Obtenebration

Obtenebration is the Lasombra’s exclusive power — command over a supernatural darkness that is not merely the absence of light but something with substance, will, and hunger. The shadows Lasombra manipulate are drawn from a place outside the material world. Whether this is the Abyss of their theology or something else entirely is debated in the Sabbat. The darkness itself may have opinions.

Supernatural nature: Obtenebration shadows are not normal darkness. Lights placed within them are extinguished. They can physically harm and restrain. Mortals who remain in them too long sometimes go mad.

Mirror restriction: Lasombra cast no reflection in mirrors — and Obtenebration does not function when reflected light is the only available light source. The two facts are connected.

Powers

● Shadow Play

Cost: None | Pool: Manipulation + Occult, difficulty 5 | Duration: Sustained

Manipulate existing shadows and dim light. The vampire can:

• Deepen shadows in a room (raise difficulty of sight-based rolls by 1-2)
• Animate shadows into moving shapes (illusory; no physical effect)
• Cause lights to flicker and dim
• Create unsettling visual effects from existing darkness

●● Shroud of Night

Cost: 1 Blood Point | Pool: Manipulation + Occult, difficulty 6 | Duration: Sustained

Generate a cloud of supernatural darkness centered on the vampire or a nearby point. Successes determine area: 1 = small room, 3 = large room, 5 = building exterior.

Inside the cloud, vision is impossible without supernatural sight. Auspex and Heightened Senses allow partial perception; Eyes of the Beast do not penetrate Shroud of Night (it is not a matter of light).

Lasombra immunity: The caster can see through their own Shroud of Night normally.

●●● Arms of the Abyss

Cost: 1 Blood Point | Pool: Manipulation + Occult, difficulty 7 | Duration: Sustained

Summon tentacle-like shadow appendages from nearby darkness. Each success called generates one tendril.

Each tendril has:

• Strength equal to the vampire’s Obtenebration rating
• Can attack (Obtenebration vs target’s Dexterity + Athletics to evade), dealing Strength in Lethal damage
• Can grapple (hold) targets; restrained targets struggle against Strength + Obtenebration

The tendrils must remain connected to shadows — they cannot follow a target into bright light, though the caster can move the light source.

●●●● Black Metamorphosis

Cost: 1 Blood Point | Pool: Manipulation + Occult, difficulty 8 | Duration: Scene

Partially merge with the Abyss. The vampire’s body becomes partially shadow:

• Two shadow tentacles emerge (as Arms of the Abyss) as permanent extensions while active
• Skin turns translucent, revealing darkness within — unsettling even to other vampires
• All hand-to-hand attacks deal aggravated damage
• Gain 3 additional soak dice against all physical attacks
• Vampires witnessing this for the first time roll Courage (difficulty 6) or lose 1 die from all actions for the scene

●●●●● Tenebrous Form

Cost: 2 Blood Points | Pool: Automatic | Duration: Until the vampire reverts voluntarily

Dissolve completely into supernatural darkness. Similar to Mist Form but composed of Abyss-shadow:

• Immune to all physical attacks
• Can travel through any opening — cracks in walls, under doors, through ventilation
• Can attack in shadow form (dealing aggravated damage) while remaining immune to physical attacks; targets cannot effectively fight back
• Supernatural attacks (fire, magical weapons, other Disciplines) still affect the shadow form
• Sunlight forces immediate reversion and damages the vampire normally

Elder Powers

The Darkness Within (●●●●● ●)

Cost: 1 Willpower | Pool: Manipulation + Occult, difficulty 8 | Duration: Instant

Release a burst of Abyss-essence from within. All targets within a radius (successes in yards) must succeed at Courage rolls (difficulty 7) or immediately flee. Mortals who fail and cannot flee fall catatonic. Kindred who fail lose their next action.

Shadow Twin (●●●●● ●●)

Cost: 2 Blood Points | Pool: Manipulation + Occult, difficulty 8 | Duration: Scene

Project a shadow duplicate of the vampire — an independent shadow-image that can move, gesture, appear to speak, and draw attention. The twin has no physical substance (cannot attack or be attacked) but is visually identical to the vampire from any distance without Auspex. Used for decoys, misdirection, and intimidation.

Oubliette (●●●●● ●●●)

Cost: 1 Willpower + 2 Blood Points | Pool: Manipulation + Occult vs target’s Willpower | Duration: Until released

Trap a target inside the Abyss. The target is physically removed from the material world — imprisoned in a pocket of darkness outside normal space. They cannot be located by any means while trapped. They experience only darkness and whatever the Abyss chooses to show them. The Lasombra can release the target at will. Time inside the Abyss is disorienting; targets emerge with significant derangements.

Shadow Perspective (●●●●● ●)

Cost: 1 Blood Point per sense transferred | Pool: Automatic (Perception + Awareness difficulty 9 for unseen locations) | Duration: Sustained

Lasombra elder power.

Shift any or all of the vampire’s senses from the shadow they are standing in to another shadow within line of sight. All five senses can be transferred independently. Shifting all senses makes it as if the vampire is standing in the remote shadow, but leaves their own body unaware of attacks against it.

The vampire must be standing in shadow for the power to work, and there must be shadow at the destination. Attempting to shift perception to a known but unseen location requires a Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty 9); if there is no shadow there, the power fails but the blood is still spent. Only line-of-sight effects available from the remote location may be used while perceiving there.

Shadow Lair (●●●●● ●●)

Cost: 1 Blood Point per hour | Pool: As Shadowstep (Dexterity + Occult for different-shadow exit) | Duration: Variable

Lasombra elder power.

An advancement of Shadowstep that allows the vampire to pause mid-step in the void between shadows for up to an hour per blood spent. While in the void, the vampire is completely cut off from the outside world and cannot perceive it. At the end of each hour, she may spend another blood point to remain or return. Returning to the entry point requires no roll; exiting to a different shadow uses the Shadowstep roll.

Others may be brought into the void by keeping physical contact; if contact is broken, they are lost in shadow permanently. Passengers do not spend blood points.

Shadow Watchtower (●●●●● ●●●)

Cost: 3 Blood Points | Pool: Automatic | Duration: Sustained (while in shadow)

Lasombra elder power.

An advanced form of Tenebrous Form. The vampire merges completely with the shadow she is standing in, dissolving visually into it. She cannot be detected as anything other than an indistinct corner shadow. While merged:

• Takes no damage from any source except sunlight (still aggravated)
• Can perceive everything in the area as if standing there normally
• Can shift to any other connected shadow
• If no shadow is available to maintain the merge or move to, she returns to physical form immediately

Immovable Object (●●●●● ●●)

Cost: 1 Willpower | Pool: Automatic | Duration: Until the vampire moves or the surface is destroyed

Lasombra elder power.

While standing on solid ground, the vampire becomes literally immovable by force of will alone. No physical strength, telekinesis, or collision can shift her from her position. A truck hits her and she does not move (she still takes the damage). The only way to move her is to destroy the surface she is standing on — removing the ground leaves her standing at the bottom of a crater.