The Baal

              The Discipline of the Resurrection of the Demon
                 ...as practiced by the Baali of Chicago...
                             Kindred of Chicago
                            Who's Who in Chicago
                       by Palika Goldstein (7 Jun 95)

Level One

Pierce the Gloom: The Baal may see through shadows and pierce the gloom of
night. This allows the Baal to see in all forms of normal darkness, and
suffer only 1/2 the modifiers for magical and supernatural darkness. In the
advent of the second case, the Baal must spend one blood per combat scene.
The eyes of the Baal glow a deep dark red, and in bright light there is an
outline of utter blackness around the corneas.

Level Two

Claws of the Beast: By expending one blood, the Baal may transform her hands
into razor sharp, 9 inch long taloned claws that glisten with a black shine.
The claws do aggravated damage (Str+2), and upon a successful hit where the
Baal gets three or more overall successes to hit (after dodge, if any)- the
Baal may drink from the vessel in lieu of causing aggravated damage (the
claws of the Beast having sunk into a major artery)- at the norm of three
blood per action of the Baal. The vessel must score more success in a
resisted strength roll to break free (vessel must soak one agg as the claws
come free).

Level Three

Howl of the Beast: in this state, the Baal howls into the night; causing
those who first hear to quake in fear. The Baal rolls Manipulation + Empathy
[TN is each Willpower of the group. All who can hear the Howl do, and it is
supernatural in origin. The Baal rolls once, and counts the amount of
successes scored for each target. No successes means that the specific
target was unaffected this time]. Each success is a cumulative +1 to the
difficulty of that target to make all actions (hit and damage). The Howl
lasts for as long as the Baal can be seen, felt, etc. by the targets. The
affects of the Howl can be countered if the target uses Willpower to buy
successes against the Baals Man+Emp roll.

Level Four

Mark of the Beast: by uttering a word and gesturing at the target, the Baal
in this form may brand a mark of his or her choosing (usually ancient in
origin) upon a subject. This mark is as large as the Baal's hand width, and
the target must soak one agg at Fortitude [9] to resist. Upon branding, all
attempts to resist damage (normal and agg) are raised by one (tn=7 to soak,
or +1 for specific damages), and the Baal may torment the subject in his or
her sleep. The Baal will always know where the mark is, and there is no
known way to remove it, save perhaps destroying the one who created it. Each
Baal can have only one mark on one target, and a target may have only one
such mark on it; six Baal can't mark one subject. The Ball rolls a resisted
Willpower test, and if successful; must immediately spend one Willpower
point to make the mark.

Level Five

Form of the Beast: In this form, the full horror of the Baal's Dark Lords
comes into being- as with the utterance of a thought, the Baal transforms
herself into a 8' tall Demon Minion. The Claws of the Beast appear as the
Baal grows in a massive, one action blood bursting wrenching sound; and
takes the form of a grotesque leering dark red skinned Demon. The legs of
the Beast are bent backwards (see Pan, Deity), and the form is muscular and
large. Strong arms end in the Claws, and pulsing black veins ripple along
the body of the Beast. Each Baal has a slightly different appearance in this
form, and displayed upon the forehead of the Beast is that particular Baal's
Mark of the Beast. It is rumored that the Form of the Beast has some
conjunction to the Pander's Vicissitude Discipline- but that is unlikely due
to the nature of the Souleater 'Disease' and the specific form of a
Souleater as per Horrid Form (see Player's Guide to the Sabbat,
Vicissitude). The transformation takes one full action, and requires three
blood (as usual for full body transformations). The Baal gains double the
amount of successes generated for an intimidation roll, and Strength,
Stamina and Perception increase by five dice. In this form, the Baal need
only resist half of the damage done to her; the rest is absorbed by the
Beast. No armor or clothing can be worn by the Beast in this form. This form
lasts until the Baal is struck by sunlight, or discontinues this power.
Frenzy checks while in the Form of the Beast are resisted with a +2 penalty-
as the Beast seeks constant destruction of this world. Most Baal in Beast
form due so only as a last resort- although several Cabals are formed of
many Baal who take this form for rituals and sacrifices to their Dark Lords.

                    Elder Powers of the Baal Discipline:

Level Six

Vessel of the Beast: At this level, the bondage to the Dark Lords Below
becomes stronger. The Baal may choose to enact the Vessel of the Beast at
any time, but almost all do so at a ceremony of their Cabal (A Cabal in this
sense is a small formed group of Baali). The Baal burns three blood and one
Willpower point (permanently for the Willpower), and opens herself to the
will of the Beast. The powers of Below pour into the Vessel; and the Baal
gains one merit of her choosing that the Beast gives to her. In return, the
Beast takes a part of the Essence of the Vessel- the greater the merit, the
more the Beast takes. A heart, limb, part of the brain, body mass; etc. is
removed from the Vessel. Consult with your ST for a deal.

Nature of the Beast: The Baal screams into the night air, and all those in
the Baal's area who hear the scream must resist the Blood Frenzy. The Baal
rolls Willpower [7], and each success is counted. Each Target, be it man,
woman, mortal or supernatural, animal and undead, mummy or what have you
(even Ghoul BIRDS!) must roll Frenzy and get more successes then the Baal
did in the Willpower rolls. Mortals riot, animals attack. flocks of birds
seek quiet coastal towns and mob innocent citizens, sharks attack, Vampires
Frenzy (as Lust for Blood) until they drink their fill, et.al. This costs
one blood to use, and can only be done once per combat scene; the Baal needs
to rest her voice.

Curse of the Beast: The Baal talks to the subject, and rolls opposed Path of
Evil Revelations v.s. targets Humanity (or Path, etc.). As the Baal
converses with the future Vessel, she opens a pathway from her corrupt Beast
filled heart to the Vessel. If the target looses, the Beast in the Baal
transfers via the pathway to the Target. The victims Humanity or Path drops
to zero (or negative 10 if that sounds better), and the Beast now controls
the character. Mortals and Supernaturals under the influence of the Beast
act in the worst possible, most violently dynamic ways- as their hidden,
repressed Evil ways surface in the most horrible ways. The Baal expends one
Willpower point, and can only use this against one person per scene. Vessels
that are under this influence do not act rationally, and become more
susceptible to the Beast. Repeated uses of this power against a particular
individual will reduce that persons ability to regain Humanity or Path, as
per the ST discretion.

                            by Palika Goldstein