None	Blood Sorcery ●●	One turn per body	Strength + Protean	N/A	Hunger can be reduced by one per body, up to the level of their Blood Sorcery rating but cannot reduce to 0.	/ Sabbat, page 49

Level 4

Name	Effect	Cost	Prerequisite	Amalgam	Duration	Dice pool	Opposing pool	Additional Notes	Source
Horrid Form	Take on a monstrous shape.	One Rouse Check	Vicissitude	Dominate ●●	One scene unless voluntarily ended	N/A	N/A	Grants several changes equal to the user's Protean rating. Any critical scores are counted as messy criticals and Frenzy checks are made with +2 Difficulty.	Companion, page 28
Metamorphosis	Extends shape change to be able to change into a larger animal than the vampire's mass.	One Rouse Check	Shapechange	No	One scene unless voluntarily ended	N/A	N/A	Same rules as Shapechange.	/ Corebook, page 271

Level 5

Name	Effect	Cost	Prerequisite	Amalgam	Duration	Dice pool	Opposing pool	Additional Notes	Source
The Heart of Darkness	Allows a vampire to remove their own heart and store it outside of their body.	Free	Church of Set	Fortitude ●●	Permanent or until the heart is destroyed or returned to the host's body	N/A	N/A	If the heart is dealt aggravated damage equal to or greater than the user's health tracker, they fall into torpor. It can only be destroyed through fire or sunlight.	/ Cults of the Blood Gods, page 85
Mist Form	Turn into a cloud of mist.	One to three Rouse Checks	None	No	One scene unless voluntarily ended	N/A	N/A	This power takes three turns to use and may be sped up with additional Rouse Checks on a one-for-one trade.	/ Corebook, page 271
One with the Land	Sink into the earth of their Domain.	Two Rouse Checks	Earth Meld	Animalism ●●	One day or more, or until physically disturbed	N/A	N/A	Same system as Earth Meld however they are not limited by the material.	Companion, page 28
The Unfettered Heart	The heart of the vampire can move freely within the chest, making staking more difficult.	Free	None	No	Passive	N/A	N/A	Only upon a critical win does the stake penetrate when in melee combat.	/ Corebook, page 271

Other Amalgams

Below are the amalgams from other Discipline trees that require Protean;

	Name	Power Level	Protean Level Required	Effect	Cost	Dice pool	Source
	Eyes of the Serpent	Presence ●	●	Immobilize a victim by making eye contact	Free	Charisma + Presence	/ Anarch, page 185

Gallery

• 

  Shapechange being used to change into a large dog. Source: Vampire: The Masquerade Winter's Teeth Issue #2

• 

  Shapechange and possible Metamorphosis being used to change into a tiger. Source: Vampire: The Masquerade Winter's Teeth Issue #9

• 

  Mitch transforming from a wolf to a man. Source: World of Darkness: Crimson Thaw, Issue #1

Game concepts

Antagonists

Second Inquisition • Sabbat