After sending off about 24 faxes, I picked up a copy of the Invictus book to see what all the hullaballoo was about. Many people I admire and respect were talking about how “broken” the Disciplines, Blood Oaths and other mechanics were. I had to see it for myself.
Well, I am here to report that those people I admire and respect are wrong. Invictus is not “broken.” Far from it.
No. Invictus is, by far, the Worst Thing White Wolf Has Ever Produced.
Invictus isn’t just broken, it breaks the entire game.
I’m seriously considering withdrawing from the Cam all together.
In Oath of the Bloody Hand, we read:
“Dice Pool: No roll is neccessary to activate this power.”
Not two paragraphs later, under the same power, we read:
“If the activation roll succeeds…”
What activation roll? You just told us this power doesn’t require an activation roll!!!
What’s more, this little power (which has only two prerequisites: Blood Potency 3+ and 1 point of Invictus Status) gives you as much blood as you can put into it (equal to your own capacity), which you can spend freely, unlimited by your Potency.
How much does it cost? Just ten experience points! Whoopie!
Compare this with any Level 5 Crone Ritual or any Level 5 Theban Sorcery ritual and you’ll see why I have a small problem with it.
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Meanwhile, we take a look at Oath of Blood Focus. This little dittie has the same cost (BP 3 + Invictus Status) and gives you THREE beneifts:
1) Ten Willpower (complete with points)
2) +2 Blood Potency
3) You no longer need to sleep
It also costs 10 xp. Oh, and it costs you one Willpower dot… although since your WP goes up to ten anyway, I don’t see how that’s a cost.
No Crone ritual or Sanctified Ritual gives you this much. None.
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Meanwhile, check out the Disciplines these cooky bloodlines get. Let’s check out Courtoisie.
See, the level 2 power of this Discipline gives you six options. Yes, that’s right, six options. For each success you get in this Discipline (Manipulation + Socialize + Courtoisie vs. Subject’s Composure), in close combat, you can:
Substitute Presence for Strength
Substitute Manipulation for Dexterity
Substitute Manipulation for Wits
Substitute Socialize for Weaponry
Substitute Intimidation for Brawl
Or Add +1 to your attack.
Now, every other Discipline in the fucking game gives you two traits to defend with (usually Blood Potency). Composure + Stamina, Stamina + Blood Potency, etc. Not this one. When you defend against it, you get one fucking trait.
And, by the way, that isn’t the fifth dot power. That’s the second dot power.
Meanwhile, the fifth dot power… well, it’s the fifth dot of Nightmare, except better. Except the fifth dot of Nightmare only hits your Willpower for each success. This one gives you a lethal for each success. And when Nos use Nightmare, you get to test your Composure + BP against it. Not the Invictus. Nope. For the Invictus, you get to use Composure or Resolve–whichever is higher.
At least it isn’t “whichever is lower.”
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And that’s just the beginning, folks.
This has ruined my day. So much so that The Robzor’s offer of a D&D game on Saturday nights is actually tempting.
I’m gonna go to bed and figure out how in the world my little Circle of the Crone character is ever gonna match up against the True Masters of Blood Magic: The Invictus.
Yeah, I said it. And I’ll say it again:
IN REQUIEM, THE TRUE MASTERS OF BLOOD MAGIC ARE THE INVICTUS.
Go figure that one out.