Thaumaturgy
From Vampire V5
<yambe:breadcrumb>Main_Page|Main Page</yambe:breadcrumb>
| Disciplines |
|---|
|
<DPL> category=Disciplines notcategory=Hidden ordermethod = sortkey mode = inline count = 15 ordermethod = title </DPL> |
{{#ifeq:|yes||
{{#if:Thaumaturgy|}}{{#if:|{{#if:{{{above}}} ||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}} }} }}{{#ifeq:|yes|{{#if:Thaumaturgy|Thaumaturgy}}}}{{#if:|{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}} }}{{#if:|{{#if:
||{{#if:{{{subheader2}}}
|{{#if:
|
}}
}} }}
{{#if:
|{{#if:
||{{#if:
{{#if:|
{{{caption1}}}}}
|{{#if:
|
}}
}} }}
{{#if:|{{#if:
||{{#if:{{{image2}}}{{#if:|
{{{caption2}}}}}
|{{#if:
|
}}
}} }}{{#if:Nicknames
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:Blood Sorcery, A Kind of Magic, Thaumaturgy, Quietus
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:
||{{#if:
|{{#if:
|
}}
}}{{#if:|}}{{#if:|}}
{{#ifeq:|yes||| {{{above}}} | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{{label}}} | | |
}}{{{data}}} | |
| {{{header}}} | |||
| {{{label}}} | | |
}} | |
| {{{header}}} | |||
| {{{label}}} | | |
}}{{{subheader2}}} | |
| {{{header}}} | |||
| {{{label}}} | | |
}} {{#if:|{{{caption1}}}}} | |
| {{{header}}} | |||
| {{{label}}} | | |
}}{{{image2}}}{{#if:| {{{caption2}}}}} | |
| Nicknames | |||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}}Blood Sorcery, A Kind of Magic, Thaumaturgy, Quietus | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| | |
}} | ||
| {{{below}}} | |||
}}{{#switch:â¬
|¬|no = ||force|yes = Template:Italic title
}}
Thaumaturgy
Carna always found this ritual unwholesome, but playing with blood was a dirty business. Calling on her vitae to give strength, she used a warm spoon to pop free the unconscious victim’s eyeball. She sighed, quite human-like, as she twisted the orb from its tether and placed it in her mouth.
Holding her hand out, the eye still in place on her tongue, her clanmate placed a heavy knife on Carna’s palm. Without hesitation, she pulled the tip of the victim’s tongue out between his teeth, and sawed through the muscular organ. She placed the tip in her mouth, and proceeded to swallow the two components as her fellow Tremere treated the man’s bleeding orifices.
Carna turned to study the Tracian text on the wall overlooking this entire macabre scene. The man had resisted her mental compulsions, had refused to translate the work willingly, and would have never succumbed to torture. It was a sad necessity that she would have to take his eye and tongue to read and speak the ancient language known only to him.
The Tremere maintain that Blood Sorcery, or “Thaumaturgy†as they call it, was their invention. To hear the Banu Haqim give their version, “Quietus†was their blood right long before the Tremere became vampires. Other clans make the same statements. While its origins are murky, the dreaded nature of Blood Sorcery is not. Few Kindred trust the wielders of a power that can manipulate the vitae in their veins and turn Blood into poison.
Unlike other Disciplines, which could be described as advancing organically through the victims chosen by the vampire, practitioners of Blood Sorcery require teachers. The Tremere once relied on their pyramidic clan hierarchy to arrange tutelage for neonate apprentices, while the Banu Haqim stress the sire-childe relationship as being the best form of mentorship. These nights, many a Child of Haqim washes up in Europe or America far from their sire, and with the Pyramid broken Tremere neonates frantically search through moldy tomes and palimpsests for scraps of true lore. Genuine masters of this Discipline develop their own Rituals, though many guard them from others, revelling in the mystery surrounding their unknown cache of abilities. To practice Blood Sorcery is to twist one’s own Blood into submission. Any form of this power reminds a vampire that they’re far from human, as no mortal could wield magic in this way.
Characteristics
Blood Sorcery is a special Discipline in that it both confers powers, like other Disciplines, and also unlocks the ability to perform Rituals up to and including the level the user holds in the Discipline. Its regular powers seem comparatively weak, but the versatility of the Rituals more than compensates, assuming the user can learn them. At character creation, a player can choose one Level 1 ritual if they have at least one dot in Blood Sorcery. Characters can buy new rituals at the cost of the ritual’s level x 3 experience points. Learning new Rituals during play requires both experience and time. Expect a Ritual to take at least the square of its rating in weeks to learn.
Type:
Sorcery
Masquerade threat:
Low-High. The individual appearance of the powers and Rituals in Blood Sorcery varies as widely as their effects.
Blood Resonance:
Sanguine. Although not inherent in the Blood itself, Blood Sorcery responds eagerly to blood from human occultists, sorcerers, and cult leaders, as well as hemophiles and bibliophiles.
Level 1
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 1
| 
}} Corrosive Vitae===
| Altering the properties of some of their own Blood, the user can make it highly corrosive to dead substances, able to corrode most items down to steaming sludge, given enough time and Blood shed. | |
| Dice Pools: | |
| Cost : | One or more Rouse Checks |
| Duration: | n/a |
| System: | No additional skill roll is required. The user concentrates for a turn and forces Blood through an open, usually self-inflicted, wound. The user then spills their Blood on a nonliving object (except unliving flesh such as that of the Kindred) to corrode and decompose it. Each Rouse Check corrodes approximately 35 cm of matter in all directions from the splash; this takes approximately five minutes (longer on soft metals like copper or cast iron). Harder metals such as alloys and steel merely scar and pit; whether they meaningfully weaken remains at the Storyteller’s discretion. (This power might corrode through handcuff chains given enough time and vitae.) |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 1
|
}} A Taste for Blood===
| By tasting a drop of blood, the user can discern certain basic traits of the one to whom it belongs. | |
| Dice Pools: | Resolve + Blood Sorcery |
| Cost : | Free |
| Duration: | n/a |
| System: | The user dabs the blood on their tongue and makes a Resolve + Blood Sorcery roll (Difficulty 3). With a win, the user can determine the resonance and intensity of the blood if human. They can also identify whether the blood belongs to a mortal, ghoul, vampire, or other supernatural creature (it may not necessarily be able to identify the supernatural creature if not Kindred or ghoul). Tasting vitae also determines the relative Blood Potency (and thus the likely generation band) of the vampire. A critical win also reveals whether the subject has ever committed diablerie, and the generation (within one) of the vampire. If the user knows of the supernatural creature in question, they can identify the specific supernatural creature on a critical win after tasting the blood. |
Level 2
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 2
|
}} Extinguish Vitae===
| The user can intentionally remove the unlife-giving properties of some of the Blood in another vampire, stoking their Hunger as the victim’s inner reserves curdle into impotence. | |
| Dice Pools: | Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Composure |
| Cost : | One Rouse Check |
| Duration: | n/a |
| System: | The user rolls a contest of Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs the Stamina + Composure of a target vampire in line of sight while concentrating for a turn and gesturing subtly. A win increases the target’s Hunger by one while a critical win increases it by two. The victim can discern who afflicts them if they can see the user while making an Intelligence + Occult vs Wits + Subterfuge roll. |
Level 3
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 3
|
}} Blood of Potency===
| Te vampire can concentrate their Blood, increasing its potency temporarily. | |
| Dice Pools: | Resolve + Blood Sorcery |
| Cost : | One Rouse Check |
| Duration: | One scene or one night |
| System: | The user makes a Resolve + Blood Sorcery roll against a Difficulty of 2 + their Blood Potency. A win increases their Blood Potency by one for that scene; a critical win increases it by two. The vampire can use this power to exceed their generation limit on Blood Potency during its duration. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 3
|
}} Scorpion's Touch===
| The vampire can transmute some of their Blood into a paralyzing poison, capable of affecting mortals and vampires alike. They can use this ichor to coat bladed weapons, or even spit it at a target. Scorpionated Blood incapacitates affected mortals, while hampering vampires if not necessarily rendering them helpless. Specific breathing and biofeedback exercises practiced by some secret societies form the best defense against this Blood, aside from Fortitude. | |
| Dice Pools: | Strength + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Occult or Fortitude |
| Cost : | One or more Rouse Checks |
| Duration: | The poison remains potent for one scene |
| System: | The user concentrates for a turn and forces Blood through an open, usually self-inflicted, wound. Each Rouse Check worth of poison made takes a turn and emits enough Blood to coat one bladed melee weapon stickily or to fill one mouthful to be spat at a foe. Spitting poison at someone involves a Dexterity + Athletics attack roll (which can be dodged like any ranged attack), although vampires have been known to French kiss a victim and transfer the poison that way. Even more subtle vampires scorpionate their Blood to poison would-be diablerists: drinking poisoned Blood from the vein guarantees a hit! Aside from such vein-to-fang transmission, however, scorpionated Blood is a contact poison that sublimes away in liquids and is too viscous to inject with a syringe. The user cannot poison beverages with it or (thanks to the pressure differential) inject it by their own bite. Arrowheads and bullets carry too little Blood to use this power with ranged weapons; the effect does not last long enough for the user to fill hollow bullets with scorpionated Blood. If the poison hits, the user rolls a contest of Strength + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Occult. (Vampires with Fortitude may resist with Stamina + Fortitude.)
If the user wins, the poison does the margin in Aggravated Health damage to mortals and in non-halved Superficial Health damage to vampires. A mortal who takes even one point of damage collapses unconscious. |
Level 4
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 4
|
}} Theft of Vitae===
| Through mystical means the vampire opens a wound in a major artery of a mortal victim, blood shooting out through the air in a stream toward the open mouth of the user. This has the additional effect of keeping the mortal subdued as if in the throes of the Kiss, and the wound closes by itself once the effect ends, whether the victim expired or not. This power is extremely spectacular and a potential Masquerade breach while in progress, but once ended leaves no traces. | |
| Dice Pools: | Wits + Blood Sorcery vs Wits + Occult |
| Cost : | One Rouse Check |
| Duration: | One feeding |
| System: | The user makes a beckoning gesture toward a mortal target in line of sight and rolls their Wits + Blood Sorcery vs Wits + Occult. A win opens an arterial wound, and the vampire can start feeding from across the room. (A target wearing full-body protection such as a hazmat suit merely bleeds ecstatically out into the suit.) The user can do nothing else while feeding, but they can feed at twice the normal speed (at triple speed on a critical win) thanks to the sorcerous pressure of this power. |
Level 5
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 5
|
}} Baal's Caress===
| The vampire can transmute their Blood into an extremely aggressive poison, lethal to mortal and Kindred alike. | |
| Dice Pools: | Strength + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Occult or Fortitude |
| Cost : | One or more Rouse Checks |
| Duration: | The poison remains potent for one scene |
| System: | This power uses the same system (and its poison has the same restrictions) as Scorpion’s Touch (p. 273), with increased damage.
If the poison hits, the user rolls a contest of Strength + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Occult. (Vampires with Fortitude may resist with Fortitude in lieu of the Occult Skill.) If the user wins, the poison does the margin in Aggravated Health damage to mortals and vampires alike. A mortal who takes even one point of damage dies instantly. If a vampire target takes Aggravated damage from this poison, the user rolls the contest again; on a win, the vampire enters torpor when next they go to sleep. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 5
|
}} Cauldron of Blood===
| This gruesome power lets the user boil the blood of a victim in their own veins, causing massive damage and excruciating pain. While there are more efficient ways to kill, few methods approach this level of cruelty. | |
| Dice Pools: | Resolve + Blood Sorcery vs Composure + Occult or Fortitude |
| Cost : | One Rouse Check and gain one (or more) Stains |
| Duration: | One Turn |
| System: | The user pays the cost and touches the victim (Dexterity + Athletics in combat or similar situations), rolling a contest of Resolve + Blood Sorcery vs Composure + Occult. (Vampires with Fortitude may resist with Composure + Fortitude.) On a win, each point of margin causes one point of Aggravated damage in the victim. Mortals taking at least one point of damage die screaming. Vampire victims add 1 Hunger per point of damage inflicted, until Hunger is at 5. |
Rituals
Unless otherwise noted, performing a ritual requires a Rouse Check, five minutes per level to cast, and a winning Intelligence + Blood Sorcery test (Difficulty = Ritual level + 1). Rituals usually require additional ingredients, though some need only the uninterrupted concentration of the user, and often involve the mingling of Blood with ingredients chosen according to the principles of sympathetic magic or alchemy. Unless otherwise stated the caster can only perform beneficial rituals on themselves.
Wards
The Tremere employ Wards extensively, basing them on their Hermetic traditional sigils. Banu Haqim Wards usually involve gematriac or abjadic writing, rather than occult symbols, but the methodology remains the same in both cases. Wards consist of a glyph or line of script keyed to repel a single type of supernatural, called “the trespasser†in these rules. When touched, they cause something like an electric shock to the trespasser’s mind and body, imparting both physical burns and a sudden bout of sheer terror. The ward does not work on forced contact - a warded sword will not trigger the ward when striking a trespasser, but it will if a trespasser tries to pick it up.
Wards can only cover a space about a meter across: for example, a caster cannot ward a whole car, but they can ward a steering wheel. The caster pours their Blood on the object to be warded, tracing the glyph in it with their bare finger. Once the caster wipes the Blood off, the ward becomes invisible. The Ward lasts until the warded object is physically destroyed or broken; the trespasser cannot do this.
Do not make the Ritual roll until the first time the trespasser touches the Ward, triggering its effect. Gloves or other garments offer no protection. If the caster wins the Ritual test, the victim suffers one point of Aggravated Health damage. On a critical win, damage for this Ward is three points of Aggravated damage. The caster does not need to make the Ritual roll for each trespasser touching the Ward, only the first. Anyone affected who wants to touch the warded object again must spend a point of Willpower and then win a Stamina + Resolve test (Difficulty 4, or 7 for a critical-success Ward) to make the attempt.
Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) can detect a Ward with a contest of Intelligence + Auspex vs the caster’s Intelligence + Blood Sorcery.
Warding Circles
A Warding circle resembles a regular Ward, painted on the ground or floor. It requires three times the ritual ingredients of a regular Ward of the same type. Knowledge of one Ward does not convey knowledge of its corresponding Warding circle, or vice versa. Trespassers who attempt to cross a Warding circle suffer its effect. Unless the caster inscribes the Warding circle “pointing inward†around the trespasser in the first place, it does not block attempts to leave the circle.
Its rules differ from regular Wards in a few respects: It costs three Rouse Checks worth of Blood to paint the circle and pentacles, which can cover up to a three-meter radius. It takes one full night to cast and a Ritual roll made at the time (at +2 to Difficulty) if the caster wants it to last a year and a day; otherwise it dissipates at dawn.
When the trespasser attempts to cross the circle, roll a contest of Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs the trespasser’s Willpower. (If the Storyteller or player wrote down the result of the original Ritual roll used to cast a year-long Warding circle, they can use that result here.) If the Warding circle fails, the trespasser can enter it. If the caster wins, the trespasser takes three points of Superficial Health damage (three points of Aggravated damage on a critical win) and cannot enter. The trespasser must spend a point of Willpower to attempt to enter the circle again. If the trespasser wins the contest, enters the circle and leaves it again, they must repeat their half of the contest (the caster’s initial result remains) to re-enter it.
Level 1
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 1
|
}} Blood Walk===
| This Ritual expands upon the power A Taste for Blood allowing the user to learn more details about the subject studied, assuming the subject is a vampire. | |
| Ingredients: | A silver cup filled with Blood from the subject. (One Rouse Check’s worth). |
| Process: | The user mixes their Blood with the subject’s and repeats an incantation over the cup, spending an roughly an hour. |
| System: | A win on the Ritual roll (see General Systems) allows the user to learn the generation and name of the subject as well as the subject’s sire. A Critical Win also informs the user of any Blood Bonds active on the subject, as regnant or thrall. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 1
|
}} Clinging of the Insect===
| The vampire gains the ability to cling to walls like a grotesque insect or spider. | |
| Ingredients: | A living spider. |
| Process: | The caster fills a vial with their own Blood and crushes the spider into it, mixing the ground bits with the Blood before ingesting it. (This does not refund any Hunger gained.) The caster can only perform this ritual on themselves; others gain no benefit from drinking the mixture. |
| System: | A successful Ritual yields the ability to cling to walls and ceiling for a scene, while a critical win extends the duration to a whole night. The caster must cling to the surface with both hands and feet; they move at approximately half their usual rate. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 1
|
}} Craft Bloodstone===
| This Ritual results in a Bloodstone, a magical tracker to which the caster always knows the direction as well as general distance. As the Camarilla retreats from modern technology, this previously neglected Ritual has seen a resurgence in use. | |
| Ingredients: | A pebble of iron ore or a small magnet and a litre of blood from any source in a silver bowl. |
| Process: | The user spills their Blood into the blood in the bowl and then recites a chant over it for an hour, repeating the chant over the next two nights. The pebble (or magnet) absorbs the blood over the three nights; upon successful completion, the liquid appears translucent. |
| System: | Make the Ritual roll at the end of the third night. On a win the caster attunes their mind to the Bloodstone. The caster can unerringly sense the direction and distance to the stone. This effect lasts until the Bloodstone is destroyed or a week has passed. A caster can have and keep track to a number of stones up to their Resolve. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 1
|
}} Wake with Evening's Freshness===
| Performed before dawn, this ritual allows the caster to awake at any sign of danger, fully alert as if awake during the night. | |
| Ingredients: | The burnt bones and feathers of a rooster. |
| Process: | The caster mixes the ashes with their own Blood, drawing a circle with the mixture around their place of sleep. |
| System: | Do not make a Ritual roll unless true danger appears. If the caster is threatened during the day, make the Ritual roll then, with the caster rousing on a win. For the duration of the scene the vampire ignores the daytime penalties for staying awake. On a critical win, the effects last until the following dawn. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 1
|
}} Ward against Ghouls===
| Wary Tremere created this ritual to protect themselves from the minions of vengeful rivals. This ward uses the standard rules for Wards (p. 275). | |
| Ingredients: | Nothing apart from the usual requirement of the caster’s Blood. |
| Process: | |
| System: | |
Level 2
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 2
|
}} Communicate with Kindred Sire===
| The caster uses the bond between sire and childe to open a bridge between minds, allowing the childe to create a telepathic link for the purpose of long-distance communication. As with some other Rituals, this one sees a resurgence in these nights of wiretaps and electronic surveillance. | |
| Ingredients: | An object previously possessed by the sire and a silver bowl filled with clear water |
| Process: | The caster submerges the object in water and lets their Blood drip into the bowl, concentrating upon the last memory of their sire for up to 30 minutes. |
| System: | Make the ritual roll after 15 minutes have passed. A win allows for ten minutes of two-way silent mental communication once 15 more minutes have passed. A critical win allows immediate communication. Any major disturbance on either end breaks the connection. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 2
|
}} Eyes of Babel===
| By ingesting the tongue and an eye of a person the caster gains the ability to read and speak any language known by the victim. | |
| Ingredients: | A fresh eye and tongue of a person. |
| Process: | Plucking the ingredients fresh from the victim, the vampire chews and swallows them. (This most likely incurs a Stain.) |
| System: | The Rouse Check required for this ritual allows for the supernatural dissolution of the ingredients once swallowed. Once this is done, make the Ritual roll. A win gives the caster the ability to read and speak any language known by the victim, at the same skill level for a week. A critical win extends the duration to a month. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 2
|
}} Illuminate the Trail of Prey===
| The ritual allows the caster to perceive the previous whereabouts of a designated person as a subtly glowing trail, visible only to them. | |
| Ingredients: | A white satin ribbon. |
| Process: | The performer of the ritual soaks the ribbon in their own Blood, setting it alight. |
| System: | If the Ritual roll is a win the ribbon catches fire despite being wet, burning fiercely like a fuse. Once consumed, the ritual takes effect. While the ritual remains active, the caster can follow faint traces of the target even in areas where they left no tracks, such as crowded cities. To follow the tracks, the caster makes an Intelligence + Survival roll against a Difficulty equal to 6 minus the margin on the ritual test. The target must be known by face by the caster, who sees the path travelled by the victim over the previous 24 hours. The path remains visible for the entire night; a critical win extends this to two nights. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 2
|
}} Truth of Blood===
| Until recently known only to Banu Haqim viziers, this Ritual creates a mystic potion capable of sifting lies from truth. This Ritual has power enough even to sometimes uncover facts unknown to the speaker. | |
| Ingredients: | One pint of blood from the subject. |
| Process: | The performer of the Ritual mixes their own Blood with that of the subject in a vessel large enough to allow for the dipping of the finger. |
| System: | Instead of the regular Ritual roll, the caster immerses their finger in the mixture and makes a Resolve + Blood Sorcery vs Composure + Occult roll for every statement made by the subject. The first failed contest ends the Ritual. A Win tells them whether that statement is true, as far as the subject knows. On a critical win by the caster, the subject involuntarily expands upon their answer, providing more information, including details they glancingly saw or subconsciously forgot. (The Storyteller should inform the caster if there is no more information about that topic.) The mixture bubbles and seethes during the process, turning completely to ash at the end of the scene.
This Ritual cannot pierce Cloud Memory, the Forgetful Mind, or other memory-wiping powers. The caster may well guess the cause of a blank or foggy recollection, but cannot recover the actual memory. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 2
|
}} Wards against Spirits===
| This Ritual wards an item against incorporeal beings such as as wraiths, ghosts, and elemental spirits. Any attempt by them to manipulate or pass through the item triggers the effect. This ward uses the standard rules for Wards (p. 275). | |
| Ingredients: | A handful of salt (in some versions, a handful of brick dust) mixed with the Blood. |
| Process: | |
| System: | |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 2
|
}} Warding Circle against Ghouls===
| This Ritual creates a circular Ward on the floor or ground, intended to prevent the passage of ghouls. This ward uses the standard rules for Warding circles (p. 275). | |
| Ingredients: | The caster draws the Warding circle with a human bone dipped in the Blood. |
| Process: | |
| System: | |
Level 3
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 3
|
}} Dagon's Call===
| A terrifying technique employed by the assassins of the Banu Haqim, this Ritual lets the user rupture the very blood vessels of the victim from afar, having only touched them but briefly previously. Mortals expire rather messily, and even vampires must fear this silent killer. | |
| Ingredients: | A gold inlaid ceremonial dager. |
| Process: | Before proceeding with the ritual the victim must be exposed the caster’s Blood, either by drinking it or having it touch an open wound or even their bare skin: a single drop smeared across the arm is enough. After an hour but before a week has passed the caster can perform the ritual by piercing their own skin with the ceremonial dagger, shedding blood. As their Blood hits the ground the ritual takes effect. |
| System: | Make a Resolve + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Resolve roll. Every point of margin on a win does a point of damage to the victim, as their blood vessels burst and their lungs fill with blood. This damage is Aggravated for mortals, but only Superficial on vampires. The caster can repeat this process up to two more times, each time requiring them to make an additional Rouse Check. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 3
|
}} Deflection of Wooden Doom===
| By performing this ritual the vampire protects themselves from being staked. The first stake that would pierce their heart shatters before penetrating the skin. | |
| Ingredients: | Wood splinters or shavings. |
| Process: | The vampire mixes the shavings with their Blood and draws a circle around themselves. They must then meditate in this circle for an hour, concluding by placing one splinter of wood under their tongue. |
| System: | Make no Ritual roll until the vampire is staked. If the Ritual roll is a win, the stake shatters as it touches the skin of the vampire. (A critical win blinds the attacker for two turns, showering their face with splinters.) This only works on genuine attempts at staking - merely holding the stake against the vampire does not trigger the effect. The protection lasts until the end of the night or until the splinter is removed from under the tongue of the vampire, whichever comes first. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 3
|
}} Essence of Air===
| The caster creates a potion that when imbibed allows for limited flight. The Camarilla frowns upon the use of this Ritual, due to the extreme risk of Masquerade breaches; for this reason, its popularity has lessened considerably in the modern nights. | |
| Ingredients: | Leaves and berries of belladonna. |
| Process: | The caster steeps the belladonna in their Blood, reducing the brew over a brazier while incanting words of power. |
| System: | Make the Ritual roll when reducing the mixture. (A critical win prepares two doses worth of potion.) The caster can tell whether the ritual succeeded, so they won’t end up with a dud. The resulting black potion retains its potency for a night and activates when imbibed. The potion enables the caster (and only them) to fly or hover at approximately running speed for a scene. The caster can carry a human-sized mass, though their speed drops to walking speed. Grabbing and carrying aloft an unwilling subject, or pulling the flier to the ground, both require a contest between the caster’s Strength + Blood Sorcery and the other’s Strength + Athletics. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 3
|
}} Firewalker===
| A painful ritual to perform, this allows the caster to make themselves and even their comrades resistant to fire. | |
| Ingredients: | A fingertip of the caster |
| Process: | The vampire cuts one of their fingertips off and burns it together with their Blood in a golden chalice or bowl. |
| System: | Make a Stamina + Resolve test (Difficulty 3) to cut off a fingertip. On a winning Ritual roll, a bluish flame consumes the Blood and fingertip, signalling the completion of the ritual. For the rest of the night fire damage to the caster is halved. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 3
|
}} Ward against Lupines===
| This Ritual wards an item against werewolves, in any form. Any attempt by them to touch the item triggers the effect.
This ward uses the standard rules for Wards (p. 275). | |
| Ingredients: | A handful of silver dust mixed with the Blood. |
| Process: | |
| System: | |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 3
|
}} Warding Circle against Spirits===
| This Ritual creates a circular Ward on the floor or ground, intended to prevent the passage of spirits. Although more difficult than some Warding circles, it is one of the most commonly found in grimoires and other sources. A human occultist could potentially reconstruct a functioning version of this Ritual with an Intelligence + Occult test (Difficulty 6), although they could not cast it without vitae or some other supernatural aid or element.
This ward uses the standard rules for Warding circles (p. 275). | |
| Ingredients: | The caster draws the Warding circle with an iron knife dipped in salt and Blood. |
| Process: | |
| System: | |
Level 4
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 4
|
}} Defense of the Sacred Haven===
| The performer of this powerful ritual can ward their haven against the sun itself, protecting their resting place from penetration by its destructive rays as a mystical darkness blankets the area. | |
| Ingredients: | Nothing but the Blood of the caster. |
| Process: | The caster inscribes a number of sigils and glyphs on and around the area to be protected. They must take special care on windows and doorways, but may even ward an open doorway if the area is indoors. (Te ritual wards gray or liminal areas, such as ruins, at the Storyteller’s discretion.) |
| System: | The process takes an hour or more, depending on the state or the area to be warded. The area can be no larger than a circle with a six-meter radius. The ritual automatically fails if the caster steps out of the area at any time after the warding is complete. The caster makes the Ritual roll once the sun rises. On a Win, shadow blankets the area, closing off any view of the outside but also preventing any sun damage to the vampires within. On a critical win, those inside can spy the outside world dimly. The Ritual lasts through an entire day unless ended by the caster stepping outside the area. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 4
|
}} Eyes of the Nighthawk===
| Related to the primitive powers of Animalism, this Ritual allows the caster to possess a carnivorous fowl, usually a raven or a bird of prey, directing its flight and seeing through its eyes. Parrots and mynahs, not being carnivores, cannot be used in this Ritual. Some Tremere spent years training crows or ravens to speak before using them as nighthawks; with the Pyramid disrupted, fewer Warlocks have the spare time now. | |
| Ingredients: | The eyes of the bird used, taken at the conclusion of the Ritual. |
| Process: | The caster feeds their Blood to the bird and enters a trance. |
| System: | On a winning Ritual roll the caster can control the bird and see through its eyes. On a critical win, the bird can perform simple actions under control, such as picking up objects or manipulating keys or dials. The caster can use most nonphysical Disciplines through the bird, even Dominate assuming the caster has Telepathy (p. 252) or some other way to communicate with targets non-verbally. There is no limit to the range the bird can fly, though unless the caster plucks the eyes out of the bird at the end of the night they themselves suffer blindness for three nights to come. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 4
|
}} Incorporeal Passage===
| The caster assumes an incorporeal state, not unlike a ghost, able to freely pass through objects and rendered totally immune to physical damage. They cannot interact physically with the material world except by sight and speech. | |
| Ingredients: | A mirror. |
| Process: | The caster spills their Blood on the mirror, chanting, and then breaks it. |
| System: | Make a Ritual roll. If the roll is a win, the caster assumes an incorporeal form as long as they hold a shard of the broken mirror. While incorporeal, the caster remains immune to everything except fire, sunlight, and arcane weapons and rituals capable of damaging spirits. The caster can still be seen and heard but cannot interact physically with anything or anyone. They cannot Rouse the Blood while incorporeal. Incorporeal casters have no access to any spirit realm; the ritual does not make them wraiths or spirits. The caster can walk through walls and other objects but must do so in a straight line; they cannot change direction while inside solid matter. This Ritual lasts for one scene or until the caster drops the shard. Returning to the material while inside solid matter can result in anything from destruction to entombment to minor inconvenience (the ashtray is stuck halfway through the caster’s arm); the Storyteller decides the precise outcome. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 4
|
}} Ward against Cainites===
| This Ritual wards an item against all vampires except the caster. Any attempt by them to touch the item triggers the effect. However, a vampire examining the Ward with Auspex can read the name of the caster in it with a successful contest of Intelligence + Auspex vs. the caster’s Intelligence + Blood Sorcery. This ward uses the standard rules for Wards (p. 275). | |
| Ingredients: | Ash warm from a still-burning fire; casters risk terror frenzy, and cannot inscribe this Ward that night if they succumb to it. |
| Process: | |
| System: | |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 4
|
}} Warding Circle against Lupines===
| This ward uses the standard rules for Warding circles (p. 275). | |
| Ingredients: | The caster draws the Warding circle with a silver knife dipped in wolfsbane and Blood. |
| Process: | |
| System: | |
Level 5
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 5
|
}} Escape to True Sanctuary===
| By preparing two mystic circles in an arduous ritual the caster can instantly travel from one to the other. The journey is one-way, and the caster must designate one circle for departure while the “arrival†circle serves as an exit. | |
| Ingredients: | Two charred circles of approximately a meter in diameter. |
| Process: | The caster burns the circles into the ground or floor with an open flame, then consecrates each circle. Consecration requires two hours of chanting per night and two Rouse Checks, for three consecutive nights. In total, this ritual takes twelve Rouse Checks worth of Blood from the caster. |
| System: | Once the circles are complete the caster need but step into the one designated for departure and concentrate for a turn, making a Ritual roll. (Te caster makes the Ritual roll each time they attempt to travel, but can only make one attempt per scene.) On a win the caster vanishes, reappearing in an instant in the middle of the exit circle. There is no limit to the distance between the two circles, but they must be inscribed on the ground or on the floor of a building, not on the floor of a vehicle. The caster can transport one person or an object or objects totalling roughly human mass with them. Damaging either circle ruins the ritual completely and renders both circles inert. A vampire can only have one pair of these circles functional at any given time. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 5
|
}} Heart of Stone===
| Performing this ritual turns the caster’s unliving heart to stone. This makes them immune to stakes but also, through some fluke of sympathetic magic, completely remorseless and cold-hearted automatons totally unreceptive to emotional and social cues. Even more so than normal. | |
| Ingredients: | A stone slab and a wax candle drenched with the Blood of the caster. |
| Process: | The caster lies on the stone slab with the candle on their chest letting it burn down to nothing over the course of a night. As the fire reaches their chest, it causes one point of Aggravated damage and forces a terror frenzy roll (Difficulty 3). If the caster fails the frenzy roll, the ritual ends. If the caster does not enter frenzy, they make the Ritual roll. On a win the ritual completes; a critical win heals the candle-fire damage. The effect persists indefinitely, and should the caster wish to reverse the process they must repeat the ritual. |
| System: | While under the effect of the ritual, the caster’s heart is literally made of stone. Stakes fail to penetrate it, breaking if forced. The caster also exhibits a complete emotional detachment, subtracting three dice from any Remorse rolls as well as active (not resisting) Social-related rolls, except for Intimidation and Dominate. The caster cannot employ Presence but gains three bonus dice to pools used to resist the effects of that Discipline. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 5
|
}} Shaft of Belated Dissolution===
| The Kindred fear few weapons as they fear the dreaded stake created by this ritual. Thought to be the origin of the myth regarding stakes as the ultimate tool for slaying vampires, the Shaft of Belated Dissolution not only seeks out the heart of the vampire it’s aimed at but actually causes Final Death when reaching its target. If need be, the Shaft works toward this goal as a splinter, inching its way through the target vampire’s body to reach its goal. | |
| Ingredients: | A stake carved of rowan wood, inscribed with baneful runes. |
| Process: | The caster drenches the stake with two Rouse Checks worth of their Blood, while blackening it in an oak-wood fire while reading incantations over it. The ritual takes five hours to complete. |
| System: | This stake confers a three-dice bonus to any pool on any attempt to stake a vampire, whether hammered in while the victim sleeps, wielded in melee, or fired from a crossbow. The caster need not wield the stake themselves. If the attack roll wins with a margin of five or better, the vampire withers to dust in a single turn as if consumed by an invisible fire. If the stake hits, but the roll has insufficient margin (under five) to pierce the heart, the stake breaks off in the wound, the tip burying itself as it slowly begins to inch its way toward the heart of the victim. Depending on where it struck this can take hours or nights, but unless extracted by medical or mystical means, Final Death is assured. To remove it surgically someone other than the victim needs to win a roll of Dexterity + Medicine (Difficulty 6) in a process that takes up to four hours. If no medical expertise can be found, someone can remove the splinter by severing the afflicted limb – unless the splinter has already reached the torso. |
==={{#loop: showDots
| 1
| 5
|
}} Warding Circle against Cainites===
| This ward uses the standard rules for Warding Circles (p. 275). | |
| Ingredients: | The caster draws the Warding Circle with a rowan wand dipped in the mixture of ash from a still-burning fire and Blood. |
| Process: | |
| System: | |
| Disciplines |
|---|
|
<DPL> category=Disciplines notcategory=Hidden ordermethod = sortkey mode = inline count = 15 ordermethod = title </DPL> |