Prerequisite: City Status •
Effect: You have your finger on the pulse of the Kindred underground. You’re adept with the codes and cants that allow Kindred culture to flourish despite the Masquerade. Each level of Cacophony Savvy builds on the previous. This Merit assumes the character can read and deliver Cacophony messages.
Drawback: The Cacophony is not a spectator sport. You can’t just consume; you must create. If your character does not regularly contribute news and gossip to the Cacophony, she falls out of touch. To become an active part of the Cacophony again, she must add something of value.
Gettin’ Up (•): Your character can read the signs when she sees them. With an Intelligence + Streetwise roll, she can identify the intended message. She can identify further details, including the messenger’s clan, covenant, favored herd, and city of origin by taking a –1 die penalty for every detail she wishes to discern. Additional details come at Storyteller discretion.
If the area surveyed is part of someone’s Feeding Grounds Merit, you can add their dot rating to your roll, and discern things the owner didn’t mean to communicate. For example, particularly pale junkies in the neighborhood might suggest that the owner feeds from addicts.
Backpacker (••): Your character is privy to all the personal ads, magazine codes, tracts, and tagging locations to find the latest Kindred news. Any time new Kindred come to town, your character knows their favored feeding grounds and their common aliases within a week. Using Gettin’ Up, she can discern more personal information about them from the grapevine.
Wearing a Hat (•••): Your character embodies honor among thieves. She’s a highly respected part of the Cacophony, and as a result, nothing happens without her knowledge. She’s a hub of local culture, and the first line of defense against vampire hunters by extension. Once per chapter, roll Wits + Politics. For each success, you can ask the Storyteller one of the following questions about the current state of affairs:
• Who is on the way up?
• Who is on the way out?
• Where in the city is the Masquerade thinnest?
• What mortal is closest to uncovering Kindred?
• Where’s the best feeding in town?
When acting on the answer, consider all rolls exceptional successes on three successes instead of five.