V20 Rules Reference
Serpentis in V20
Serpentis lets a Follower of Set take serpent eyes, a cutting tongue, scaled skin, and a cobra body, spending blood points when the power asks.
Looking for serpent forms in 5th Edition Protean? Read the V5 Disciplines guideThe short answer.
Serpentis is the Followers of Set Discipline in the V20 catalog. Skin of the Viper spends one blood point and one Willpower, and Form of the Cobra spends one blood point, never Hunger. The other three rows store no blood cost. Dots are bought in order from Eyes of the Serpent through Heart of Darkness. Generation caps any blood points you spend in one turn.
What Serpentis can touch
The Discipline changes the Setite's own body, or holds someone who meets the eyes. It does not add Attribute dots.
- A meeting of eyes
- Eyes of the Serpent has no roll and no blood cost on the row. The Storyteller sets whether the subject is held and for how long.
- The tongue
- Tongue of the Serpent has no roll and no blood cost on the row. It is a longer, cutting tongue the Storyteller treats as an attack when you use it that way.
- The hide
- Skin of the Viper spends one blood point and one Willpower, with no roll. The Storyteller applies the scaled skin against claws and fangs.
- The body, and the heart
- Form of the Cobra spends one blood point and has no roll. Heart of Darkness has no roll and no blood cost. Neither power permanently raises an Attribute.
Levels in order
Names and order follow the V20 catalog. Each line is the change, not a full system write-up.
| Level | Power | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eyes of the Serpent | Meet a subject's eyes, with no catalog roll and no blood cost, to hold them while the Storyteller sets any resistance. |
| 2 | Tongue of the Serpent | With no catalog roll and no blood cost, lengthen the tongue into a cutting reach the Storyteller can treat as an attack. |
| 3 | Skin of the Viper | Spend one blood point and one Willpower, with no roll, to grow a scaled hide the Storyteller applies against claws and fangs. |
| 4 | Form of the Cobra | Spend one blood point, with no roll, to take a giant cobra body while the Storyteller applies movement and venom. |
| 5 | Heart of Darkness | With no catalog roll and no blood cost, remove and hide your heart so staking is no longer ordinary, and the Storyteller keeps that consequence. |
Run it in this order.
- Declare the Serpentis power and the subject, or the change to your own body.
- Spend the blood points, and the Willpower if the power is Skin of the Viper, without exceeding the generation per-turn cap.
- The Storyteller sets the difficulty, because the engine catalogs these five powers and does not roll them. None of the five has a dice pool on the row.
- Resolve the gaze, tongue, hide, cobra, or hidden heart at the table. The sheet does not apply the body.
The cobra is not a free extra action
Eyes of the Serpent does not let you also take Form of the Cobra without a new declaration. Skin of the Viper and Form of the Cobra each ask for their own blood point, and the hide also asks for Willpower.
Generation caps the blood
Form of the Cobra costs 1 blood point. Eleventh generation may spend 1 per turn, so the cobra spends the allowance and a mend waits. Eighth generation may spend 3, which can pay the cobra and still have blood left in the cap.
Serpent flesh is not a new Attribute
Skin of the Viper and Form of the Cobra change how harm and movement work in the scene. They do not add permanent Stamina, Dexterity, or Strength when the power ends. Heart of Darkness does not raise Willpower.
Keep the blood on the sheet
¿Quieres jugar al V20 clásico sin detener la mesa para hacer cálculos de absorción de varios pasos y llevar el control de la sangre? Prueba una crónica en solitario interactiva con el motor V20 de Vampiro Life.
Common mistakes
- Using Hunger dice for Serpentis on a V20 sheet. The vitae cost, when the row has one, is blood points.
- Spending Willpower after a botch to erase the 1s. Skin of the Viper already spends a Willpower to activate, and that is not a post-roll fix.
- Paying for Skin of the Viper and Form of the Cobra in the same turn on an 11th-generation vampire, whose cap is 1 blood point.
- Looking up Tongue of the Asp or Skin of the Adder as separate levels. This catalog uses Tongue of the Serpent and Skin of the Viper, and the clan name on the sheet is Followers of Set.
One spend at the table
The cobra costs the whole turn's blood at this generation.
The garden stair
Kemet Saad, 11th-generation Follower of Set, declares Form of the Cobra.
He spends 1 blood point, the entire per-turn cap, from a pool whose maximum is 12. The catalog stores no roll. The Storyteller applies the cobra body. Eyes of the Serpent has no blood cost on its row and does not refund this spend.
What the V20 sheet tracks
The sheet stores a Serpentis rating from 0 to 5, plus blood and Willpower. It does not transform the body.
- Followers of Set list Serpentis with Obfuscate and Presence. The rating is one number.
- A check is allowed only when the stored rating is at least that power's level.
- None of the five powers is an automatic roll, and none has a dice pool. Skin of the Viper can record 1 blood point and 1 Willpower. Form of the Cobra can record 1 blood point.
- The Storyteller applies the gaze, the tongue, the hide, the cobra, and the hidden heart.
Frequently asked
Is the V20 clan Ministry or Followers of Set?
- The catalog name is Followers of Set. Ministry is the later name and is not the key on this sheet.
Where are Tongue of the Asp and Skin of the Adder?
- They are not separate powers here. Level 2 is Tongue of the Serpent. Level 3 is Skin of the Viper. Form of the Cobra is level 4, and Heart of Darkness is level 5.
Which Serpentis powers spend blood points?
- Skin of the Viper spends 1 blood point and 1 Willpower. Form of the Cobra spends 1 blood point. Eyes of the Serpent, Tongue of the Serpent, and Heart of Darkness have no blood cost on the row.
Does Heart of Darkness raise an Attribute or stop staking by itself in the app?
- No. The row has no roll and no blood cost. The Storyteller decides how staking and destruction change. The sheet does not apply that protection.
Does the engine roll Serpentis?
- No. These powers are catalog data for adjudication, and the rows do not include dice pools. The Storyteller applies each change.
Reglas relacionadas
Keep the blood on the sheet
¿Quieres jugar al V20 clásico sin detener la mesa para hacer cálculos de absorción de varios pasos y llevar el control de la sangre? Prueba una crónica en solitario interactiva con el motor V20 de Vampiro Life.