Auspex (VTM)

Auspex involves heightening the vampires perceptions. The most basic levels allow them to sharpen normal sense such as hearing and touch. As they become more adept at Auspex, they gain additional senses. Sight expands to allow the user to see auras. The vampire can read the history of an object or the minds of others. Masters can even perceive and interact with the astral realms.

However, the most famous power associated with Auspex is the ability to sense danger. This is a subtle effect and may pick up both physical and non-physical threats. If two harpies in Elysium are plotting against the Auspex user, he may feel a vague sense of danger as they pose a severe social threat. Non-physical threats much harder to detect and only masters of Auspex will usually detect them.

The ability to detect danger makes this Discipline extremely popular. Most elders will possess at least some rudimentary skill with Auspex simply so they can sense lurking assassins. Combined with elder vampires natural paranoia, it makes attacking one (physically or otherwise) exteremely difficult.

Elders posses even more amazing powers. Elders with Auspex can extended their sense even further, possibly over vast distances. They may be able to speak telepathically with childer a thousand miles away, travel deeper into the astral realms, scans the mind of an entire crowd trying to pick out one person, or anticipate an opponents every move in combat and counter it.

Auspex is perhaps one of the most common vampire Disciplines. The Toreador, Malkavian, Tzimisce, and Tremere clans all claim it as one of their primary Disciplines. One of the Assamite castes also is skilled with Auspex. The Salubri and Cappodocian clans, now extinct, also claimed Auspex as a skill. In an usual twist, some of the Ventrue-antitribu in the Sabbat claim Auspex as a primary Discipline, despite their parent clan having no affinity for it.