Protean

Protean

This Discipline allows the vampire to manipulate his physical form.Some Kindred view this power as a heightened connection to the natural world, while others see it as a magnification of the mark of Caine.Whatever its basis,vampires who develop this Discipline can grow beastial claws,assume the forms of wolves and bats, transform into mist and meld into the earth.Vampires can generally use other Disciplines while transformed---Kindred in wolf form can still read auras and communicate with other animals.A vampire in mist form cannot Dominate, since he has no eyes with which to make contact.The vampire's clothes and personal items also change when he transforms,presumably absorbed within his very substance.Kindred cannot transfigure large objects or other beings;Protean is a very personal expression of undead power.
A vampire who has been staked, thereby trapping his soul within mortal coil,cannot transform.Some Kindred claim that truely powerful Gangrel---those who have mastered the highest level of Protean---can deny even this limitation.Clan Gangrel lays claim to this Discipline,although other individual vampires have learned some of Protean's secrets from these bestial Kindred.

Levels of Power

Level 1 Eyes of the Beast: The vampire sees perfectly well in pitch darkness,not requiring a light source to notice details in even the darkest basement or cave.The vampire's Beast is evident in his red glowing eyes,a sight sure to disturb most mortals.

Level 2 Feral Claws: The vampires nails transform into long,bestial claws.These talons are wickedly sharp, able to rend flesh with ease and even carve stone and metal with little trouble.The Beast is prominent in the claws as well, making them fearsome weapons against other immortals.It's rumored that some Gangrel have modified this power to change their vampiric fangs into vicious tusks.

Level 3 Earth Meld: One of the most prized powers the Gangrel posesses, Earth Meld enables the vampire to become one with the earth.The immortal literally sinks into the bare ground,transmuting his substance with the earth.Though a vampire can immerse himself fully into the ground he cannot move around within it.Further,it is impossible to meld with the earth through other substances.Wood slats,blacktop,even artificial turf blocks Earth Meld's effectiveness---of curse,it's a relatively simple matter for a vampire at this level of power to grow claws and rip apart enough of the flooring to expose the raw soil beneath.By interring himself in the ground, the vampire gains full protection from daylight when outdoors.It is also the method of choice for those Kindred who wish to sleep away the centuries;these vampires lock themselves in the earth's embrace,gaining stregth and power as they rest.Superstition and paraniod Kindred wisper that thousands of Ancients sleep within the ground and will awaken on the night of Gehenna.While so interred, the vampire is in a transitional state between flesh and earth.His physical presence exsists between the physical world and the astral realm,returns him immediately to the physical world (and to full wakefulness), showering dirt outward as his body displaces the soil.

Level 4 Shape of the Beast: This endowes the vampire with the legendary ability to transform into a wolf or bat.A Kindred changed in this way is a particularly imposing representative of the animal kingdom.Indeed, he is far superior to normal animals,even ones possessed by Subsume the Spirit.He retains his own phyche and temperatment,but can still call upon the abilities of the beast form---increased senses for the wolf and flight ability for the bat.Some vampires are reputed to change to other animal forms better suited to their environment---jackals in Africa,dholes in Asia,even enormous rats in urban environments.

Level 5 Mist Form: This truly unsettling power enables the vampire to turn into mist.His physical shape disperses into a hazy cloud, but one still subject entirely to immortal's will.He floats at a brisk pace and may slip under doors,through screens,down pipes and through other tiny openings\.Although strong wind can blow the vampire from his chosen course,even hurricane-force winds cannot disperse his mist shape.Some Kindred feel that this power is an expression of the vampire's unltimate control over the material world,while others believe that it is the immortal's soul made manifest (damned though it may be).