Awareness

Key facts

Category

mental

Overview

Awareness is perception under conditions that reward it: catching the person following you, noticing the parked car that has been there both nights, feeling that a room is wrong before you can say why. It is the skill Storytellers roll against most often without asking, because it decides what your character gets told. For Kindred it is also the first line against the supernatural. A ward, a hidden vampire, or a Dominated servant produces small wrong signals, and Awareness is what registers them. The Oblivious flaw is defined as a penalty to exactly this, which is a good indication of how central the skill is to staying alive in this game.

How it works

Common Rolls:

• Wits + Awareness: Noticing immediate threats
• Intelligence + Awareness: Systematic observation
• Composure + Awareness: Remaining vigilant over time Opposed By: Dexterity plus Stealth for anyone hiding from you, which makes this the standard counter-roll to every sneaking character in the setting. Specialties: Ambushes, Surveillance, Hidden Objects, Body Language, Supernatural

Tips and playstyle

Character Concepts: Sentry, surveillance operator, hunted survivor, security guard, a Nosferatu who has stayed alive by seeing first. Synergies: Auspex extends Awareness past what senses can reach, the Acute Senses merit adds dice to the relevant checks, and Investigation follows up on whatever Awareness noticed. Worth Knowing: One dot is not enough in a chronicle with hunters in it. Awareness is rolled against every ambush, and the roll happens whether you invested or not.

Frequently asked questions