Signs

"Signs" are a signifier of the typical powers and abilities a given vampire may have. In theory, with enough time, effort, and blood, any vampire can become at least proficient at most Sign's abilities, but in practice, vampires specialize-- each vampire is "born" under a sign that determines the powers they will find easiest to learn, develop, and master. It may also loosely be considered a job description and general determinant of one's role in vampire society: if you're a Blade, you're going to be expected to be a front line combatant.

The signs are grouped along three major axes, or 'paths,' as follows:


 * Tell dukin (literally 'first path'), the path of matter or flesh - the Blade, Shaper, and Mask signs
 * Tell dawin ('second path'), the path of the mind - Will signs, Winds signs, and Seers
 * Tell drakhin ('third path'), the path of spirit or ether - Shadows, Hands, and Gates

One's sign is determined by agreement between the sire and the prospective vampire, though ultimately the sire has the final say. Ideally, the sire and the prospect discuss various factors such as what the family most needs, as well as personal temperament, ambitions, etc., before deciding on the Sign together. But it does sometimes happen that a family's current need (as determined by the sire-- or by someone who outranks the sire, in some rare cases) may overrule personal preference, or the original plan for someone's Sign.

(Note: Wind signs and Seer signs do not typically have this level of 'negotiation.' A Wind sign is being turned precisely because as humans they have a gift that can only be preserved through being a Wind sign, and Seers are similar.)

About a year before the turning, a Seer will be consulted to determine the optimal date for the turning. When the turning happens is the ultimate determinant of what sign manifests for the new vampire, but the correlation between the time of year, day, etc., to what Sign results is not general knowledge (i.e., it's not as simple as 'people turned in May become Blade signs'). Two people could be turned within hours of each other and still wind up as different Signs. The only people who can accurately foretell the correct time to turn someone for a specific desired result are Seers. The Seer will instruct the sire on a specific date and time to actually effect the turning. Since this can be as much as a year away, there is a lot of advance planning required- you don't want to miss your 'window,' and have to do the consultation again.

It is generally accepted wisdom that turning someone against 'type' is a bad idea. For instance, if you had a shy, retiring, non-confrontational person, they would be a bad match for the reality of the life of a Blade, and would be better off as a Sign less likely to see direct combat. Similarly, an impatient, impulsive, dynamic personality would be a bad fit for the meticulous and detail-oriented work of a Hand sign. It creates psychological stress for someone's personality and temperament to be too far removed from the requirements of their Sign's work. This is just one of many reasons why "spontaneous" or impulsive turning is a bad thing-- because, with zero control over how the turned person will manifest, there is a strong chance they will wind up with a Sign ill-suited to their personality, and create problems as a result.

Blades
Also known as: Soldiers, Steels, and various other translations of the Atlantean base word

Atlantean: Chieth

Percentage of the population: About 50%

Notable Blade signs in story: Jonesy, Andrei, Landry

By far the most numerous of the signs, Blades are considered the "front line troops" of the society. They excel at channeling blood energy into self-augmentation-- i.e., making themselves stronger and faster, making their senses keener, etc. With high-level mastery of Blade skills, such as might be seen only after five or six hundred years, they can also perform feats such as altering the density of their skin. They also possess the strongest natural affinity for self-healing.

They are the 'cheapest' sign to train, and their gifts are seen as some of the easiest to learn by other signs. It is typical for most vampires who have at least a century or two under their belt to have picked up at least some of a Blade's self-augmentation abilities, though pound for pound, they will never be able to directly match a dedicated Blade of the same age.

Blades also have the highest death-rate and are seen as the most expendable of the signs. The life of a soldier is risky, after all, and they are the least likely sign to achieve a 'rich old age.' A Blade who has managed to make it past the five-century mark is probably a canny and shrewd old bastard.

Though they are by far the most numerous of the signs, they are proportionally underrepresented in leadership positions-- approximately half of all vampire are Blades, but only about one in five become masters of their own territory. It is more common for a Blade to serve as a master's second in command. There are some negative stereotypes that contribute to this, such as a perception that they lack the aptitude for political intrigue and are better with simple problems that can be pummeled into submission.

"God made blades to take a beating" is a common colloquialism.

It is very common for Blades to be drawn from humans with some level of military experience, though this is not a requirement. It's also common for Blades to be chosen with an eye to a strong physical presence (i.e, tall, imposing, etc). Due to the fact that historically more human men than human women have had militaristic backgrounds, there is a gender skew towards more male than female Blades, but this is based solely on the dynamics existing in human society, and there is nothing that stops a woman Blade from being as skilled at her Sign as her male counterparts.

Shapers
Also known as: Healers, Doctors, Formers, and various other translations of the Atlantean base word

Atlantean: Matawn

Percentage of the population: About 5%

Notable Shaper signs in story: Elaine, Josh

Shapers' relationship with the branch of 'matter' manifests as the ability to shape the bodies of others (or themselves), often drastically. The simplest (and most benevolent) application of this is in healing grievous injuries. Shapers have an intuitive awareness of when people around them (humans as well as vampires) are not well, whether due to illness or injury. At high levels of skill, they can mold flesh as if it were playdough, shut down pain nerves with a touch, and coax a shattered bone into knitting back together. They also can help a vampire alter their physical body to match their own tastes, whether that's as simple and trivial a matter as getting rid of a troublesome scar from their human life, or as complex an undertaking as bringing a body in line with the vampire's gender identity.

The primary benefits of having a shaper heal your injuries versus allowing them to heal naturally are a) speed and b) blood economy. With enough blood, a vampire will eventually heal on their own from even very bad injuries-- but this is costly in terms of blood and time both. A Shaper can turn a natural healing process that might take months into one of minutes-- for far less total blood used than would be the case otherwise.

Not all Shapers are content to use their abilities benevolently. A Shaper on the offensive can be uniquely horrifying if they manage to land a hand on another vampire during a confrontation-- paralyzing them with a touch, or simply detaching a limb. However, as Shapers are relatively valuable, with a great deal of time and cost sunk into their training, most families hesitate to expose their Shapers to front line combat. Some sadistic Shapers actively do seek it out, however.

Shapers are often drawn from humans with some experience in the medical arts. The conventional wisdom regarding Shapers is that they are intelligent and curious, but with a strong tendency to 'stay in their lane' and to be very absorbed with their pet passions and experiments. They sometimes become masters, but more often will be in the position of advising masters. They are also prone to "talking shop" with Shapers from other families, and one of the signs most likely to feel a sense of kinship outside of their family line with other vampires-- existing in a sort of 'professional community,' along with Hands and Gates.

In families that take blood non-lethally from humans, Shapers are extremely useful in expediting the process and making sure it isn't harmful to the 'donor.'

Masks
Also known as: Shapeshifters, Shifters, and various other translations of the Atlantean base word

Atlantean: Enkiren

Percentage of the population: About 10%

Notable Mask signs in story: Ekene, Rahmi (Jonesy's sire), Lyre

Masks are able to alter their own forms in a variety of ways. Some focus on humanoid shapes and take advantage of the possibilities for disguise and impersonation. Others prefer the possibilities of animal forms, such as transforming into a wolf, or a flock of crows, or a swarm of insects. Either way, Masks excel at espionage, both short and long-term. If they have the blood of a specific person, they can assume that person's form. Very highly skilled Masks may even be able to use a target's blood to access aspects of their memory and personality, making the subterfuge especially convincing.

Masks have a reputation for being Byzantine schemers, and impossible to get straight answers from. If ever a Sign is going to go down a rabbit hole of "I know that he knows that I know that he knows,' it is stereotypically likely to be a Mask sign. They tend to avoid direct combat (though some enjoy fighting in their animal forms), but love ambushes, trickery, mind games, and the calculated feeding of disinformation to weaken an enemy. They also have some tendency to be fluid in their self-identity, and a Mask might present as various genders, ages, ethnicities, at various points in their lifetime, even when they are not inhabiting a specific role for a specific purpose. A stereotypical Mask might enjoy a long debate about what, precisely, is 'truth' and is it an objective absolute?

Even within their own family, a Mask may be the recipient of a certain level of distrust and wariness from their associates. Masks are reputed to play things close to the vest and to enjoy setting various puzzles even for their allies or loved ones to have to figure out. A decent number of Masks achieve positions as masters, and may maintain their power through intricate blackmail schemes and three-dimensional chess, as it were. They are sometimes considered too clever for their own good.

Humans that might be considered good prospects for a Mask are actors, con artists, and performers in general.

Will
Also known as: Minds, Mentats, various other translations of the Atlantean base word

Atlantean: Vezhran

Percentage of the population: About 10%

Notable Will signs in story: Michel, Vivienne, Jad Salim

Will signs are widely considered some of the most directly powerful signs, capable of both holding their own in direct combat but also able to use their gifts in multiple ways outside of it. A fully-trained Will sign can read someone else's thoughts, communicate mentally with others, erase or tinker with memories or emotions, or even take direct control of another person. Will signs can interfere with someone else on the levels of both thoughts and emotions-- for instance, blunting someone's anger and forcibly calming them down, or, probing their memories for a specific detail. They are often in leadership positions, making up a full third of all masters although only comprising ten percent of the overall population.

It takes a long time for a Will sign to master all permutations of their abilities, and such things as direct control over another person take centuries to be able to consistently execute. It also takes discipline and mental fortitude to be able to handle the early years of the ability, when one is receiving the random thoughts of others without having learned how to tune them out. Strong-willed individuals with a great deal of ability to direct, discipline, and divert their own thoughts tend to handle it best and to be most successful as Will signs. Some people who never truly manage full control over their gift also exist, and while they are still useful to their families, they tend to be slotted more into a dependent role and to need a certain amount of supervision or care-- there is some stigma attached to people in this category, of being someone who "couldn't handle it."

When considering someone to turn as a Will sign, prospects tend to be drawn heavily from those with displayed leadership skills during life, as well as high mental resilience and adaptability. Professions can vary widely, but screening may include such things as the prospect's ability to focus and remain goal-oriented through distractions or privation. It is also not unheard of for humans with existing psychic gifts to be turned as Will signs, and they tend to make exceptionally powerful ones.

Winds
Also known as: TKs, 'Carrie's, various pop culture references, various translations of the Atlantean base word

Atlantean: Hareth

Percentage of the population: <1%

Notable Wind signs in story: Mercy, Tomas

While it's not generally possible to know for certain the sign of who you are dealing with based on appearance alone, for Winds, it is easy-- they will be the only sign who do not appear as physical adults. Occasionally, a human child will display a freak gift for telekinesis; when vampires first became aware of this, they sought to bring this over into the vampiric sphere as well, but through trial and error it was discovered that this ability never survived until adulthood. However, if the prospect was turned as a child, the psychic gift could be preserved... with the drawback of the vampire in question being frozen physically in a child's body.

There has historically been a great deal of debate over both the ethics and the logistics of turning children. Even in mainstream society there are some that find the practice a little bit distasteful, or at the least non-ideal, but, as in any society where warfare is common, the value of a potential weapon often tends to outweigh the niceties of what would be preferable. And Wind signs make powerful weapons.

A fully-trained Will sign can be devastating in a pitched battle, as their telekinesis can be used to do anything from immobilize an enemy to drop a flaming bomb behind an enemy's fortifications. They are generally capable of flight via self-telekinesis, and can also use their TK to give their allies a sort of flight as well. They can freeze a crossbow bolt in mid-air, wrench a stake from an opponent's hand, and in general serve as a force of destruction and 'heavy artillery' on a battlefield.

However, outside the battlefield, their actions tend to be somewhat restricted, and it is fairly rare that a Wind sign would have full autonomy. Most Wind signs have a close relationship with one other vampire who provides both companionship and a certain level of supervision. While Wind signs do continue to develop mentally and are not truly "children," their development can be somewhat eccentric or erratic, and the conventional wisdom is that they do best with some guidance and checks upon them. Some Wind signs resent this; others remain in a more psuedo-childish state where, as long as they have sufficient diversions and entertainments, they can be semi-content to lead a life of less-than-full agency. Masters of this sign are rarer than any other sign; Mercy may not be the only one, but if there are others it is less than, say, five worldwide.

Since the primary requisite for this sign is the extant psychic ability (already very rare), few other considerations are taken into account-- the sentiment would be that if you discover a human child with this gift, you can't afford to be too picky about other aspects of their situation, less this opportunity pass you by. Additionally, there is usually no way to give either the full seven years of a minimum proxying, or one risks the child aging out of their gift; the question of whether or not a Wind prospect can truly consent to being turned is also a consideration. Generally, a vampire who was trying to operate 'ethically' would attempt to stretch the lead time until turning for as long as possible, with as much interaction with the child as could be managed, and would commence the turning only when there started to be evidence that the powers were starting to flag-- generally around 12 or 13 years old, roughly correlating with the onset of puberty. However, it's not uncommon for younger prospects to be turned-- many vampires feel that it's more important to preserve the psychic gift at its height, and that the tradeoffs of vampire existence outweigh the drawbacks of being turned earlier.

Seers
Also known as: Various translations of the Atlantean base word

Atlantean: Souv

Percentage of the population: <1%

Notable Seer signs in story: Iris

Like Wind signs (and some Will signs), Seers are chosen primarily for powers they possess before being turned. Humans with the ability to sense the future, or gifts of clairvoyance/clairaudience, are very desirable prospects for turning. Seers serve an important societal function as the people who can guide a successful turning, but this is just one thing they do: they are gatherers of intelligence, predictors of risk, and generally prized as consultants on any given activity or plan a family might pursue. Additionally, while few Seers engage in direct combat, those that do are particularly dangerous foes, since, with training to that end, they can finetune their sight in order to predict an enemy's actions in a fight.

Seers run a gamut in terms of lucidity. At one extreme, some individuals may have gifts that are very difficult to control, and accordingly find it hard to stay grounded in an objective reality. People affected to this degree usually have less autonomy and are to some degree supervised or cared for. Another individual may have a very solid grip on reality, and have no constraints on their autonomy. The vast majority of seers fall somewhere in the middle, where they are usually lucid and considered capable of managing their own affairs, but might at some point or another have a 'bad day' and need some assistance.

While the Jadim have the right to call on the services of any given vampire if necessary for assistance in dealing with species-wide threats, Seers are by far the most commonly utilized in this capacity. A typical seer can expect to spend as much as a quarter of the year engaged in threat assessment for the Jadim-- specifically, linking with other Seers and doing collective "probability screening" for things like brewing threats to global vampiric secrecy.

While Seer masters are rare, they aren't unknown, and, especially for the more lucid ones, there is no real barrier to them achieving this position. The most notorious Seer master is the self-styled "Mr. House," who operates in Las Vegas.

Shadows
Also known as: Ghosts, various translations of the Atlantean base word

Atlantean: Makheth

Percentage of the population: About 20%

Notable Shadow signs in story: Ellis, Jean, Leila

The second most numerous sign after Blades, Shadows are also often front-line fighters, as well as serving at times as assassins, spies, or scouts. A Shadow's defining ability is their skill at moving undetected. Through interaction with the Makh, a 'shadow dimension', they can conceal their presence-- at low levels of skill, merely on the visual spectrum, but as a Shadow grows in power, they gain the ability to achieve 'invisibility' to other senses as well-- negating the ability of others to detect them with scent, hearing, and so forth. Skilled shadows also are able to cloak themselves from detection by Seers, Will signs, and so forth. A very skilled Shadow is even capable of becoming briefly intangible via partially transporting themselves into the Makh, but this is a dangerous and risky application of their abilities.

It is difficult and costly for a Shadow to remain concealed for extended periods of time, as opposed to a Mask who can keep up a disguise indefinitely with relatively low expenditure of blood. Accordingly, Shadows' ability to act as spies tends to be much more short term-- breaking into someone's base is something their gifts might help with, but a long-term infiltration of the base would be better left to a Mask. However, even a few seconds of calculated invisibility is extremely useful in a fight, allowing Shadows to hold their own on the battlefield even against stronger and faster opponents like Blades. Many Shadows also learn the rudiments of Blade-craft in order to knit the two disciplines, and can be very formidable in a fight as a result. If you want to take out an enemy Will or Wind sign, a Shadow of sufficient skill would be your best bet... since a Will sign can't control someone they can't see coming.

If a Blade is the generic 'soldier' of vampiric society, Shadows might align more to a 'stealthy special ops' unit. Even when not using the costly levels of blood expenditure for their more specialized abilities, Shadows are often simply 'not noticed' by the casual eye.

A decent number of Shadows become masters or otherwise occupy leadership positions, although they have a certain reputation for standoffishness/"lone wolf" behaviors, and their territories/households are often on the smaller side.

Human candidates for Shadows can include but are not limited to: people with military backgrounds, especially small squad tactics; survivalists/hunters; thieves; Hide-and-Seek World Champions.

Hands
Also known as: Crafters, Artisans, Smiths, various translations of the Atlantean base word

Atlantean: Biazh

Percentage of the population: About 2%

Notable Hand signs in story: Jiao, Mr. Castle, Daedalus, Brigh

Hands are in some senses the most difficult of Signs to neatly sum up their powers. One Hand may specialize in creating jewelry; another might specialize in creating weapons; a third might specialize in protective wards upon a residence; and a fourth might specialize in augmenting the abilities of other vampires. Hands are something of a 'force multiplier' role: they avoid direct combat if possible, but having one in your household increases the survivability of everyone else, due to the Hand's capability to provide defensive and offensive items. They are especially known for their ability to create chiethzan ('sunblades'), and, while the specialized preferences of an individual Hand may vary greatly, all of them are at least competent at creating weaponry and basic wards. Beyond those universal, expected competencies, a Hand usually has some creative leeway as to how they want to explore their gift. They access the Makh for energy to alter objects, whether that object is a sword, a painting, a necklace, or a shirt...

Additionally, they partner well with other Signs in order to augment what a Sign may be able to do in their own right. One of the most famous examples of this are the major Gates that connect the world's cities. The permanent Gate system was created centuries ago via a broad collaboration between dozens of powerful Gate and Hand Signs. Gates opened the portals, but Hands provided the anchoring structures and infused them with enough power to keep the portals stable and long-lasting.

Hands occasionally become masters, but few of them want the distraction from their own projects and experiments. They tend to be passionate and creative individuals with a love of knowledge for knowledge's sake. Like Shapers, they have a certain propensity for being willing to consider themselves part of a professional community that extends beyond their particular family; unlike Shapers, they tend much more to jealous rivalries with the rest of their community, with each Hand paranoically refusing to let their research or "trade secrets" be seen by anyone else.

A wide spectrum of human professions make excellent Hands: architects, engineers, blacksmiths, and any sort of artisan, as well as many artists. In recent years, some forward-thinking Hands are starting to try and integrate computers and Hand-craft; "IT people" is therefore emerging as another category from which one might hope to try and draw a Hand.

Gates
Also known as: Gateways, Gatemakers, Pathkeepers, Doors, various translations of the Atlantean base word

Atlantean: Deavad

Percentage of the population: About 2%

Notable Gate signs in story: Ismail, Benedict

Another sign that serves in more of a support role and ideally does not see direct combat, Gates nevertheless may be seen at a battle helping to bring reinforcements in or to evacuate the wounded. They have a strong connection to the Makh that enables them not merely to enter it, but to use it as a shortcut to other places on the planet. A skilled Gate sign can enter the Makh on one continent and emerge on a different one. The difficulty of the task increases based on various factors such as how well the exit location is known to them, how many people they are attempting to take with them, and how long the portal must remain open.The best way for a safe transit is for one's blood to be present at the terminus, where it serves as a beacon for them to lock onto. A typical Gate will usually have at least a dozen spots where they maintain a small deposit of their blood, as their 'saved locations,' so to speak.

Though the ability to ensure near instantaneous transportation around the globe is extremely valuable from a tactical standpoint, most Gates share a collective aspirational goal of how to, someday, learn how to Gate through time as well as space. Like medieval alchemists all chasing the idea of the Philosopher's Stone, Gate signs often spend a great deal of their time and energy debating the possibility and feasibility of this-- as well as experimenting. As the Makh is inherently dangerous and even hostile, this is an experiment that has claimed more than a few Gates, over the years.

Like Shapers and Hand signs, Gates often feel a sense of kinship to others of their Sign, independent of family ties. Gates tend to be given to a great deal of metaphysical querying and, despite their important role in allowing swift combat transport, are the sign likeliest to feel that the inter-territorial squabbling is a waste of the potential of their species. As a generalization, many of them would rather that the energies of the blooded were bent towards something like exploring other planets of the solar system, with their gifts in a particularly central role to that endeavor, as opposed to continuing to wage the old skirmishes over and over for who happens to rule this twenty-square-miles. Gates are often called visionaries-- or, just as often, dreamers out of touch with reality. Gate masters are not entirely unknown, but rare.

Humans who are considered promising prospects for Gate signs include theoretical physicists, scientists, and people who do a lot of drugs.