Unyielding Mask

From Edge of Darkness Wiki

Many Nosferatu wear masks—literally. Porcelain masks. Plague masks. Gas masks. One Haunt might wear a sacred animal mask (bearing the vicious countenance of a bat or enraged dog), while another might wear something that evokes eerie beauty (perhaps feminine beauty, even on the face of a male Nosferatu). Leather bondage mask? Sure. A plaster death mask of an American president? Could be. A Mexican luchadore mask topped with a knot of real hair, stolen from some victim somewhere? Absolutely.

Why would they wear such masks? Different reasons for different Damned. The Haunts recognize that they’re… bizarre if not necessarily in appearance then in the vampire’s aura, and a mask may help to conceal more overt deformities (though it can also heighten the sense of strangeness, which is fine for many Nosferatu). Others use masks to frighten enemies, given that a freakish ceramic countenance can do a lot to accentuate the terror such a creature causes. Some are shrinking violets and try to hide from the world behind masks. Some… well, they just like the anonymity. A mask allows the Haunt to be someone different. Something new. Perhaps even inhuman.

A normal mask worn by a Nosferatu might offer a minor (+1) equipment bonus: the frozen screeching rictus of a monkey mask might offer +1 to Intimidation, for instance, while a beautiful and delicate dramaturgical mask might grant a +1 to Expression in the right circumstances. That’s all well and good. But it doesn’t require Merit dots.

What does require the purchase of a Merit is what’s called an “Unyielding Mask.” In this case, it’s a mask that’s literally affixed to the face. For the most part, permanently. Perhaps it’s bolted to the face. Or the skin has been peeled back and stitched or stapled to the fabric. Or the Nosferatu used his own Vitae as a coagulant glue, bonding it to his pallid flesh.

It’s important to note that the mask gains its power not simply from being a frightening or beautiful mask, but because it literally bonds with the Nosferatu’s eerie aura and his disturbed flesh.

At three dots, Unyielding Mask protects against any Discipline that attempts to mentally or socially coerce the Nosferatu (Dominate, Majesty, Nightmare), earning the Nosferatu a +2 to the rolls to resist or a -2 to the foe if no such resistance roll is expected. At four dots, the Unyielding Mask allows the Nosferatu to gain a persistent +1 to a Social Skill of the player’s choice. As above, Intimidation and Expression are viable, but so is any Skill. Subterfuge might gain a bonus from a snake-like mask (serpent’s tongue and all that), while Animal Ken might gain its bonus from being soothing or frightening in some primal, wild way.

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