White Wolf Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Disquiet is the name given by Prometheans to the invisible aura they emit which causes humans, animals and even the land itself to reject them. To a Promethean, it feels as if the whole world has renounced them. Disquiet has a deleterious effect on the natural world, and is the chief cause of a Promethean's estrangement from mortals.

Prometheans have various theories about where the Disquiet springs from, but no definite answers. The most promising and believed theory is that it stems from the use of Azoth as an animator; Prometheans, for all of their ability to walk and think, lack a soul, and the Divine Fire serves as a poor substitute at best. The Disquiet is the emanation from that Azoth to remind Prometheans they are not human, and to alert the mortals and nature around them that something is significantly wrong with the being nearby. This effect is magnified whenever the Promethean forms a Wasteland.

Stages of Disquiet[]

Disquiet may manifest itself subtly at first, but the longer a Promethean stays in an area, the stronger and more dangerous its effects become. Eventually, a Promethean is forced to move on, either by the community, the land, or a combination of factors; those who don't usually end up destroyed at the hands of mortals. Disquiet tends to affect things in stages.

First Edition[]

  • First stage: Also called the dream stage, the Disquiet affects the dreams and subconscious of mortals who have come into contact with the Promethean. A mortal does not have to remember the dreams to be affected by them; the lack of restful sleep they get is usually enough to wear them down.
  • Second stage: The fantasy stage, the dreams begin to intrude into the daytime hours. Anytime a mortal has contact with the Promethean, they slip into a unsettling fantasy about them. Many mortals become troubled or embarrassed about these distractions from every day life.
  • Third stage: The impulse stage, a mortal must now resist attempts to act on their troubled thoughts. Many times, their feelings of frustration and unease come out on the Promethean in small actions.
  • Fourth stage: The final stage, the driven stage, finds the mortal acting out on the ideas the Disquiet has placed in them. It is at this stage that the Disquiet becomes easy to spread to other mortals, and in short order, tragedy results for the Promethean as the entire community turns against it. This is also the only stage where feelings of anger and hatred do not degrade with lessened contact; the only way for the person to get rid of their feelings is to destroy the Promethean.

Second Edition[]

The first stage of Disquiet is only triggered by deliberate social interaction between a human and a Promethean, and even then is not guaranteed to occur.

  • Disquieted (stage one): the affected human is confused and annoyed by the Promethean's presence, and may become suspicious of them. This stage will fade if the human avoids the Promethean for a full week.
  • Disquieted (stage two): the human now feels compelled to act out against the Promethean. They will shun the Promethean's presence, and may escalate to violence if they are forced to interact with them. This stage will fade if the human avoids the Promethean for two weeks.
  • Disquieted (stage three): the victim of Disquiet is now recruiting others to help harass the Promethean, who automatically become Disquieted at stage one. They will stop at nothing to sabotage whatever the Promethean's current goals are. This stage will fade if the human avoids the Promethean for a full month, or if the Promethean is killed.
  • Disquieted (stage four): the victim is now fully consumed with hatred for the Promethean, and they will stop at nothing to kill them. Anyone they tell about the Promethean becomes Disquieted at stage two, and they have the potential to incite a mob against the Promethean. This stage will only fade if the human avoids the Promethean for six months, or if the Promethean is killed.

The later stages of Disquiet typically only occur in a Wasteland.

The Begotten are immune to Disquiet, but other supernatural beings are affected more or less like humans are.

Lineage Effects[]

Disquiet is affected by many things; the personality of the human feeling it, the social structure where the Promethean is, and even the land itself. However, the largest factor in determining its specific effect is the Promethean's Lineage and humours.

  • Amirami Disquiet made others conscious of their own shortcomings, an uncomfortable inferiority that eventually twisted into resentment.
  • Faceless Disquiet reminds its victims of something they'd rather forget - a lost loved one, a hated foe, a shameful act they'd rather forget. When it becomes clear the Promethean is the source of those painful memories, the Disquieted attack.
  • Frankenstein Disquiet makes them the scapegoat of the Disquieted. The Frankenstein is blamed for any negative feeling or event, even if it doesn't make sense.
  • Galateid Disquiet is a mix of of revulsion and lustful obsession. The Disquieted cannot reconcile the contradiction of desiring someone and despising them in equal measure, which eventually causes them to lash out.
  • Osiran Disquiet sparks an obsessive curiousity about the Promethean. The Disquieted is compelled to find out everything they can about this monstrous thing, to the point of vivisection.
  • Tammuz Disquiet disrupts communication between the Promethean and the Disquieted. The Disquieted jump to the worst possible interpretation of everything the Tammuz says.
  • Ulgan Disquiet causes intense paranoia. The Disquieted become certain that the Ulgan is not human, and imagine a litany of predatory offenses suck a creature might be capable of. Eventually, they decide a first strike is the only way to deal with the threat.
  • Unfleshed Disquiet also reveals that the Unfleshed is not human, but rather than paranoia, the Disquieted react by treated the Promethean like an object, no more human than an appliance. If the Unfleshed continues to "malfunction," it will have to be "repaired."
  • Extempore Disquiet, despite or perhaps because of their varied natures, results in the Disquieted mistaking the Promethean for someone else. They conflate the Extempore with rivals, enemies, or notorious criminals, and if attention is called to the mistake, they'll find some way to blame the Promethean for it.
  • Zeka Disquiet, unusually, does not focus on the individual Promethean. Victims becomes generally paranoid and hostile, conjuring up imagined threats; this Disquiet becomes contagious from stage one, and a critical geometry of Disquieted can rapidly escalate things without further interaction with the Promethean. In addition, Zeka Disquiet is tainted with their radioactive humors, and the radiation effects becomes more intense the further Disquiet progresses. Stage 4 Zeka Disquiet can kill victims in minutes, but they are likely to try to take out someone else with them - ideally the Promethean, but anyone will do.

Interestingly, Prometheans of different Lineages who form Branded throngs are less likely to provoke Disquiet. A throng of the same lineage, however can quickly exacerbate it.

References[]

Advertisement