Custom Blood Magic: Path
Some chronicles allow for their players to develop customized powers for their characters. The following is a compilation of player created custom content in OWBN. At this time, custom content that is created and/or used by vampire PC's is required to be listed.
Path of the Better Self
This path was created as an attempt to bring out a more social aspect of Thaumaturgy. It was developed by Lord of the Fourth Circle C.L.U Vasa, House Hephaestus, as an aid in business settings and political dealings. The aim of the path is to give an advantage to the caster in these settings by manipulating the mind and body of the target to mimic certain afflictions at the most inopportune time.
No levels of this path are stackable with another level of this path.
This is a House Specific path.
Basic
Gentle Words
Gentle Words is designed to make the caster appear more charismatic than he or she really is. It was designed to aid in business dealing with superior adversaries. Upon using this power, the caster spends one Blood trait and engages in a test versus 7 mental traits. On a success, the caster gains any combination of 2 (two) of the following Charisma related traits: Charismatic, Charming, Dignified, Eloquent, Expressive or Genial. These may be used primarily in social challenges dealing with arguments, politics, other conversational pieces where getting your point across above all others is key. It lasts for the rest of the scene or one hour, whichever comes first.
Bad Form
Bad Form is designed to embarrass your adversary in a business meeting. Most executives have learned from their very beginnings of their business meeting education that showing up intoxicated in any form is a very bad thing. The caster must initiate a mental v. mental challenge against his/her target and spend a Blood trait. If the caster wins against a mortal, the target suffers from the effects of an all night binge drinking fest, giving them the negative traits oblivious and clumsy. Kindred are affected as if they drank from an intoxicated mortal, giving the same negative traits as mentioned above, but the caster must expend a temporary willpower trait in addition.
Intermediate
Babbling Brook
target can no longer maintain a solid train of thought for the duration of the scene or one hour. The target may start a sentence or conversation, but it quickly looses its focus and winds up a meandering spoken diatribe on everything but the original focused point.
This does not mean the target can’t remember what they wanted to say, but that they cannot finish it vocally.
The caster spends a Blood and engages the target in a mental test. On a win, the target gains the negative traits Forgetful and Ignorant for the rest of the night. In order to affect Kindred, the caster must also expend a temporary willpower trait. The effects of this path should be role‐played out accordingly.
Incompetence
This power was developed to show one’s true power over another. With this, the target becomes little more than a simpleton. Even the most mundane tasks (such as walking, talking or writing) become near impossible.
The caster spends a temporary Willpower and a Blood trait and engages the target in a Willpower challenge. If successful, any time the target wishes to take any actions, the target must first win a static challenge against his own traits of the appropriate category, which he may retest with appropriate retests. I.e. If the target has 8 physical traits and 6 social traits and wishes to walk or run, the target must first win a physical challenge against 8 traits and may retest with Athletics; similarly, he would have to win a social challenge against 6 traits in order to talk. This power last the rest of the night.
Advanced
Bring forth the Inner Child
Bring forth the Inner Child is the most devastating power of this Path. With it, the caster transforms part of the very core of his or her target, bringing out the inner child in him or her to the forefront. It changes the target’s Nature to Child.
The caster must have a trait of the target’s blood. The caster must expend a permanent Willpower trait and a Blood trait and then engage the target in mentalchallenge. If the caster is successful in the challenge, the caster then makes an extended challenge with the target, using the psychology ability as a retest. This determines the duration of the effect:
Number of Successes/Duration:
1 ‐ Rest of the Evening 2 ‐ One Day
3 ‐ One Week 4 ‐ One Month 5 ‐ One Year
6 ‐ Permanent
This path of Dur-An-Ki was discovered by the more humane and pacifistic among the ashipu. Looking for an alternative to harming another or a path related to war; the Path of the Shepherd was discovered as an alternative. This path focuses on reinforcing calm, peace and deterrents to violence and harm. This path of Dur-An-Ki uses occult for retests. Additionally, the user of this path and those defending against it gain a number of bonus traits to cast and resist its effects equal to their Humanity (not Morality) rating in all challenges.
•Peace
As humane pacifists the first thing an ashipu learns to master is the ability to maintain the peace and tranquility. Once cast this power allows them an aura of authority and capability to maintain the peace at all time.
System: The vampire spends one blood trait and gains one free retest in all Social Challenges related to negations, peace, leadership or things related to ending a conflict. This retest lasts a scene or an hour.
••Tranquility
To shepherd others to peace one must find peace within themselves. With this power the ashipu focuses and calms themselves taming their beast for a time to better help protect others and not risk falling to frenzy themselves.
System: The caster spends 1 blood trait and may grant the target or themselves two bonus traits for the next scene or an hour to resist all forms of frenzy.
•••Shatter the Mind
An ashipu with this level of mastery has learned to stop someone acting in a violent manner by quickly reaching into their mind and making them forget the very reason that triggered the violent outburst in the first place. The person becomes instantly confused and lost unable to recall recent events or even the people who is around and how he got there.
System: The vampire engages their target in a contested mental challenge retested with occult. This may only be used on a victim who is engaged in a violent act of some form or with hostile intentions. If successful the target immediately forgets what they we were doing, why they were doing and even who the caster is. They will be unable to recall why they were about to take their violent action and will generally wander off confused having a hard time remembering anything. This effect will last for a scene or an hour. It will also immediately end if they are attacked. Those under these effects cannot attack the caster or commit violence of any kind.
•••• Revoke the Malice
Many ashipu possess other powers and abilities to curse or cripple their targets. However these effects often have a set time they last and cannot be ended early. An ashpiu with this power can end any harmful effect they have done to another at any time they wish rather than having to wait until those effects expire.
System: By spending one blood trait the vampire may immediately end any negative effect, curse, or power they have applied to another. This power allows for those effects to end early compared to their normal time limits as presented. Examples include, the Path of Curses, Quell the Beast, or any other negative effect they have already applied to another character. This power has no effect on negative effects done to the caster or those a victim suffers from afflicted by another.
•••••Serenity
With the final mastery of the path of the Shepherd an ashpiu as has developed the ability to end all conflict in an instant. Once cast those around the ashipu find themselves unable to even consider taking a violent action. To do so they would have to overcome the very will of the ashipu to have any hope to break the serenity he has cast over a room.
System: The vampire spends 1 willpower in addition to the normal blood trait cost to activate this power. For the next scene or hour no violence or combat may occur in the presence of the vampire (limited to the size of one room) unless they defeat the character in a contested willpower challenge. This power ends immediately is the caster takes a violent action himself.
-Level One
Talons of the Reaper
The frigid touch of death comes swift to those who find themselves beneath the Reaper's Talons.
System: The Wangatuer channels the chill of the grave to coat his hands in frigid air that creates a layer of razor edged ice on them up to the elbow. For the scene the Wangatuer's brawling attacks gain the bonus Physical trait Sharp and deal an additional point of damage.
-Level Two
Gaze of the End
The eyes of Death freeze the blood in the veins of those who oppose him, now your gaze does the same.
System: The Wangatuer can freeze up to a gallon of liquid with a glance upon activating this power. When used on a person this power requires a mental challenge against the target's Physical traits (retest Occult). Upon success this power freezes the liquids inside the body dealing one level of lethal damage (Aggravated Damage to mortals) and destroying a point of blood from their system.
-Level Three
Touch of the Winter
All things must end and accepting that end is how one brings about new beginnings.
System: The Wangatuer's touch instills death, draining the warmth from a mortal and ultimately ending their life. If the user of this power can keep physical contact with a mortal for three rounds they die as their internal body temperature descends below a point that can sustain life. When used on a non-living target or an inanimate object the surface of the target is first covered in a thin layer of frost and over the course of multiple turns can be frozen solid. The time this takes is determined by the Storyteller.
To an unwilling target this is agonizingly painful, but to those who are ready to depart the cold puts them into a deep sleep where they pass peacefully, the only signs of the users interference being the bluish hue left on their lips by the dropping temperature.
-Level Four
Mantle of Death
The cloak of death weighs heavy on your shoulders, both a shield and a mighty burden one must carry.
System: By expending a blood and a variable number of mental traits (maximum 5) the target of this power (usually the Wangatuer) is granted an armor-like carapace of ice over their flesh, this grants a number of additional 'Healthy' Health Levels equal to the mental traits spent during the casting. These additional health levels remain for a scene/hour or until they are used.
-Level Five
Denial of Life's Spark
The truest form of control over the cold of death is the power to deny life's very warmth.
System: When activated by expending a blood and willpower trait the caster cloaks themselves in a vortex of numbing cold that saps the very heat from the air to the point even kinetic energy slows. Within twenty feet of the caster all liquids freeze and frost covers every surface, this effect lasts one round, but the Caster may expend an additional blood trait at the top of each round to sustain the effect without using an action. Those unfortunate enough to find themselves within the effect are sapped of their strength and must make a simple challenge for each physical action they take, including movement. Failure costs them a physical trait and means that the action fails. Should an affected creature drop to zero physical traits within the effect they are subject to one of the following based on creature type:
Non-Living Supernatural: Frozen solid and treated as staked until somehow thawed.
Living Supernatural and Demi-Supernatural: Frozen solid resulting in immediate death.
Non-supernatural creatures within the area of the effect are treated as if under the effect of Touch of Winter, if they cannot escape the effect within three rounds they are frozen solid and die immediately.
The Path of the Graveborn taps into the necromantic energies surrounding the processes of death and decay. Unlike the Bone Path which focuses merely on creating and controlling zombies, practitioners of the Path of the Graveborn recognize that the vampiric form is that of a walking corpse and they have thus learned to draw from the power of Necromancy to augment the user in a variety of ways and provide a greater state of synthesis with death itself.
Masters of the Path of the Graveborn are scholars of death, entropy, and decay, often living or studying near cemeteries, crypts, and mausoleums. They care little for Noddist theories as to why Caine rejected God’s grace, instead fixating on how the vampiric condition holds power over death. While the Tzimisce clan seeks to perfect their bodies through the mastery of flesh, practitioners of this Path view that as a flawed approach. To a student of the Path of the Graveborn, only by studying the process of death and spark of unlife can perfection be unlocked. They believe that the flesh is merely the vessel for a stronger source of power. Unsurprisingly, more than a few practitioners of this Path also follow the Path of Metamorphosis.
•Lord of the Flies
From the moment of death, vermin are attracted to a corpse. By expelling necromantic energies from your body, you beckon a thick black swarm of blowflies. These are quickly followed by flesh flies, dung beetles, and moths that surround you in a thick cloud of carrion insects hungry for dead flesh.
SYSTEM
Spend 1 point of Blood and an action to summon a swarm of carrion insects that envelop you until the end of the next turn, obscuring you from your enemies and making it more difficult for you to be targeted by a Firearms, Throwing Attacks, or power that requires line of sight. This grants you a +2 trait defense against line of sight attacks or powers. You may make ranged attacks and use line of sight powers normally. You may choose which types of insects you summon; practitioners with Egyptian ties are known to favor scarabs while South American practitioners often employ bot flies. When this power expires, the insects withdraw inside you and are consumed, healing you for 1 point of lethal damage.
••Death's Scythe
The iconography of Death carrying a scythe is derived from the Greek god Chronos and Cronus, a lesser god of the harvest who carried a sickle used to cut grain. In mythology, Chronos eating his children was an allegory for time devouring all things. The scythe becomes an image that reminds us that death reaps the souls of the living like a farmer who harvests crops from the field. Manifesting your power over death, you call forth terrible necromantic energies and shape them into the visage of Death’s most terrifying weapon.
SYSTEM
Spend a Blood and a simple action to summon an ethereal scythe bathed in a cold blue flame. If you have access to it, you may use the Quick Draw ability (or Fast-Draw ability) to quickly produce the weapon instead of spending a simple action, but you must pay the cost to activate the maneuver. This weapon is an extension of your necromantic powers and cannot be given to another character nor enhanced by other powers such as Quietus. You may make a successful Melee attack with the weapon that does base of 1 point of aggravated damage and converts additional damage from Potence to aggravated. The weapon possesses the named traits Deadly and Brutal, you may bid these traits for a challenge but if you lose the challenge the Scythe shatters and must be summoned again. The scythe functions with any Potence powers you have.
Once created, this weapon cannot be broken even with Elder levels of Potence, nor removed from your hands, nor can it be handed to another character, picked up or used by anyone else. Once conjured, the scythe remains material for 1 scene or hour.
•••Reaper's Due
Archetypal concepts of death and money are often intertwined, with deities such as Hades and Baron Samedi having jurisdiction over wealth in addition to the afterlife. To these figures, the souls of the departed are theirs to claim, pledged either through willful agreement or ancient laws. By leveraging these debts, you exert power over those who drift closer to death, assailing them with necrotic energies.
SYSTEM
Spend one Willpower and concentrate and visibly point to your target as you make her mortality the subject of your attention. Thereafter, whenever she spends or loses a point of Willpower in your presence you gain a +1 bonus in offensive challenges against her for each point of Willpower she has spent or lost over the next 10 minutes, up to a maximum of 5 points. In addition, this person cannot break line of sight for the duration of this power within 50 feet. The Necromancer has an otherworldly focus on their target
You may only have one designated target at a time. If you choose an additional target, any effects against your previous target fade and the count of how many times she spent Willpower in your presence resets.
••••Knitted Flesh
The necrotic energies that make up the necromancer's body can be bent towards keeping the Necromancer going in most fights when they are stretched out over a period of time. They are able to gain additional benefit from their focus of Will with the ability to stoke the necrotic energies to restore your form.
SYSTEM
This power requires the caster to spend a Blood to activate this for 10 minutes. During that time any activity that requires a willpower expenditure also triggers knitted flesh.
Upon activating this power and whenever you spend a point of Willpower to retest a challenge, you may immediately heal health levels, either 3 lethal or 1 aggravated per activation. You must spend Willpower to gain this benefit; abilities that allow you to forego the actual spending of Willpower cannot be used in conjunction with this ability. Quell the Beast or other powers that stop the Necromancer from spending Willpower will stop this power, however, if the Necromancer spends a permanent Willpower through the use of another discipline this will engage the healing effect of the power regardless if such powers are used.
•••••Death Perfected
To live as a vampire is to deny one’s mortality, holding onto life by drinking the blood of the living. By wrapping yourself in energies from the Shadowlands, you transcend the vampiric state and fully embrace the inevitability of death and the power it brings. To confront you is to oppose mortality itself, a terrifying ordeal even for the so-called Undead. This transformation is a dramatic one as you emerge as an unrelenting force of entropy that is devoid of life.
SYSTEM
Spend 1 Willpower and an action to channel necromantic energies throughout your body, flooding you with the power of entropy and transforming you into an unmistakable yet undeniably powerful figure of perfect death.
In this form, the finality and single-mindedness of death drives your actions and purpose making you much harder to control or influence. You may add 1/2 your permanent Physical attributes rounded down to your Mental or Social attribute when defending against Mental or Social challenges.
Once protection from hostile spirits and wraiths was the sole providence of the church, the task of protecting the
family from the predations of such hostile spirits of the dead have fallen to family in this modern age. While most
that follow this path are family and clergy some have taken up the mantle without the cloth. Those few outside the
clergy that accept the charge are often those most devoted to the protection of the mortal family and their connection
with it. While the greatest problem for the family tends to be vengeful and cunning wraiths the Family trained
Exorcist may recognize the position of a daemon or other entity, though his ability to handle it is as limited as any
other catholic.
Note: Unlike most studies of necromancy the effects of the Path of the Shepherd may be employed upon a
wraith within the skinlands as well as in the shadowlands. (This path may not exceed the necromancer's
Sepulcher Path rating.)
•Sheep from the Goats
Through study and observation the Necromancer can recognize the telltale signs of possession on an individual
vessel, be it man, beast, or object. The idiosyncrasies of behavior and the tell tail resonance’s are as plain as painted
billboards to the studied. The Necromancer makes a static mental test on an object, person, or beast to recognize a
spirit riding, bound within, or inhabiting the item. Once this is done a test to recognize the type of entity therein may
be required based on the relevant knowledge and lores of the Necromancer.
••The Armor of Faith
Through focus and training a necromancer can harden his personal defense and prepare himself to weather the most
insidious assaults of the restless dead. While the necromancer is still at the mercy of a wraith prone to emotive and
overt acts on any those arts that are attacks against the mind, emotion or the soul itself. The necromancer gains a free
retest when a wraith employs the arts of Keening, Intimation, Puppetry, Phantasm, Mnemosyne, and Fatalism upon
him. He has hardened himself to attacks upon the mind, the emotions, and on the soul in hopes of better protecting
the family from the predictions of wraiths.
•••Console the Inflicted
The necromancer lays his hand upon the possessed, and then through mental exertion may channel the spirit of the
possessed man or beast. He or another may communicate with the being, being possessed. While this can be used to
comfort friends and family, it is more often used to offer hope to the possessed or to seek out information from them
on possible motives and past activities of the wraith or specter. After succeeding in a physical test the Ritualist
expends a mental trait, and then for the remainder for the scene he may speak for the puppeted individual so long as
physical contact is maintained. Inquiring from the contained unfortunate may provide details of the possessing
wraith’s motivation in the possession and further revelation of secrets that may be used to cause release of the
puppet. The storyteller may choose to resolve this through a series of tests or role-play as it suits him.
••••Subvert the Legion
The greatest weakness of the restless dead is themselves and in a time of need the Necromancer can call upon this
inner battle and through careful manipulation an exertion of force of will. The spiritualist causes either the recessive
id or ego to rise to the surface either for a temporary respite, an attempt at conspiring, or to counsel it to assert
permanent authority. The Necromancy must succeed in a contested social challenge against the wraith or specter. If
successful the necromancer may spend a willpower trait to allow the psyche or shadow to make a test for Catharsis
(to assert dominance) without the normal expenditure or prerequisites. If the psyche or shadow is successful the
necromancer may solicit information to be used against the dominant personality. Examples include, but are in no
way limited to motivations, fetters, and passions. In the event of a psyche being called to the surface the
necromancer may even call upon the services of a Pardoner to help redeem the specter through repeated uses. If use
of this power fails, the wraith gains one temporary angst.
•••••Banishment
Properly prepared the Necromancer can cast an unrelenting wraith from the skin lands and its shadow
sealing the shade away for the protection of the family. To accomplish this, the necromancer must have an object of
importance to the wraith or specter, or have physical control of its possessed form. The Necromancer must grasp the
possessed or an object of importance to the wraith or specter and then succeed in a social challenge. If successful the
wraith is banished from the skin and shadowlands for the remainder of the night, this may be extended to a month
for the expenditure of a willpower or for a year for a permanent willpower trait. It should be noted that the
banishment to the tempest or the labyrinth is often a consignment to destruction for the unprepared wraith and a path
check may be necessary. In addition if a wraith has crossed into the Skinlands the form, vessel, or puppet of the
wraith may be employed as the object of importance for banishment.
Path of the Velvet Shadow
Masters of Heaven and Earth Ascend the Ladder of Heaven to invoke and create new covenants to gain power from the heavens himself. Almost all ashipu practice the Dur-An-Ki path of Spirit Manipulation. The Path of the Velvet Shadow is the next step in that mastery. While Ascending the Ladder of Heaven allows ones spirit to reach the heavens above, the Path of the Velvet Shadow focuses on physical mastery to reach the heavens. The Path of the Velvet Shadows deals primarily with the High Umbra where the various Heavens of the world exist. One needs to remember that the Heavens, and indeed anywhere in the umbra, is dangerous for a vampire to go. This path is the way for an ashipu to finally be able to face those dangers and attempt to have more direct contact with his gods. While this path deals primarily with the High Umbra, that does not mean it does not deal with other areas of the Umbra or disallow them access to go the other realms. Each Realm has it’s own dangers and troubles. But those risks are for each ashipu to deal with as he chooses.
•Eye of Heaven
As an ashipu the first step in mastering the ladder of heaven and thus the Velvet Shadow itself is to know where you are. The ashipu looks to the stars to learn his place in the world. While the Heavens may change, the stars never do. It is they who hold all the answers and thus can help any who are lost find their way.
System: The caster spends 1 willpower. For the next scene or an hour the ashipu knows the exact realm of the Umbra he may be in. This is useful for any who travel the cosmos and may become lost.
••Guidance of the Stars
When an ashipu travels the Heavens they learn very quickly it is easy to become lost. The Eye of Heaven may tell an ashipu where he currently is but it does nothing to aid him in direction to travel. While the first step of traveling the heavens may be to learn where you are, the Guidance of the Stars will show the Ashipu where to go. Once again the ashipu turns to the stars for answers. In them he will find the way he needs to go.
System: The caster spends 1 willpower point. For the next scene or hour the ashipu can sense direction in the Umbra. He can find a location or person within the spirit world. As long as they follow the sense created by this power the caster will not become lost in his journey in the velvet shadow.
•••Return From the Stars
For an ashpiu to master this path of dur-an-ki they will have to have already mastered the art of Spirit Manipulation. As any user of Spirit Manipulation knows the power of Duality is a dangerous one. If the ashipu is not careful when using this power they will be swept into the Velvet Shadow with few ways to return home. Once an Ashipu has mastered the path of the Velvet Shadow to this degree that fear is no longer necessary. By concentrating and forcing his will, the ashipu can always return home to the mortal realm.
System: When in any areas of the Umbra the ashipu may spend 1 willpower to attempt to return to the normal world. After spending the willpower, the caster then performs a static Willpower challenge against the difficulty of the gauntlet to cross back over. Success means he returns back to earth. A failure means he is still stuck and will have to try again.
••••Door to the Heavens
At this level of mastery the ashipu can finally open a doorway to the heavens. In order to open the way to the heavens the ashipu most first draw the door way into the heavens on a surface. He uses his own blood to draw the door that he may step through. Once the door is completed the ashipu may cross over into the heavens and begin his journey. Though the High Heavens have many dangers and no way for a vampire to feed, this does allow the ashipu to finally physically reach the heavens without incredible difficulty.
System: The caster draws a doorway in his own blood and spend 1 willpower to create a doorway to the high umbra. Only the caster himself may use this doorway to reach the heavens. While in the High Umbra the Vampire faces many dangers. There is no blood for a vampire to feast upon and many of the heavens are downright hostile to vampires. Not to mention the Lupines who would kill any vampire they found there. However, the Vampire is free to explore the heavens anywhere he so dares. Anytime the ashpiu wishes to return he need only will it by spending 1 willpower and he will return to earth.
•••••Gauntlet Mastery
At this the final mastery of the path of the velvet shadow, the ashipu gains control over the strength of the barrier that separates the worlds itself. By exerting his mastery over the spirit ways the ashipu can strengthen the barrier or weaken at as he desires to. It is even possible to raise the strength of the gauntlet so high that few can cross over, or if they so choose they can lower so far that it is possible to create a whole to allow himself and others to cross over (or for spirits to cross over to earth).
System: To use Gauntlet Mastery the ashipu spends one willpower trait. After he does that he may lower or raise the gauntlet rating by one level for each Temporary Mental Trait he spends. Raising the Gauntlet to 10 makes it extremely difficult for creatures to cross over from the Umbra. Lowering the Gaunlet to 1 (the minimum) makes it incredibly easy for beings to cross over into the Umbra (even possibly allowing those who cannot normally cross over to be able to. Either on purpose or by accident). The altering of the Gauntlet lasts one scene or hour.
The Path of Vanity
Tremere are the masters of the hermetic arts, and the power they have amassed can lead to vice. Some Tremere even learn to harness their vices, using them to transmute a weakness into strengths, or in this case, conceit into actual beauty. Using the power of this Path, the Thaumaturge draws on the powerful energies that surround the vices of pride, conceit and vanity, usually drawn from the Thaumaturge himself, and uses them to bolster his own appearance. The creator of this path, Regent Premysl, sought its power to overcome his own physical afflictions.
Manipulating these negativities comes with a price, though. In addition to the normal cost of Thaumaturgy, 1 blood trait per use, each use of the Path of Vanity imparts to the Thaumaturge the negative trait Condescending, which remains for the night, as the Thaumaturge is overcome with their own beauty. Multiple negative traits can be stacked with repeated uses of the power. STs are encouraged to enforce the role-playing aspect of this draw-back, since the more Condescending traits a character has, the more of an insufferable jerk they become.
This Path uses Occult for retests.
Level 1: Convalescent Composure
Hygiene and proper grooming are the basic keys to beauty. This most elementary power of the Path will allow the kindred to instantly straighten up their appearance. With some chanting, simple gestures and a mystical swirl of color and light, clothes will appear cleaned, free of stains and ironed and hair will be combed and trimmed. The kindred's face will be groomed however he/she seems fit, including make up (if any), a haircut, facial hair grooming (if it was already present), etc. This discipline cannot be used to grow hair, change eye color or perform any other significant physical modifications to the Thaumaturge's body. The kindred’s physical appearance reverts to its natural state at dawn the next day.
Level 2: Fountain of Youth
A night of intrigue, backstabbing and politicking can take it's toll on a kindred, causing them to lose confidence in their ability and grace. Drawing on the energy of his vices, the Thaumaturge spreads his hands at his sides with his fingers pointed out and creates a prismatic light show, which quickly funnels into his mouth. As the thaumaturge drinks in this mystical elixir of energy, he instantly replenishes all traits in the Appearance related category: Gorgeous, Elegant, Seductive, Alluring, Dignified (and whatever the book says). The effect lasts the entire round in which the Thaumaturge casts the power, and the replentishing happens at the end of that same round. This power may only be used once per night.
Level 3: Glamour Siphon
A thaumaturge wielding this power has attained the ability to use the power of his vices to strike at others, and to reap the benefit of the negativity that the attack causes. With a few gestures, the Thaumaturge indicates a target, and rays of dark colored light strike out, stealing beauty and confidence from the victim. The energy returns to the caster in rays of brightly colored light. Mechanically, the Thaumaturge engages his victim in a social challenge. If successful, he "steals" 2 appearance related social traits (caster's choice) from the victim, gaining those 2 traits as temporary social traits (which can exceed his generational maximum) for the scene. The victim loses their appearance related social traits for the night. If the subject has only 1 appearance related social trait, only one may be "stolen". If the victim has no appearance related social traits, the power is ineffective on that victim. The Thaumaturge may only reap the benefits of this power once per scene, but in that scene may inflict social trait loss on many different victims. Once this power is used on a victim, they are immune to further uses of the power from the same thaumaturge for the rest of the night.
Level 4: Premysl's Pleasing Pulchritude
No longer needing to steal energy from another, the Thaumaturge is able to channel his vices directly into his own physical beauty. The caster raises his arms into the air, and warm colored lights surround him, settling on his skin and fading, leaving behind a dazzling radiance. The Thaumaturge gains the traits gorgeous and elegant which remain until the end of the scene, an hour, or whenever they are spent or lost, whichever of the three is shorter. In addition, while the thaumaturge has the Social traits awarded by this power, he may call for a retest in a single failed Social Challenge (To be clear, only one retest in one Social Challenge is awarded by this power per scene). This retest can be called in addition to any other retests the thaumaturge has already used, such as those awarded by abilities, surprise, merits, disciplines and willpower. This power may only be used once per scene. Traits gained from this power can be stacked with any traits gained from Glamour Siphon and may take the user's traits above the normal generational maximum.
Level 5: Airs of Aphrodite
Upon mastering the pinnacle of the Path, the intense vanity of the Thaumaturge is transmuted into an intense, persistent brilliance, surrounding him and allowing him to dazzle, intimidate, seduce or otherwise manipulate those around him twice as effectively. By spending a temporary Willpower, the caster may now take an extra action during his turn so long as that action is Social in nature, be it a Social-based discipline, talking someone down from frenzy or use of an ability. These actions take place simultaneously on the thaumaturge's turns. Additionally, the Airs of Aphrodite make it difficult to resist the user's beauty and guile. While under the effects of this power, if the thaumaturge uses the Presence discipline, powers that allow the victim to win ties (Iron Heart, Perfect Clarity, etc) are ineffective, and traits are compared normally. There are no other benefits to this power; all actions still require any expenditures, challenges or penalties they would have if performed separately, and no more blood may be spent per turn than is allowed by the thaumaturge's generation. This power lasts for one scene or 10 minutes. It may be activated concurrently with "Dual Thought", but the caster must choose each round between taking the extra action granted by “Dual Thought” or this power.
Path of Winter’s Sorrow
The once planet Pluto is legendary for his coldness, winter, and ice. As many paths of Dur-An-Ki focus on gaining their powers from the heavens and the planets in them, the Path of Winter’s Sorrow is no different. Ascending the Ladder of Heaven the ashipu travels to the farthest reaches of the heavens and seeks covenants with Pluto. This path reflects that covenant. The Ashipu masters the forces of Winter itself and commands them to his will.
•Frost Bite
The ashipu begins to master the art of freezing the air around her. The water vapor begins to condense and form ice around her. With this the ashipu may launch a ball of ice the size of a fist at someone, or freeze any liquid within her line of sight.
System: To fire a shard of ice at a target, the ashipu must engage the victim in a mental versus physical challenge. Success indicates that the victim suffers one level of bashing damage and the negative traits clumsy for the remainder of a scene. Additionally, an ashipu may freeze any liquid in her presence up to the size of her body. This process takes several minutes though.
••Blizzard
The mastery over winter and ice has reached a point where no matter where the ashipu is in the world, she may make it snow. Causing the water vapor in the air around herself to solidify and turn to snow, there is no point in which winter can avoided.
System: The ashipu must spend 1 willpower to make it snow. Additionally, it may cost 1 or more additional willpower to create this snow depending on the outside conditions (decided upon by the storyteller). It may take several minutes for the snow to fall, or the ashipu may spend 1 additional willpower to cause the effect instantly. The snow storm called is large enough to effect one room or a larger area (1 additional willpower per additional room you wish to effect). Those caught in the snow storm suffer the following effects. They must bid four additional traits on attempting to spot anything in the storm (those with Auspex need only bid 2 additional traits). These effects last for as long as the victim is within the blizzard or it ends. Finally those fighting in the blizzard suffer the negative trait clumsy due to the slippery conditions; of which only the caster is immune to. This power lasts one scene or an hour, and may only be used outdoors.
•••Icy Chill of Despair
The ashipu can now concentrate on a victim and freeze the very blood in their veins. For mortals this is lethal, for Kindred it can lead to their deaths if they are not careful.
System: The caster engages the target in a mental versus physical challenge. If successful the caster may then spend up to 5 temporary mental traits and immediately freeze a corresponding number of blood traits in the victim. Each trait spent is rendered unable to be used for one hour or a scene. Mortals affected by this power are instantly killed.
••••Frost Blades
Channeling the art of mastery over winter itself the ashipu causes the wind to pick up and a sort of localized winter to occur around him. In this chill he can forge the Frost blades around him. These swords of ice and snow hang in the air surrounding him creating weapons he can throw with his mind or command to shield him from all attacks.
System: The ashpiu spends a number of mental traits to summon a corresponding number of frost blades up to a maximum of 5. These ice blades hang around the caster telekinetically following his will. The Frost Blades will last for one scene or until they are used up. The Ashipu may command the frost blades to attack or to defend him. If used as an attack, the blades lash out at their target; the caster performs a mental versus physical challenge against his target. If he succeeds the frost blades deal 1 level of lethal damage each and inflict the negative trait clumsy for the scene. Each Frost Blade summoned requires a separate attack challenge. If the ashpiu command the ice blades to defend him, they provide one health level of armor protection. Regardless of if they are used for attacking or defending, once they are used they are gone and more need to be created.
•••••The Mask of Winters
The final stage of the Winter’s Sorrow is complete mastery over winter himself. The ashpiu pulls forth the cold within her heart and the air around her. Calling upon the gods of cold, ice, and winter the ashipu assumes the form of the very Avatar of Winter itself. While in this state, the ashipu’s hair turns white; his eyes become a rich unnatural blue; his skin becomes paler then normal. Even cracks in his skin form that seem to be of frost and ice. The ashipu carries an aura of cold wintery death about him. When assuming the Mask of Winter’s the ashipu becomes the true master of the art.
System: To take the form of the Mask of Winters the ashpiu must spend three blood and one willpower. Once he assumes the avatar of winter form, he gains the following benefits for the remainder of a scene or an hour. The ashpiu gains a plus two bonus on all virtue challenges. Additionally the unarmed strikes the ashpiu inflicts also saps 1 willpower from his target per strike. Finally the ashipu becomes immune to any cold or chilling effects he may suffer.
NOTE: Rego Magia Legis functions greatly on objective truth rather than subjective perception. As such, it is strongly recommended that an ST be present for all uses of Rego Magia Legis to adjudicate objective In Character Guilt and Reality.
1: Malum In Se (Evil In Itself)
Make a Mental Challenge against the target, retest Law. If successful, the Lawmage gains a sense of how many times a user has committed an act of objective evil within a number of days equal to the Lawmage's permanent Willpower. Acts of objective evil include murder, theft, assault, or generally any action that would cause someone with Four Humanity or less (Two on a One-Five scale) to chop for Path Rating loss. The Lawmage does not glean any information on what was done, only that the action was committed, and when. This power is not subtle, usually involving direct interrogation or questioning.
2: Malum Prohibitum (Forbidden Evil)
Mechanically, this power functions identically to Malum In Se. However, when used, the Lawmage focuses on a specific, pre-established legal or ethical code (US Federal Law, MN State Law, The Traditions of the Camarilla, and The Code of Milan are all acceptable examples. A PC's individual Code of Honor is not). If successful, the Lawmage gains a sense of how many times a user has broken that legal or ethical code within a number of days equal to the Lawmage's permanent Willpower. The Lawmage does not glean any information on what was done, only that the action was committed, and when. This power is not subtle, usually involving direct interrogation or questioning.
3: Compos Mentis (Of Composed Mind)
After 10 minutes of meditative focus with the subject, the Lawmage spends one blood and specifies a specific period of time in the subject's history, no greater than one hour in length. For the next scene or hour, whichever is longer, the subject remembers all details of that time period as though they had the Merit 'Eidetic Memory'. Furthermore, if the subject's memories during that event had been altered in any way, the Lawmage may immediately make a Static Mental Challenge (retest Law) to restore those memories for the power's duration. The difficulty of this challenge should be determined by the mental traits of whoever altered the memories of the subject. This cannot restore memories that were completely destroyed or removed, only altered through The Forgetful Mind or similar effects. If a Dominate power was used to alter the subject's memory, a Generation Check is still required by the Lawmage to recover the memories. Finally, the Lawmage gets an intuitive knowledge of whether the actions taken by the subject during that time block were of their own free will or compelled by another source (though this does not give the Lawmage knowledge of who is responsible for any such compulsion). The Lawmage cannot use this power on themselves, only others. When the power ends, the subject's memory of that time block returns to normal.
4: In Flagrante Delicto (In Flagrant Delinquency)
This power can only be used if a Lawmage personally witnesses the target committing an act that would be detected by either the powers Malum In Se or Malum Prohibitum. Upon witnessing said act, the Lawmage may spend 1 blood and make a Mental Challenge against the Target (Retest Law). If successful, the Lawmage may spend 1-3 Mental Traits. The target takes a number of levels of aggravated damage and loses a number of temporary willpower equal to the traits spent. This can only be used against a given target once per scene, and MUST be performed in the same scene that the triggering act was committed.
5: Hostes Populi (The Enemy of The People)
This power can only be used by a Lawmage with Five or more Humanity (Or Three or more on a One-Five scale)
Spend 1 Blood and 1 Willpower and make a Mental Challenge against the target, retest Law, and state a specific serious crime that the target has committed. Qualifying acts of extreme evil include any action that would cause a Kindred with Humanity 2 (Or 1 on a One-Five Scale) to make a Humanity Chop. Crimes not listed in the Humanity Hierarchy of sins (such as Treason) may be applicable at ST discretion. Camarilla Citizens found guilty of egregious violations of The Traditions or Tremere found guilty of egregious violations of The Oath are considered valid targets for this power. Though unlikely to ever occur, this could also apply to Members of the Sabbat found guilty of egregious violations of the Code of Milan.
If the target is guilty and the act is sufficiently heinous, they are branded by a mystical mark that labels the target as an Enemy of the People. The brand can only be seen by Kindred, but cannot be concealed by any means. All Kindred who make a challenge of any kind against the branded target gain a number of bonus traits equal to their own Humanity rating (or half rounded up on a One-Ten scale). Kindred on non-Humane paths gain no benefit. While this mark is almost always used as a death sentence, it can be removed by the Lawmage at any time by spending a willpower if they believe the subject of the brand has properly repented for their crime.
If the crime declared was insufficiently specific, this power simply fails. If the target is innocent of the crime, or the crime declared was insufficiently heinous, then not only does the power fail, but the Lawmage loses ALL of their current Willpower and cannot regain it for the rest of the night.
A target cannot be branded for a specific crime more than once in their lives (though if they commit the same crime multiple times, they may be branded for each instance). Multiple brands do not stack with one another.
Mixing Sand with ashes, over a full moon night, the magister creates a golden colored dust then increases the effect of rituals and paths of dreams
Granding an extra retest for the next performance of this kind of ritual and path in the same month.
Dream paths and Ritual
Dreamcatcher
Oneiromancy
Path of Morpheus
System:
1 extra retest per month for 1 specific ritual and 2 specific paths, need to be performed (precast) on a specific night of full moon.
Secrets of the Scrivener
The scribes and magi of the Banu Haqim are reputedly the oldest of all practicing blood magicians. Eons of scrolls, tomes, and librams fill the storehouses of the Dragons secret libraries. Preferring a practice of one-up-manship over shared communal academies, the Assamite sorcerer with the most knowledge at their disposal has the best chance of surpassing their peers. Masters of this path find the entirety of their repository safe and easily accessible. When one can easily outlive the hardiest of velum, ensuring the survival of each scrap and note provides a clear advantage for the ambitious sorcerer. Practitioners must have the Background: Occult Library purchased in order to gain the most of this path or be subject to the whims of their Storyteller.
Bind/Un-Bind
Whether through mundane or magical means any document that is bound together can be easily separated with no damage to the source material. Conversely, this path can bind together loose notes just as easily – provided all the requisite components are available.
System: Spend one Blood Point and make a Static Mental Challenge vs the complexity of the documents at the Storyteller’s Discretion. Success allows them to be easily separated from each other or re-bound in a useful fashion. Intricate or extremely fragile works may require a higher than normal difficulty with failure possibly botching or damaging the works.
Never a Secret Lost
While mortals may fret over where a misplaced book may have gone to, a Kindred with this power has nothing to worry about. Whenever a new piece is added to the Sorcerer’s Library they may inscribe their mark upon it. From there on out, the caster will know where the tome is. Eerily similar to the Ritual: Craft Bloodstone, a Sorcerer will know where this book is at all times. Additionally, the closer they get, the more accurate this power becomes. A book housed in their library can be easily found no matter where it ended up.
System: Spend one Blood Point which mystically brands a book in your possession. The Sorcerer thereby knows the exact whereabouts, regardless of location. This is described as more of a sensation, as opposed to an image. Books marked in this fashion cannot be un-marked. Multiple Sorcerers over the years could imbue their glyph upon them; a legacy of theft, gifts, and death that can be told by the number of times it has changed hands.
Arcane Recall
A Sorcerer’s Library is only useful if the owner can remember its contents. Before the time of computers and the internet, a depository of books could easily become ponderous and cumbersome. The more books the more items to recall. With this level of the path a Magi can, if given proper time to prepare, recall exact texts and words with complete accuracy.
System: By spending a Willpower and a Blood Point a Sorcerer may recall specific knowledge that is held within their library. For the rest of that scene they gain an additional number of re-tests equal to the accumulated points of that ability within their tomes. This does not count as ability re-tests and cannot exceed their rating in this path. The specific ability recalled must be designated beforehand. This power may only be used once before needing to be re-cast.
Locked Away
Preventing the theft or destruction of knowledge is critical for those Sorcerer’s that wish to rise above their peers. This level provides a modicum of protection for the accumulated works within a Magician’s library. Those seeking to tamper with or destroy books protected by this path must first contend with the owner.
System: A Sorcerer may spend a Willpower and Blood to activate this path, as well as temporary mental traits up to their rating in this path. For each Mental trait spent the Library gains one level of Background: Arcane and Background: Haven for the purposes of protecting its contents and dissuading theft. This power lasts a number of days equal to the number of Mental traits spent at that time. For example, someone who spends 3 Mental Traits at the time of casting effectively grants Arcane x3 and Haven x3 for 3 days.
The Librarian’s Defense
If the pen is truly mightier than the sword, this power is the exemplification of such. There are tales of scholars within their athenaeum wielding the might of the knowledge around them to great devastation. Each use of this power comes at a great cost, possibly lowering the rating of their Background: Occult Library until it can be repaired.
System: Spend three Blood Points and three Willpower Points. For the remainder of the scene the very words of the tomes around you spring to life. Books outlining cryptozoological creatures may breathe otherworldly fire, blueprints of firearms might fire ghostly bullets -- the narration is up to the storyteller, but the results are the same. Whoever the unlucky target of the librarian’s wrath is will suffer an additional Physical attack each round. The library itself has a number of traits equal to the Caster’s Mental Traits plus Ability: Occult and inflicts a number of lethal damage equal to the Occult Library Rating on each attack. For every five levels of damage the library takes, it loses a rating, if a library reaches 0 rating this power ends.