Vampire The Masquerade Swansong profiles, disciplines and skills explained

Vampire The Masquerade Swansong profiles and disciplines are how the new game set in the World of Darkness gives players the possibility of adapting their playstyle. VTM Swansong might be an investigative game, but it has its roots in the TTRPG in which role-playing is a fundamental part of the experience. The profiles concern not only which attributes are higher or lower, but also how players will approach each character. So here is an explanation of the Swansong profiles, the types you can find, and also the character’s skill trees.

• Not sure how to retrieve the password and Red Implant from Chiara Favarone? Read our VTM Swansong Red Implant puzzle guide for details on how to do it.

What Are Profiles And Disciplines In Swansong?

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Uncovering the mysteries in VTM Swansong makes you interact with the vampire and human worlds, talking with everyone you can to find the clues you need. As part of this adventure, you must choose a profile for each of the three playable characters in the game: Emem, Galeb, and Leysha.

Profiles are the equivalent of a character’s sheet in the TTRPG. In other words, it is a set of information regarding the character, defining who they are in the world, what skills as well as attributes they have, and the role they play in the story. Every character is composed of three attributes (Physical, Social, and Mental) and can have skills from three groups (Dialogue, Exploration, and Knowledge).

In VTM Swansong there are four types of profiles: Investigator, Jack of All Trades, Veteran, and Free. Consider these four types as presets of attributes for specific styles of players.

The Investigator is all about finding information. It might be through regular conversations or you can end up extorting people so they tell you everything you want. You will also have the means to steal information.

The Jack Of All Trades is a profile that you should choose in case you want to cover a wide range of interactions. Unlike the investigator that has a strong relationship with the Knowledge skills, Jack Of All Trades has one point in each attribute, making it a more general character who has mastery in no specific area. It can be an interesting option if you want the character to deal with several situations.

On the other hand, the Veteran is a good choice if you want that character to be skilled in talking to people. Veterans also focus on Physical Skills, like enduring physical pain.

Last but not least is the Free profile, which is a blank profile if you want to personalize the character the way you prefer, allocating the attribute points wherever you feel like.

Disciplines are the other aspect of character customisation that you need to pay attention to. These are specific to each character and they work as a different set of skills that use Hunger points. Keep in mind that characters can share a Discipline, but they also have their own distinct one.

Disciplines can be activated during missions, going from Emem’s blink that teleports her from one point to another to Leysha’s ability to copy uniforms so she can infiltrate places. Consider their skills when weighing up which profiles and attributes to use.

How To Upgrade Profiles And Disciplines In Swansong

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Characters don’t have levels in VTM Swansong, but they earn experience points after every chapter. Experience points are used not only to upgrade attributes and skills but also Disciplines, and the amount of experience you gain depends on the successes or failures you had. They are shown after each scene and you can check what you could have done, giving you an idea of whether it would be worth restarting the level or not.

Although you don’t earn much experience to begin with, it is important to try upgrading your character in line with the role you want them to play in the story. Some profiles will be visibly suited towards a specific character, but the idea behind it is to allow you to customise your experience. If you're not enjoying the characters, as explained in our Vampire The Masquerade Swansong tips, you can always restart the chapter for another shot.

Swansong Profiles And Disciplines: Emem's Skills

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Auspex

• Heightened Senses (Costs 0 Exp): Activates Auspex vision. Costs no Hunger Points. It reveals interactions related to the 5 senses. The amount of points of Hunger it costs depends on your Auspex rating and the difficulty of the interaction.
• Psychometry (Costs 45 Exp): +1 Auspex point. Now it reveals interactions related to the memories of an item. The amount of points of Hunger it costs depends on your Auspex rating and the difficulty of the interaction.
• Premonition (Costs 90 Exp): +1 Auspex point. It now reveals premonitions, offering a vision of a potential future event that may occur for the character. The amount of points of Hunger it costs depends on your Auspex rating and the difficulty of the interaction.
• Scry The Soul (Costs 120 Exp): +1 Auspex. It reveals the aura of a target, providing information about their nature or resonance. No Hunger cost.
• Scry The Mind (Costs 180 Exp): +1 Auspex. It reveals if your opponent is preparing to focus their skill or not. Costs 1 Hunger point.

Presence

• Awe (Costs 0 Exp): gives access to Presence as a Dialogue option.
• Velvet Glove (Costs 45 Exp): +1 Presence.
• Silver Tongue (Costs 90 Exp): +1 Presence. Dialogue power: prevents your opponent from focusing a Skill. Costs 2 points of Hunger.
• Scapular Demand (Costs 120 Exp): +1 Presence. It reduces in 30% the risk of an opponent's Focus when there is the chance.
• Hypnotyposis (Costs 180 Exp): +1 Presence. Silver Tongue costs 1 less point of Hunger.

Celerity

• Blink (Costs 0 Exp): Activates Celerity vision. Reveals in the environment places to where Emem can teleport by using Blink. Costs 3 points of Hunger.
• Fleetness (Costs 45 Exp): +1 Celerity. In some situations, it will allow you to slow down the environment when using Celerity vision. Celerity interactions become available in this state. It costs an amount of points of Hunger equal to your Celerity rating and the difficulty of the interaction.
• Speed (Costs 90 Exp): +1 Celerity. Blink costs 1 less point of Hunger.
• Out of Time (Costs 120 Exp): +1 Celerity. Celerity options available in Dialogue. It costs an amount of points of Hunder equal to your Celerity rating and the difficulty of the interaction.
• Zephyr (Costs 180 Exp): +1. Blink costs 1 less point of Hunger.

Swansong Profiles And Disciplines: Galeb’s Skills

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Sense The Unseen: you can detect the supernatural in creatures and traces they leave behind.

Fortitude

• Durability (Costs 0 Exp): Only for exploration. You have the ability to withstand physical pain. Having a cost of Hunger depending on your Fortitude rating and the difficulty of the interaction.
• Walls Of The Mind (Costs 45 Exp): +1 Fortitude. Dialogue Power: defender against the opponent’s Skills, increasing the chance of winning by 50% if there is a tie. Costs 2 points of Hunger
• Mental Fortress (Costs 90 Exp): +1 Fortitude. Walls of the Mind costs 1 less point of Hunger.
• Iron Will (Costs 120 Exp): +1 Fortitude; Dialogue power: Walls of the Mind will also protect you against opponent’s Disciplines.
• Labyrinth Of The Soul (Costs 180 Exp): +1 Fortitude. Walls Of The Mind costs 1 less point of Hunger.

Dominate

• Compel (Costs 0 Exp): Gives access to Dominate as a Dialogue choice
• Words of Steel (Costs 45 Exp): +1 Dominate point
• Imperious Speech (Costs 90 Exp): +1 Dominate points. Dominate costs 1 lesspoints of Hunger.
• Iron Fist (Costs 120 Exp): +1 Dominate point. Dialogue power - the next Skill will automatically succeed without using Willpower. It costs 4 points of Hunger.
• Logotomy (Costs 180 Exp): +1 Dominate. Iron Fist costs 1 less point of Hunger.

Presence

• Awe (Costs 0 Exp): gives access to Presence as a Dialogue option.
• Velvet Glove (Costs 45 Exp): +1 Presence.
• Silver Tongue (Costs 90 Exp): +1 Presence. Dialogue power: prevents your opponent from focusing a Skill. Costs 2 points of Hunger.
• Scapular Demand (Costs 120 Exp): +1 Presence. It reduces in 30% the risk of an opponent's Focus when there is the chance.
• Hypnotyposis (Costs 180 Exp): +1 Presence. Silver Tongue costs 1 less point of Hunger.

Swansong Profiles And Disciplines: Leysha’s Skills

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Auspex

• Heightened Senses (Costs 0 Exp): Activates Auspex vision. Costs no Hunger Points. It reveals interactions related to the 5 senses.
• Psychometry (Costs 45 Exp): +1 Auspex point. Now it reveals interactions related to the memories of an item. Hunger cost depends on the Auspex rating and the difficulty of the interaction.
• Premonition (Costs 90 Exp): +1 Auspex point. It now reveals premonitions, offering a vision of a potential future event that may occur for the character.
• Scry The Soul (Costs 120 Exp): +1 Auspex. It reveals the aura of a target, providing information about their nature or resonance. No Hunger costs.
• Scry The Mind (Costs 180 Exp): +1 Auspex. It reveals if your opponent is preparing to focus their skill or not. Costs 1 Hunger point.

Dominate

• Compel (Costs 0 Exp): Gives access to Dominate as a Dialogue choice
• Words of Steel (Costs 45 Exp): +1 Dominate point
• Imperious Speech (Costs 90 Exp): +1 Dominate points. Dominate generates less 1 Hunger point.
• Iron Fist (Costs 120 Exp): +1 Dominate point. Dialogue power - the next Skill will automatically succeed without using Willpower. Generates 4 Hunger points.
• Logotomy (Costs 180 Exp): +1 Dominate. Iron Fist costs 1 less point of Hunger.

Obfuscate

• Mask of Stealth (Costs 0 Exp): Unseen Passage - you cannot be seen by others, but you can no longer interact with the environment. Reading documents or examining objects is possible, but you can not move them. Electronic equipment can detect you. Mask of a Thousand Faces: can copy the uniform of a target (costs 2 points of Hunger, although activating it costs no point). Only 1 uniform can be copied at a time and this skill can need to be activated in a Safe Zone.
• Cloak of Concealment (Costs 45 Exp): +1 Obfuscate. You can hide objectives and interfere with electronic equipment, staying out of sight when using Mask of Stealth.
• Janus (Costs 90 Exp): +1 Obfuscate. An additional uniform can be copied.
• Doppelganger (Costs 120 Exp): +1 Obfuscate. Steal someone’s identity (costs 2 points of Hunger). You need to speak with the target so you can gather information about them. Must be activated in a Safe Zone. Stay out of the target sight when using this skill.
• Vanish (Costs 180 Exp): +1 Obfuscate. Nor Mask of a Thousand Faces or Doppelganger need to be activated in a Safe Zone.

Now you know all you need to know about profiles and disciplines, why not read up on our guide about how to solve the VTM Swansong Oedipus puzzle? It's proving to be one of the most difficult in the game for players.