De Kruchina, dee se elu deuil depein te sou la forme d'une femme perpétuellement en pleurs, à Likho Odnoglazoye, la mégère borgne émaciée qui représentait la privation et la souffrances, les panthéon d'Europe de l.'Est debordent de déités de la famine, de la misère, de I'infortune, de l'amertume et de la mort. Que Ie dieux entendent leur nom ou que les eprits répondent simplement à leur place, un koldun qui comprend I'obscure Way of Despair peut invoquer Ies pouvoirs les plus lugubres des dieux. Cette voie ne s’intéresse pas aux dieux de la jouissance ou de la richesse, uniquement a ceux qui annoncent des tragédies.

Tout comme la Voie du Feu, la Voie du Desespoir est régie par la Manipulation du koldun , mais la difficulte pour chaque pouvoir est égale a la Volonté permanente de la victime et non a I'habituel 4 + ni veau du pouvoir. De plus, une victime peut dépenser un point de Volonté pour surmonter un effet particulier, mais reste vulnérable aux usages suivants de cette Discipline.

Une derniere note: Traiter avec des dieux oublies nécessite d'y mettre les formes, particulièrement pour ceux qui régissent des aspects aussi noirs. Si elle est mal invoquée, la Voie du Désespoir se retourne contre Ie koldun . En cas d'échec critique, Ie Fiend subit les effets de son pouvoir comme s'il avait obtenu cinq succès.

BASIC

THE FRUSTRATION OF NESTRESHA (1)

Nommé d’après la déesse du chagrin et de l’échec, ce pouvoir permet au koldun de dérober la résolution d’un ennemi. Le regard du koldun sape la volonté de la cible de lutter. Même si la victime est envahie par un pessimisme résigné ou des sentiments de défaite, elle peut toujours entreprendre des actes pour résister au koldun, y compris combattre, mais seulement de manière peu convaincue ou craintive. Elle n’a pas sa passion ou sa détermination habituelles.

Système : Le koldun dépense un point de Volonté. Il teste sa Manipulation + Occult (diff = volonté). Pendant un tour par succès, la cible ne peut pas dépenser de point de Volonté pour activer des Disciplines ou bénéficier de succès automatiques. En terme d’interprétation, la victime peut également manquer de motivation ou conviction suffisante tant que le pouvoir est actif. Pour que ce pouvoir soit efficace, le koldun doit simplement être en contact visuel.

THE INSULTS OF KRIVDA

Any Fiend worthy of the name can spit out a telling insult.But with this power, Krivda — a goddess of hatred and bitterness — ensures that the remark offends, enraging the recipient. In the Tzimisce-Tremere conflicts of nights longpast, koldun carried Krivda on their tongues, inciting their Usurper opponents to frenzy. They preferred to deal with angry fangs instead of calculated Thaumaturgy. This is a dangerous power to use, but it can unbalance a physically weak opponent who has access to powerful Disciplines or could be used to embarrass a Cainite by causing him to frenzy in public.

Address your victim with some sort of offensive curse as you expend your Willpower and make your Social Challenge. You must roleplay some form of insult and offense — if you do not, the power fails automatically. OlderTzimisce might lay out positively Biblical-sounding curses, while young Tzimisce could flay the ears with a gang banger’slingo. If you perform appropriately and win the Social Challenge, your target immediately flies into a rage and attempts to attack you. In his next turn, your victim must make some sort of physical attack against you if at all possible. If the foe is a vampire, he may resist with a Self-Control Virtue Test (difficulty of 4 Traits), but if this fails, enters frenzy (which typically lasts at least five minutes).

INTERMEDIAIRE

THE WEEPING KRUCHINA

The glare of a koldun can make someone so miserable that they do nothing but cry. This power does more than spill a few tears — it causes hysterical bawling, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Some depressing notion overcomes the victim. Vampires might mourn their lost humanitas or the passing of lovers who died long ago. Sometimes the source is more nebulous — koldun believe that it imparts the collected sorrow of their demesnes’ sickened soil.

Make your Way of Sorrow test against one opponent; if you win, the subject is overwhelmed with misery and breaks into hysterical sobbing. Although the target might still be able to run away, defend himself or the like, the concentration required for initiating any Mental or Social Challenge becomes impossible. You may extend the power with additional reflexive Social expenditures and tests, as described for The Frustrations of Nestrecha. Each turn that a vampiric opponent spends under this power results in the loss of one Blood Trait due to copious weeping of vitae.

THE MISFORTUNE OF CHEMOGOLOV

With a declaration that a person is doomed or destined tofail, the koldun summons the attention of Chemogolov — the silver-mustached god of misfortune — to her victim. Under Chemogolov’s unlucky gaze, he is hindered in everything he does. If he fails, he does so spectacularly.

When you call down The Misfortune of Chemogolov and speak an appropriately doom-saying phrase, your opponent immediately suffers a two Trait penalty on initiating and resolving any challenge. Thus, the enemy must risk at least three Traits just to enter any challenge and loses every additional Trait risked on a failed challenge. Further-more, the subject is more likely to fail any test due to the penalty Traits. This is cumulative with injury or other penal-ties that inflict the victim.

ADVANCE

THE STARVATION OF MARENA

By invoking the wife of Kupala, the koldun summons the cold and starvation that is the domain of Marena. A frosty gale blasts the victim and leaves him emaciated as if he had just survived the coldest of winters. The frost bitten and starving victim clings to (un)life, usually in no condition to contradict the koldun. The cold symbolizes of the passage of time in harshconditions.

Invoke the name of Marena, and make your Way of Sorrow challenge against the victim. If you win,the subject suffers two levels of bashing damage (one incompressed scale) and, if a vampire, loses one Blood Trait. Additionally, if you have more Social Traits than the opponent, your effect may be more lethal: For every two current Social Traits that you have over your victim, score another two health levels of damage and one Blood Trait loss. (If your opponent has more Social Traits than you, there is no penalty other than the possibility of an overbid.)