RULES CLARIFICATIONS

• Arms crossed over chest: You do not see this person. Roleplay accordingly. If they are listening to your conversation, tough. Roleplay it, keep talking as if they weren't there because as far as your character is concerned, they're not.

  If you are a Vampire with Auspex:Heightened Senses(or the equivalent), AND you have Heightened Senses active AND you see the person with arms-crossed MOVING (as in taking a step or moving visibly to the Player) THEN and ONLY THEN you may make a static mental challenge (you risk a trait, they don't) to try to detect them.

  In a static challenge, you rock/paper/scissors with them (or with a storyteller). If you tie, you compare your number of traits in the appropriate trait category with The Difficulty of The Static Challenge. In this case, The Difficulty of the Static Challenge happens to equal the mental traits of the person-with-arms-crossed, so it's *almost* like a regular mental challenge except the person-with-arms-crossed risks NO mental traits.

• Thumbs-up (hitchhiker-like gesture): this is sort of the generic "I'm using a discipline" symbol. Most common use is the person using Heightened Senses to listen in to a conversation across the room. If someone walks up to you with the thumbs-up and says "I'm standing over there" and points to a place about five paces away, you should roleplay accordingly that that person with thumbs-up is NOT actually standing right in your face listening to your conversation.

• Thumbs up thrown as a gesture during a rock/paper/scissors test. This is a special gesture called "Bomb" which beings with a certain discipline (Potence:Vigor) are allowed to throw. They can explain the meaning and the effect. They must announce "I can throw Bomb" or "I have Vigor" PRIOR to the test-phase of challenge resolution. If they do not announce it clearly beforehand, then they automatically LOSE that test and may not retest. Use of some of the higher Potence disciplines (Vigor, Puissance) are considered a breach of the Masquerade, in case you weren't aware. Some folks don't care a whit about the Masquerade though--hey, that's their trip.

• Arms flayed out at the side as if to say "Here I am, Lord!" - this is the old symbol for Presence:Majesty. This year, we're using the smiley-buttons to symbolize Majesty, but if you have Majesty it would be appreciated if you'd throw your arms out whenever you enter a room for the first time or approach a group of people. If you are confronted with someone with Majesty (you'll know it) you should roleplay accordingly, be impressed, deferential--you are not immediately cowed though if you attempt to attack them, you must win a social challenge with the Majesty-wielder to successfully attemp the subsequent physical challenge.

• One fist clasped to one shoulder, as if thumping your heart or saying Pledge of Allegience - Someone executing this gesture is REALLY, EXTRA not there, don't even bother using Heightened Senses to see them, you can't.

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E-mail me at cbetts@emerald.tufts.edu