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Sense

Expression: Sense

AX.GHW.08.04.01

You don't have to try. But trying makes it precise.

Sense is the Blood Sense practitioner's perceptive foundation, the capacity to read the vitality and supernatural nature of living things at range, with deliberate precision rather than the bloodline's background passive reception. All Dhampir already do a version of this involuntarily (Psychic Sensitivity, AX.GM.06); Blood Sense's Sense expression makes it controlled, directed, and capable of reaching further and telling you more.

This expression is investigation and situational awareness work. Sense tells you what is there, what state it is in, and what kind of thing it is. It does not compel, affect, or reveal intentions.

Sense- Applications

Vital Sweep (Free Action, Threshold 1)

The practitioner makes a deliberate pass of bloodline awareness across all living things within Near range. They learn: how many living things are present, approximate location within the range band, and the general vital state of each (healthy, injured, dying, recently fed or starved, under significant physical stress).

Supernatural entities that do not have standard blood-driven vitality, ghosts, certain construct types, register as an absence rather than a presence, the same sensory gap noted in the Dhampir lineage perk.

Scaling: Excess successes extend the range to Far (1 excess) or provide specific injury detail rather than general state (1 excess).

Bloodline Read (Primary Action, Threshold 2)

The practitioner focuses on a specific target within Near range and reads their bloodline, not just their health, but what they are at the biological-supernatural level. This surfaces: their lineage (human, Dhampir, Skinchanger, Haunt, Faeborn, Marked, or supernatural entity), whether they are carrying an active contract or supernatural obligation, and whether they have fed or been fed on recently.

This is not subtle from the subject's perspective if they have any supernatural awareness, being read by Blood Sense is perceptible to entities with Psychic Sensitivity or equivalent.

Scaling: Excess successes provide additional specificity: which bloodline family a Dhampir belongs to (2 excess), what specific supernatural species a non-human entity is (1 excess), or whether a contract is current or lapsed (1 excess).

Backlash:

  • Minor: The read catches on something and holds. The practitioner remains locked onto the target's bloodline signature for the remainder of the scene, every time the target is within Close range, the Dhampir experiences a vivid Psychic Sensitivity read of their emotional state, whether they want it or not. This is not harmful, but it is distracting and can make social interaction with the target uncomfortable.
  • Moderate: The practitioner reads their own bloodline from the outside. For 1D3 Turns, they perceive themselves as their bloodline does, as a target, not a practitioner. They take Disadvantage on all actions that require self-assertion (social offense, declarations, intimidation) while the perspective lasts, and have Disadvantage on Blood Sense rolls against other targets for the remainder of the scene.
  • Severe: The bloodline surges forward. The practitioner's hunger becomes immediately significant: until their next Long Rest, they have Disadvantage on all Social rolls with living targets within Close range, as the bloodline's awareness of their vitality actively interferes with treating them as people rather than prey. This is not uncontrollable, but it is present and constant.