This FAQ lists most of the Dark Enigma Chronicle’s house rules and interpretations in a short concise list.  Please refer to the Out of Character FAQ for out of character information, the World of Darkness FAQ for details about important people, places, and things in this game, and the Full FAQ for more detailed rules.

Ghouls, Humans, and Garou may have other errata use some of the rules in the other mind's eye books.

Clan

Certain clans may be played, some are restricted.  See the character creation rules for details.

The only bloodlines players may play are city Gangrel, antitribue (of the 5 major clans), and Daughters of C

Sons of discord were not all destroyed by the DOC and may be played.

Only 2 players may play Sabbat characters.

The Tremere’s clan advantage is severely controlled. 

Tremere are only not taught any path of Thaumaturgy. Other then they’re primary without earning it through role-playing.

Tremere and Giovanni cannot automatically take alternate paths of Thaumaturgy. And neither Necromancy nor do they automatically get rituals.

The madness network increases the number of rumors player get and may not be used for anything else

All Nosferatu have sewer-lore after being in the city for 2 weeks

Giovanni retainers don’t have powers from Wraith the Oblivion. Also see the retainer background.

Giovanni on the path of humanity do not suffer loss of morality because of their bite.

Nature and Demeanor

Players may choose natures and demeanors not found in the book with storyteller permission.       

Players may change their demeanors fairly easily

Most players must take path of humanity.  Only 8 slots are open for other paths

The game’s Setite, Old Clan Tzimsce, Assamite, Giovanni, and Sabbat have first rights to start with another path

All paths have been modified to prevent breech of masquerade and wholesale slaughter.

Morality takes a MINIMUM of 1 month, storyteller permission, and -/3/6/6/9 EP to buy up.

Players may buy morality up at character creation without storyteller approval.

People with 3 or more morality must test or lose 2 morality if they diablerize.

It is much more difficult to buy a morality to replace one lost from diablerie.

Nature and demeanor may not be used for retests or negative traits except at storyteller’s discretion.

Attributes

A player at 0 attributes in Physical, Mental, or Social may not initiate or defend against any challenge

Abilities

Many abilities require a teacher to learn.  These include all Garou abilities and lore abilities.

It takes most of your free time to use an ability over the week.

Firearms, throwing, and archery may be used to retest or cancel if the appropriate weapon targets you.

Abilities can only be used once per challenge regardless of whether you possess different abilities that would be appropriate

Disciplines

Generic Rules:  

   All Line of sight disciplines have a maximum range of 300 feet.

   The target, with the following exceptions, knows the user of a discipline. 

Never known to the target: Auspex 1-3, Dementation 1-3, All Obfuscate,

Known only if target wins: Chimestry 1-5, Dominate 3 Known only if target loses and the user of the discipline wants them to know: Auspex 4, Presence 3

This does not preclude common sense…For example; it is obvious who uses a discipline if only one  person is in range.  Similarly if someone was just there a second ago Obfuscate is a reasonable guess.

Unless otherwise noted, mental and social disciplines that require a non-static challenge cannot be used for 5 min. against a target that successfully resisted the discipline.

All powers that allow you to change form end if you are incapacitated or if your spirit leaves your body.

Animalism:

Several extremely small animals may be summoned with 1 social by using The Beckoning

Large animals may require more than 1 social by using The Beckoning

Drawing Out the Beast causes frenzy, but none of the long-term side effects of frenzy (such as a derangement) are caused after  frenzy ends.

Auspex 

Auspex 1 negates the penalties of blindness and reduces Obtenebration penalty by –1 and negates its free retest 

Auspex 2 may not be used to check for the exact same thing more than once in 15 minutes.

Auspex 2 is a static challenge that does not require you to bid a attribute to use.

Auspex 2 takes a full turn of staring at a target to use and takes your action during a combat phase

Observant players may make an observation test to notice a player using Auspex 2

Once you fail Auspex 3 you cannot test against the same impression again.

Auspex 4 has a maximum range of 1 mile and may be relented against.

Derangements may be transferred from forced contact with Auspex 4It is incredibly dangerous to contact some types of creatures with Auspex 4

Celerity

You may use non-range weapons with celerity.  You can’t use ranged weapons with celerity.

You are not considered to be using celerity during an all man’s phase and therefore may use mental and social effects.

You must bid a quickness/agility-related trait to use Celerity 3,5 and therefore may not use Potence with them.

A player may always bid quickness or endurance against celerity actions, even if they wouldn’t get an action that phase

Dementation

The Haunting does not actually summon a wraith and Necromancy has no effect on it

Chaos Eyes used to gain insight to a situation gives no benefit other than preventing surprise unless a storyteller wishes.

Voice of Madness causes frenzy, but none of the long-term side effects of frenzy (such as a derangement) are caused after frenzy ends.

   Total insanity requires you to have a set of cards of the derangements. If you are not playing with a full deck, you enter torpor.       

Dominate          

   The target may ignore dominate 1 and 2 if it would be physically, mentally, or socially self destructive

   If there is a reasonable chance an action isn’t dangerous it isn’t dangerous enough to be refused

   The target may interpret Dominate 1 and Dominate 2 in any reasonable way

   Using the Dominate 1 or Dominate 2 in context may help the person interpret the command a certain way

   The target must be able to see into your eyes.  You may use Dominate. even if you can’t see your target's eyes.

   The target must be able to understand you

   You may catch a persons eyes while they are in combat (they must be attacking someone) with a physical challenge.  You may make a mental dominate challenge in the same action if you      catch their eyes.  You are at –4 physical if they know you are trying to catch their eyes.

   The target must follow Dominate 1 for 5 min. or until the command can be reasonably considered complete whichever is shorter

   The trigger condition for Dom2 must occur within 2 months of the dominate or the dominate fails

   The target must follow Dom2 for 1 min. or until the command is complete whichever is shorter

   Dominate 3 has a range of 3 paces

   For Dominate 3, you must choose which 15 minutes you wish to reveal, change, or erase before the challenge. 

   For Dominate 3, if the memory has been replaced you fail to realize that the memory you are erasing is false

   For Dominate 3, if you have telepathy you may read a selected 15 minutes of a person's memory

   For Dominate 3, if you do not have Aus4 you must know of the memory you wish to erase or pick a random one.

   Dominate 5 does not allow you to jump from form to form, you must initiate contact with your natural body to use this power

   You must be in a form capable of firmly grasping, doing physical damage, to use Dominate 5

Fortitude

   Aegis RETROACTIVELY removes ALL damage the person took that turn

   Use of Aegis is obvious only at the end of the turn

   For 4 and For 5 protects you from staking if successful.

Necromancy

   Most people that die cannot be contacted, the spirit achieves whatever afterlife awaits.

   Necromancy cannot be used to trap a spirit and return it to a new body.  Characters that die cannot return.

   Storytellers strictly control use of spirits and retainers to prevent abuse.  

   A spirit finds it difficult to observe the real world as the shroud may distort or block sight.

Obfuscate

   Obf3 cannot change your appearance to look identical to another person, although you may duplicate your own looks

   You do not need to drop Obf3 to change the mask

   Clothing is modified by mask, armor and weapons is not.  Such clothing cannot conceal anything.

   Obf3 allows you a retest vs. uses of Aus2. This doesn’t effect someone seeing through Obfuscate 1,2,4, or 5

Obtenebration

   Shroud of Night gives the creator a free retest vs. anyone that can’t see; this is not cumulative with might for two retests.

   The retest from Shroud of Night is negated by Gleam of Red Eyes but not by heightened senses.

   Arms of the Abyss costs 1 blood trait per tentacle and can only give you one extra attack per target regardless of how many

     tentacles are created.  Up to 3 different targets can be attacked.  These attacks are simultaneous with the all man attack.

   Arms of the Abyss cannot use weapons.

   You cannot increase a tentacles power by pumping more blood into it after creation

   The creator at will may dispel Black Metamorphosis

   Touching a person in tenebrous form automatically breaks you out of Obfuscate or Shadow play.

Potence

   You may attack with normal weapons while using Potence, but they automatically break after the challenge.

   Might can be canceled with an ability.  A person may use a second ability to cancel might.  The 2^nd ability need not be the same as the other ability bid that challenge.

   You must bid a strength/ferocity-related trait to use Potence 2, Potence 3, and Potence 5

Presence

   Awe may be canceled with an ability and a social.  A person may use a second ability to cancel awe.  The 2^nd ability need not be the same as the other ability bid that challenge.

   Pre 2 lasts for 1 hour or scene.

   If you successfully dread gaze another person they must go at their fastest non-discipline rate away from you for 5 min.

   Entrancement has a range of  10 paces and a duration of 1 hour or scene

   A person may interpret how they treat you after being entranced based on their personality

   A social challenge may encourage a person entranced by you to act differently

   A target of Pre 4 knows they have been summoned

   Pre4 has a range of a city, a person that has been summoned is still summoned if they leave that range.

   Pre4 automatically ends at dawn and dusk.

   The summoner must remain with 3 paces of where they started the summons or it ends

   A person may choose to ignore a summons but they gain the neg traits lethargic and distracted (men and soc neg)

   Pre 5 has a range on 10 paces, a minimum duration of a scene/hour and a max. duration of the night

   A person must do what they think the person with majesty would consider respectful to them

   You must break majesty to attack a person that is behind a person with majesty

   The person with majesty may declare, within reason, what they consider disrespectful

   A person must be detected for majesty to work. 

   A person that can no longer see you but knows you are there is still effected by your majesty.

   If you are obfuscated anybody that pierces your obfuscate is effected by majesty

   If 2 people with majesty interact the person with equal or lower Generation ignores the others majesty.

Protean

   Pro 1 negates penalties from smoke, mist, fog, pepper spray, dust etc.

   Pro 1 negates the penalties of blindness and reduces Obtenebration penalty by –1 and negates its free retest

   Only one damage is replaced with Ag. when claws are used

   For Pro4 and Pro5, transforming back into normal form in a constrained place may kill you. 

   For Pro5, transforming back into normal form in a person does at most 2 damage to them

Thaumaturgy    

   A person may not burn a will to retest any men vs. Physical Thaumaturgy. even though mental traits are bid

   Any Thaumaturgy. except Thaumaturgy. Blood 3 that requires a men. vs. Physical. test is considered a physical challenge for damage purposes

   Unless otherwise noted, Potence may be used with any touch based Thaumaturgy

   You do not expend a blood if you fail to touch a person using a touch-activated power

   Celerity may never be used with Thaumaturgy.

   Although the effects of Thaumaturgy. take effect after you complete a challenge, you are still assumed to be finishing your gesturing and chanting for the rest of the turn

   You may still bid to dodge or endure opponent’s celerity actions, you just cannot initiate any actions.

   Range-for most Thaumaturgy is 30’

   You must be able to gesture and speak to use Thaumaturgy.

   A perception test may be made by observant people to notice the use of Thaumaturgy

   Thaumaturgy Blood 2 can force a player to spend blood on anything but the use of a discipline.

   Thaumaturgy Blood 2 cannot force a person out of torpor unless the blood that is burned is 3 gens lower than the torpored vamp.

   You may choose which blood a target burns bypassing the first in last out rule.

   Blood Rage may be used to cure people of harmful side effects from blood in their system at the storyteller discretion.

   Thaumaturgy. Blood 4 can be used to bring a low Generation. Vampire out of torpor

   Thaumaturgy. Blood 4 increases the amount of blood you may burn in a turn as well as your capacity.

   Thaumaturgy. path of fire 3, 4, and 5 are not cumulative if multiple people use it.

   A person that uses Thaumaturgy. fire must still make a virtue/courage test if anything ignites to avoid frenzy.

   You may not initiate a challenge while flying with Thaumaturgy. mind 3 (unless you want to fall)

   Thaumaturgy. mind 4 and 5 require you to risk a mental for everyone you might effect (not just target)

   If you fail with Thaumaturgy. mind 5 against one person the entire effect may fail.

Master Level Disciplines

   At 9^th Generation you may learn one elder level discipline, at 8^th Generation you may learn 2 elder disciplines as you want

   Elder disciplines can be learned in 2 months time, but frequently require extra research.

   Embrace the Beast from 2^nd edition Laws of the Night may be learned as an elder discipline

   To preserve the mystery of elder disciplines, errata will not be printed, errata will be explained to any players as they receive the discipline.

   Players may request permission to play elder disciplines they have designed

   Any player found not to be running a elder discipline without errata will lose the discipline.

Rituals

   Rituals do not come free with Necromancy or Thaumaturgy.

   The Tremere and Giovanni may teach clan members these rituals without requiring a favor first.

   Rituals take EP and time to learn just like disciplines.

Backgrounds

Fame 1 and 2 increases the effectiveness of other backgrounds in the city

Fame is capped at 2.  Anything above 2 requires storyteller approval.

Some storytellers do not allow or recognize fame.

People that you use fame on remember you very well, and they may reveal your presence to others.

Storytellers strictly control use of retainers and mentor to prevent abuse.

Generation is not considered a background in this game.

Characters cannot buy up Generation after being embraced.

All backgrounds have a cap at 3.  Anything above 3 requires a storyteller approval.

Mentor has a cap of 0, all mentor backgrounds must be approved

Influences may be obtained at regional, national, and global levels.

Influences, allies, and fame do not combine well.  Adding 2 of the same level gets 1 of the next level

Contacts cannot be combined with other backgrounds

Allies, contacts, and fame cannot be loaned to another player.

Even through role-playing, you must spend EP to gain an ally or retainer.  Good role-playing may reduce this cost.

Depending on how long you role-play, you may gain an ally or retainer in as little as a week.

Players with max attributes can ignore the restriction to the amount of influences you may have

Embrace

An embraced player can only have, at best, the generation that they bought up to, even if a kindred embraced them two or more generation lower than the one you bought up

Garou cannot be embraced.

Blood/Health

All aggravated damage is assumed healed by the beginning of the next game

It may require more than 1 week to regenerate lost limbs

Blood carried during combat is spilled on a static loss if you are hit.

Hunting during game takes a minimum of 15 min.

Length of time to hunt reduces likelihood of neg. events, disease, etc. when you try to quick hunt.

Blood may be spent at the end of any challenge during combat, you don’t need to spend an entire turn to heal.

You can only drain one blood per turn from a target that isn’t incapacitated or willing, three from ones that are.

Drinking a blood takes all of you actions in a turn.

PC and powerful mortals may choose to ignore the effects of the kiss.

Mortals under the effects of the kiss are considered incapacitated.

You may choose not to lick a wound, if you don’t the target takes an Ag from the bite.

Blood from animals cannot be used to power disciplines or heal, it may be used to prevent hunger frenzy.

Torpored characters may test to get out of torpor using the chart on p199 if they have blood left.

Willpower

All willpower is regained at the beginning of the next game.

Willpower may normally only be used by someone defending from a discipline, to retest and cannot cancel.

Willpower may be used with Auspex to breech obfuscate, but only if the player knows an obfuscated person is there.

Flaws/Merits

This is a list of allowed Flaws and Merits with errata.  Please note that many require storyteller approval, and that many require different point amounts. The same flaw may not be taken twice without special permission.

Flaws and Merits may be bought (off) with storyteller approval and for 3x the char creation cost.

Noticeable merits and flaws should be denoted by a badge or tag of some type.

Storytellers may allow players to use merits and flaws from other books upon request.

Acute Sense does not help Aura Perception or combat (it will help heightened senses)

Addiction the substance requires storyteller approval.

Ambidextrous only negates all penalties for off-hand use.

Catlike Balance is not useful in combat except to dodge or negate penalties due to a precarious footing.

Code of Honor requires storyteller approval.

Common Sense is only allowed for new players and eventually runs out.

Cursed, Storytellers are very careful to restrict what curses are allowed and we’re mean.

Dark Fate-Storytellers automatically target characters with Dark Fate or Enemy for plotlines

Deep Sleeper-Players with Deep Sleeper must sit out the 1^st hr. of the game and are at –2 traits to resist sleep.

Deformity cannot be disguised or negated.

Disfigured cannot be disguised or negated.

Eat Food-Everybody automatically may eat food

Eerie Presence cannot be disguised or negated.

Enchanting Voice-A player does not gain this merit’s bonuses if they don’t role-play or speak

Enemy-Storytellers automatically target characters with Dark Fate or Enemy for plotlines

Enemy-The storyteller gets to choose who your enemy is, although you may note a preference.

Sires Resentment, Hunted, and Probationary Sect Member are considered the enemy flaw.

Extra Form allows you to have a rat form with Pro4.

Friendly Face-is not cumulative with enchanting voice

Gift of Proteus gives you alternate forms of roughly the same mass and abilities with Pro4.

Glowing Eyes- cannot be negated or disguised with disciplines.  You are at –1 traits for detection tests because you are  partially blinded.

Kindred with path of humanity May only take grip of the Damned.

Kindred with Grip of the Damned have a maximum morality and conscience of 2.

Guilt-Wracked-You must make a test even when drinking from a container or voluntary subject.  If you fail you may not try to feed again for one scene

Hatred must be fulfilled within 4 game sessions or you risk morality loss.

Lord of the Files- cannot be disguised or negated.

Misplaced Heart must be somewhere in your chest.

Monstrous People with monstrous cannot have allies or contacts and suffer penalties when using influences.

Natural Leader- a player does not gain this merit’s bonuses if they don’t role-play or speak.  This merit does not require that the player be in a position of leadership to use.

Prey Exclusion must include at least 10% of the population.

True love you never attack you’re true love even in frenzy. Your true love is +5 traits to get you out of frenzy.

Vengeful must be fulfilled within 4 game sessions or you risk morality loss.

You must choose a specific thing that you are vengeful towards

Combat

A player may cancel a retest with any effect that would allow them a retest, even if it is a different type of retest.  For example, might can cancel brawl, and willpower can cancel leadership or awe.

A player may try to overbid to cancel a “win all ties effect”.  The player may only bid his unaugmented traits  plus any given from disciplines/gifts

Visibility and concealment may give a player between 1 and 4 bonus traits

Blind characters fight at –2 traits and gain the neg trait clumsy

A non-discipline or ability social challenge may be ignored if a player doesn’t think his char. should respond to the social  challenge.

Preemptive actions do not give you an extra or early attack.  This includes alacrity.

Preemptive attacks have been banned.  Wpns. with the speed adv. Negate the bonus traits an opponent would gain from weapons with the negative traits slow, heavy, or clumsy

When more than 1 person attacks the same person, it is a mob attack.      

No more than 5 people may attack together for a mob combat.

In mob attacks the attackers have 5 seconds to choose a champion or the defender chooses.

Champions must alternate to include all attackers if combat continues for more than 1 round.

The champion gets +1 trait for every other person in his mob making the same type of attack

If the champion retests, all other players in the mob that could not retest do no damage. 

If the champion retests with an ability, other characters in the mob must have an appropriate ability or retest.  If they use an  ability, they don’t expend it.  Those that cannot match the retest, do no damage.

Characters in the mob besides the champion do a maximum of 1 damage.

The two-gun mojo is disallowed.

Players may refuse to allow the use of a called shot against them (except for the ones below).

Knocking a person back or down is a called shot at –4 physical.

Knocking a normal mortal (only NPCs) unconscious with one blow is a called shot at –4 physical.

Successfully staking a vampire with a stake requires 1 difficult and 1 simple static challenge.

Successfully staking a vampire with anything but a stake requires 3 difficult static challenges.

Avoiding armor is a called shot at –4 physical.

Biting a player is a called shot at –4 Physical.  Drawing a trait of blood takes a full round after the bite succeeds.

Experience/Retiring Characters

Characters may not go into negative EP, but they do not have to pay any EP until they finish learning something.

Generation can only be bought before the embrace

Generation costs 3/8/38/68/100

A player at 10^th – 8^th Generation must spend 10 EP or lose an extra morality and have max morality decreased

A player at 8^th Generation must spend a seconds 10 EP or lose a second morality and have max morality decreased

Virtues take 1mth, storyteller approval except at character creation, and -/2/3/4/5 EP to buy.

Morality takes a MINIMUM of 1 month except a char creation, storyteller permission, and -/3/6/6/9 EP to buy up.

Willpower takes 1 month and 3 EP to buy up

Backgrounds other than influences take 1 month and 3/3/6/6/9 EP to buy

Influences take 1 month and 1/2/3/4/5 EP to buy

Any background over 3 and any mentor or fame requires storyteller approval

Flaws take storyteller approval, good role-playing, and 3x their pt value in EP to buy off

Merits take storyteller approval, good role-playing, and 3x their pt value in EP to buy

Disciplines take 2/2/4/4/6 weeks and 3/3/6/6/9 EP to buy

Elder disciplines cost 12 EP and take 2 months to learn.  Extra role-playing will frequently be required.

Abilities and attributed take 1 week and 1 EP to buy

Neg traits take 1 week and 2 EP to buy off

Players receive up to 40% of their EP to transfer to new characters if the old character is killed or retired

Players that senselessly kill their characters or don’t stay in character will get less EP

The percent of EP players receive is determined by why the character died or was retired and role-playing

New characters may never be related to, inherit from, or know previous characters.

Players may not give over equipment after death or retirement

New characters cannot in any way be related to, know of, or have interacted with a their prior characters.

Players must have any wills for their character signed off at least a week before they die.

Other

If in doubt, storytellers always judge in favor of a PC over an NPC and a defending player over an aggressor

Status may be obtained for entire regions, nations, or worldwide.

Magical items and fetishes require bonding to a character and cannot easily be given to another character.

Explosives and incendiaries are extremely difficult to obtain or manufacture.

Guns are all illegal, and are harder to make and obtain than in the real world.

The equipment starting character may have is based on their influence

Discussion of kindred related info. using telecommunications is a breach of the masquerade.

All telecommunications devices have chips installed allowing the govt. to spy on users.

Storytellers are not bound to use the rules for wraiths or changelings found in other minds-eye books

Staked characters are paralyzed but aware of what is happening to them.

To give another player equipment, you must sign off on the player that is receiving the items character sheet.

If a storyteller cannot read what you put on your character sheet, they will ignore it.

Storytellers may use different methods to judge diablerie than those given in the book based on the circumstances.

Hunting PCs over the week always takes place on Saturday for some inexplicable reason.

Storytellers always choose in favor of the hunted player when a decision is necessary

Storytellers will run hunting immediately before or during the beginning of the game.

To hunt a person requires notifying a storyteller at least a week in advance.

Only people that are actively summoning demons are considered infernal, Cam. policy is that these people should be hunted.

You do not gain a negative trait if you frenzy, you do not get a negative trait unless you bid a virtue trait for a retest.

You may gain a negative trait if you fail a virtue test at the storyteller’s discretion.

If you fail a retest  in a virtue test, you may lose the bid virtue trait permanently at the storyteller’s discretion.