Level 1:
Bond famulus
When Blood Bonding an animal, the vampire can make it a famulus, forming a mental link with it and facilitating the use of other Animalism powers. While this power alone does not allow two-way communication with the animal, it can follow simple verbal instructions such as “stay” and “come here." It attacks in defense of itself and its master but cannot otherwise be persuaded to fight something it would not normally attack.
■ Dice Pools: Charisma + Animal Ken
■ Cost: The animal must be fed the user’s Blood on three separate nights, each of which requires a Rouse Check by the user. The amount of Blood needed to sustain the ghoul-state of the animal after this is negligible. Players starting with this power have completed this process and can chose a famulus for free.
■ System: Without the use of Feral Whispers, below, giving commands to the animal requires a Charisma + Animal Ken roll (Difficulty 2); increase Difficulty for more complex orders. A vampire can only have one famulus but can get a new one if the current one dies. A vampire can use Feral Whispers (Animalism 2) and Subsume the Spirit (Animalism 4) on their famulus for free.
■ Duration: Only death releases a famulus once bound. As long as it receives vampire Blood on a regular basis, the famulus does not age.