Vampire: The Long Night - House Rules & Clarifications

[Noir]

Learning & Raising Disciplines

 

Clan Disciplines
To lean or raise one of your Clan Disciplines requires no training. They come naturally to members of the Clan.

A teacher can expedite advancement (which is already quick on it's own), but is in no way required.

 

Out-of-Clan Disciplines

Learning a new out-of-clan Discipline requires that the teacher (who possesses the desired Discipline) feeds the student a point of their blood before instruction begins, to start the mystical tie to the Discipline being taught. After this ingestion of blood, further advancement in the Discipline does not require any addition transfer of blood.

In addition, any kindred with the Discipline at a higher level than the student can teach him the next level. The student need not return to the same teacher.

 

There are two exceptions to this...

Exception #1) Signature Disciplines

Many, but not all, Clans have a unique or 'Signature' Discipline. They are as follows...

Clan > Discipline
Assamites > Quietus
Followers of Set > Serpentis
Gangrel > Protean
Giovanni > Necromancy
Lasombra > Obtenerbration
Malkavian > Dementation
Ravnos > Chimerstry
Tremere > Thaumaturgy
Tzimisce > Vicissitude

Learning a Signature Discipline of another Clan has several additional requirements.

Just as with other out-of-clan Disciplines it requires that the teacher feeds the student a point of their blood before instruction begins, to start the mystical tie to the Discipline being taught. In this case though, the teacher must be from the Clan in which the Signature Discipline originates.

For example: If a Malkavian learns Chimerstry from the Ravnos, he cannot go giving it to other kindred. The mystic bond in the blood is too diluted to extend any further.

Improving knowledge of a Signature Discipline, once you have the first level, does not require any additional transfer of blood (although some unscrupulous teachers may claim that it’s still necessary). 

Any further training must be from a member of the Clan in which the Signature Discipline originates, who also has the Discipline at a higher level than the student. The student need not return the same the teacher, so long as any teacher he finds fulfills these requirements.

For example: If the Malkavian above learned Chimerstry 1, then to raise it he must learn from a Ravnos, any Ravnos with Chimerstry 2 or better. A non-Ravnos cannot help others raise their Chimerstry, no matter the level of their Discipline.

 

Exception #2) Common Physical Disciplines

Celerity, Fortitude and Potence can be developed and advanced by any kindred, without a transfer of blood and without a teacher. They can also be raised without a teacher. The process is slower, and often dangerous (especially trying to develop Fortitude on your own), but can be done. 

Training by anybody with the Discipline at a higher level speeds up the process and ingesting a blood point from a kindred with the discipline you seek (even if non-clan for them) expedites the process the most.

 

Ghouls

Ghouls can be taught any Non-Signature Discipline Discipline which their domitor knows, but they can only learn a Signature Discipline if their domitor is from the Clan which the Signature Disciple originates, or is fed blood from a Member of the appropriate Clan and taught the Discipline before he ingests more kindred blood.