This fact was discovered by myself and my associates upon cornering the subject whom we had tracked via an etheric homing nanite injected into the subject by dart gun previously. Before our very eyes she seemed to vanished. Indeed, young Garris seemed confused and we had to explain to him what we were all doing in a Parisian alley so late at night. Le Professeur took a few moments to adjust the dials and antennae of his marvelous etheric vibration emitter-receiver array and assured us that she was indeed nearby. 

Subsequently, we managed to capture her after a seemingly endless procession of failed efforts to shadow her. Please allow me to introduce some of the data we compiled during the detainment procedure and the following lab tests, though our studies were unfortunately cut short by the escape of our test subject. 

The mechanics of any power possessed by characters in a roleplaying game will inevitably affect the story as well as the rules.  One of the 
most common magical abilities in gaming is invisibility, and it is also 
one of the most abused and most often argued.  The vampiric discipline of Obfuscate allows the Kindred to play tricks upon the minds of their foes and prey, letting them seem to disappear at will or even to appear as someone else.  As in all systems, the mechanics of how the Discipline works will control the results of an infinite variety of scenarios. 
  
There seem to be contradictory elements to White Wolf's own notes on how to handle the discipline.  Obfuscate is described as being the ability to disguise or hide from another by affecting their mind.  It is noted in the core rules book that it is ineffective against surveillance 
devices.  This makes sense as the illusion of invisibility is created by the mind and is not an actual physical effect.  Yet in another source, the Nosferatu Clanbook, a Nosferatu vampire is described shaping his Mask of a Thousand Faces in front of a mirror.  This implies the ability has rather advanced effects upon the physical world, or that it can fool someone even if they are viewing the vampire indirectly through mirrors or the like.  There is also the related discussion of the weakness of the Lasombra vampires.  Their forms do not appear in mirrors or on cameras.  While this is not Obfuscate, it would seem to have a bearing on the discipline nonetheless. 

The essential question for me became to determine what happens when the kindred using Obfuscate is being observed by a human using some means other than direct line of sight. Does a person looking into a mirror see the monstrous being masquerading as his wife? If one looked to the vampire's legendary fear of mirrors, one might believe so. Perhaps the knowledge that their very mystical powers could be circumvented by their reflection being cast upon the glass  caused them to be apprehensive of the presence of the mirrors. Surely the ownership of knowledge of the Obfuscate discipline was more common than the Lasombra clan who is often credited with the origin of this folklore. What if the vampire were viewed with one of those surveillance devices that specifically are noted as piercing the discipline? Might not a human being looking through the lens of a camera notice the kindred? What if he were viewed with a low light set, which electronically processes the images it shows? 

Of course, in each of these cases, we know what happens in reality, for Obfuscate is but a trick of the mind. It cannot alter the physical dynamics directly. The vampire casts his image upon the mirror. The kindred's image appears upon the film or video in the camera. The lens of the low light set shows a humanoid shape where the human eye should see one. But Obfuscate is a trick of the mind. In these cases, could it still convince the victim's subconscious that what they saw was not there, that they did not in fact see it? 

In my efforts to puzzle out how to control this very powerful discipline, I asked Rob Hatch at White Wolf a few questions. He stated that someone standing in front of a mirror with an invisible vampire (using Obfuscate) standing behind her will not be able to see the vampire. Rob also noted that a person looking through the lens of a hand-held video camera, which actually electronically processes the image, would still not see an invisible vampire  because the visual information is still processed through the mind. A person viewing a vampire through a camera's viewfinder will be unable to see the vampire. Rob did say, however, that , when the tape was rewound and played, the vampire would be clearly visible. When I asked about a person wearing low light goggles, which also electronically enhance the image, he again responded that the invisible vampire would remain unseen. My final statement from Rob was that individuals under the effect of the fifth level of Obfuscate can see each other. 

Of course every answer I received merely left me with even more questions. If one were in an airplane 15,000 feet in the air and viewed the vampire with a telescope would he be visible? How about from space, or even from a ground receiving base, using a satellite? What if you were the security guard behind a bank of monitors at a bank, and had no line of sight whatsoever except through your surveillance cameras. It is obvious that if a surveillance device can pick up the kindred that there must be some point at which a human being is viewing a kindred indirectly enough to be immune to the trick of the mind involved. 

It would seem logical that Obfuscate is at least partially regulated by proximity and in some way, no matter how minutely, by line of sight. You, as storyteller, will have to determine how far away, or how indirectly, the vision must be for the trick of the mind to be unsuccessful. It is my recommendation that in cases where the range of sight far exceeds human possible viewing distance, and/or in cases where the detection is one hundred percent artificial, that Obfuscate not always work correctly. An example of the former would be viewing a vampire with a telescopic lens from a few miles away. An example of the latter would be a security guard utilizing only a bank of camera monitors, and incapable of forming any line of sight to the electronically viewed area. For those of you familiar with Mage the Ascension simply think of this as the reality of the Technocracy influencing the operation of mundane' reactions to magic. This is supported somewhat by the mention that those who are not so fixed in their views of reality may see through the Obfuscate. As belief affects what you see, and the Technocracy has convinced us that certain objects allow us to see better or in unusual fashions, it is possible for perceptions to be somewhat altered. 

This really does not serve to limit Obfuscate in any real manner however, especially if you choose to ignore these examples. There remains only the examination of what the bare bones rules weaknesses of the Discipline are. Of course the rules mention the very confusing unreliability when confronted by surveillance devices. They also mention that those who are insane or childlike may be immune. To determine further weakness, you pretty much have to carefully check each level of power for problems, advantages and unreliability.  

Level One Obfuscate is obvious in its weakness, as one simply cannot hide unless they can position some barrier, however slight, between themselves and their prey. What is perhaps more important to note about the level one power, Cloak of Shadows, is its strength. The true advantage of the Cloak is that it allows automatic concealment if the conditions are fulfilled. No dice rolling means no chance to screw up, and means no resistance or target number modifiers. 

Level two Obfuscate is known as Unseen Presence and allows you to become invisible to those around you. It is very limited in use, however. Specifically mentioned is the fact that if someone is given cause to look for you, especially via speaking or violent action, that you must roll to remain unseen. This roll is a Wits+Stealth roll and, as it requires at least three successes, can be quite easily failed at the most inopportune times. The target number is not specifically mentioned, but this usually means that it will be six. There are a number of modifiers which could affect this difficulty, and I have listed them below the Discipline breakdown. One thing worth noting, because people often forget, is that in the wilderness or rural settings you are limited in Stealth to your Survival skill maximum. As the clans most skilled in Obfuscate are usually not particularly fond of the great outdoors, this will probably be a major hindrance in any wilderness appearance of the discipline. 

Level three Obfuscate, Mask of the Thousand Faces, provides the ability to appear as other people. This makes it more challenging  and  infinitely more capable of causing great chaos than mere invisibility. Again, however, the ability requires a roll to succeed and this roll could most likely be a modified roll. Furthermore, it takes at least three successes to appear essentially the way you want to look to others. At one success you have so little change in appearance that people could still pick you out of a lineup and two is only described as "somewhat different." It also seems worth mentioning that at this level one is only capable of appearing as people, not animals or aliens or whatnot. 

Level four Obfuscate, Vanish from Mind's Eye,  is basically the same as level two, but more powerful. A kindred utilizing this power can remain invisible even if others know he is there. Additionally, he can actually cause others to forget his presence completely. There are however a few complications which can be grabbed by the mischievous storyteller. The target number is listed as being Wits+Alertness, and this automatically implies without a doubt that some people could be able to see you while others could not. You are unlikely to really want to roll once per viewer, and thus will probably prefer to use one roll, comparing the target numbers quickly for all viewers present. But, unless you are really into ridiculous amounts of paperwork, you don't want to have to record these numbers. Therefore, if the kindred moves around a lot, he is likely to run into more potential seekers, and each time he meets another group or individual you might need to roll again. This is, of course, the type of thing you ignore when it will kill the story, but really crack down and enforce when getting detected will help the story. Also, note that level four is ineffective unless you roll at least three successes. Presumably, it would remain ineffective unless you had at least three successes even if the victim had a one or two willpower. 

Level five, Cloak the Gathering, simply duplicates the above four powers for a group. The only things that really need noting are the facts that if you mess up, as the originator of the power, the entire effect goes down, and the reiteration that it can only help one extra person per point of your Stealth. 

It has thus been stated that the presence of artificial sensory devices or mirrors does not automatically render Obfuscate ineffective. It is logical that they should have some effect however. An alternative is for them to make the use of Obfuscate more difficult, with various technologies or situations reducing the efficacy of the Discipline. Certainly anything that might make any applicable skill more difficult could affect the Obfuscate roll. The following are examples and suggested modifiers for different problems confronting the Kindred seeking to hide or mask herself: 
 

 These are only a few of the possible ways that it could be more difficult for a Kindred to Obfuscate in order to hide or appear as someone else. It is not suggested that these modifiers add together; you really should generally use the highest modifier. If you must add a number of modifiers together, you are really telling the Kindred player that you want him to fail, and you might consider just ruling the attempt unsuccessful. It should further be noted that sometimes things might make it easier for a kindred to use his powers. If you are trying to use of Mask of the Thousand Faces to look like your very similar featured brother, you are likely to get a target number that is much lower than normal. Often, the storyteller should consider having the powers work with no roll in cases involving completely ordinary people with only average resistance. If you examine the resultant difficulty of affecting such people, you will find that they are easy prey after all. 

Argh, what are you doing here? Have you been watching long. . . I mean get back in your cage! Now! No, please, we were only curious. Please, let me go. . .