Obfuscate

Obfuscate is a Discipline of disguise and misdirection. It is commonly refered to as making people invisible, but this is not entirely accurate. Obfuscate actually befuddles observors so they simply do not see anything the vampire doesn't want them to see.

Obfuscate does not convey true invisibility. Obfuscated individuals will remain unnoticed by observors, but electronic surveillance will record their true appearance and movements. At storyteller's discretion, children, the mentally disturbed, and people with some form of protection against mental befuddlement may be able to see through Obfuscate, but this is rare. As Obfuscate is technically a form of mind control, it does NOT normally work against animals, though it may work against shapeshifters currently in animal form.

Auspex allows vampires to see through the Obfuscate of those who are less skilled at Obfuscate than they are at Auspex. Some powers possessed by other supernaturals may also allow them to realize something is amiss. For example, a Garou in wolf form might detect the smell of an Obfuscated vampire and know it's somewhere in the vicinity, but be unable to pinpoint its location.

Obfuscate's most common application is remaining unseen. Neonates may only be unable to remain unseen while still, but masters of Obfuscate quickly learn to remain unseen while moving around or even talking! Masters can even use their powers to hide others from sight, or vanish from in front of witnesses. If the witnesses were weak-willed, they may even forget that the vampire was ever there!

The other common application of Obfuscate is appearing as someone else. It is easiest to blend into the crowd as a generic passerby (a jogger for example), than to impersonate someone specific. As the Obfuscate user is really projecting a false appearance into people's minds, they may appear slightly different to different observers. It does NOT allow the user to read observers minds and pick out a specific appearance. For example, the user may choose to infiltrate a building disguised as a security guard. However, unless he has actually observed the individual security guards, he can not pick a specific guard the other guards know. He will appear as a guard, but not one they personally know.

Elders can access even more arcane versions of Obfuscate allowing them to conceal non-physical aspects. Elders can change their aura, hide themselves from scrying, or even obscure their name in records.

Obfucate is commonly possessed by the Malkavian clan, Nosferatu, Followers of Set, and part of the Assamite clan. It is also possessed by the City Gangrel bloodline.