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Basic: Awe When you let your charisma shine, you draw attention naturally. People try to be close to you, and even those disinclined to listen to you give some consideration to anything you say or do, you can invoke feelings of friendliness. Dread Gaze By hissing, baring your fangs and allowing your vampiric features to rise to the fore, you can terrify mortals and even shake the resolve of other vampires, driving supernatural terror into the hearts of your victims. You strike terror into your victim. If you succeed, the subject flees your presence and tries to avoid you for the rest of the night. If cornered, the victim will still defend himself, doing his best to escape you. The subject defends himself normally. Using this Discipline actually requires you make your vampiric countenance known, so it is a rather obvious breach of the Masquerade. Intermediate: Entrancement When you bring your charm to bear on an individual, you are almost hypnotically magnetic. Individuals affected by your Presence find your manner irresistible. If you succeed, the target is favorably disposed toward you, and they will not insult or attack you for the rest of the scene/hour. A formerly neutral subject wants to aid you and act as your friend; even a previously hostile target is rendered neutral. If you take a hostile action against the subject, of course, the Entrancement is broken immediately and it may not be used against the subject again in the same scene. Summon Your victim need not see you, or even be seen by you—as long as the subject is known to you, you can Summon him to your side. Once called, the subject tries to get to you by whatever means possible, completely unaware of the supernatural nature of the desire and avoiding situations that would prevent fulfilling the compulsion (like locked rooms and overprotective allies). The compulsion lasts until the victim manages to arrive and make his presence known to you, if the subject does not appear, you can wait five minutes and then attempt to Summon, the victim again. You can only Summon someone that you know — at bare minimum, someone that you have had the chance to talk with for a few minutes, or someone who has been a target of your Presence powers before. If another individual then uses Summon on your subject, the victim heads to the summoner of the most powerful generation; if of the same generation, to the first one to exert the power. Should two vampires of equal generation simultaneously summon, the same victim, then the vampire closest to the victim wins. In the unusual case that Summon is used on a false identity (an identity created with Mask of a Thousand Faces, for instance), the Summon still brings the appropriate Individual. If multiple individuals use the same false identity, then the first Summon calls whichever is nearest and any further Summons then call the same individual. Thus, if three Malkavians using Mask of a Thousand Faces all pretend to be the same imaginary person, a Summon of that person brings whichever of the Malkavians is nearest and then calls that Malkavian for any future uses of Summon. Advanced: Majesty When you exert your Majesty, heads bow, hearts break and spines quiver. None would dare to challenge you or risk your ire, for your ambiance is without peer. As long as you are using Majesty, nobody may insult you or attack you as long as they are within 10 feet of you and able to see you. If you attack someone or undertake a hostile action while using your Majesty, the aura fades automatically and immediately, as your onlookers are startled or outraged. You may still use your Social and Mental Disciplines as long as they do not inflict direct harm - you may still Entrance or Dominate a subject, but a deliberate attack disrupts your Majesty. Protean: Vampire can alter their eyes to operate perfectly in darkness. Can enter your body in the soil for rest, take the form of an animal or shift into a mist form Basic: Eyes of the Beast Make your eyes able to see in absolute darkness. An eerie red glow emanates from your eyes, and you can see perfectly well in pitch-blackness. You suffer Negative Trait Bestial due to your red eyes, unless you take steps to conceal them (most commonly, with sunglasses). Using this power is also a rather obvious breach of the Masquerade. Feral Claws Grow powerful claws at will with a simple effort; they sprout mystically from your otherwise normal hands, and similarly retract when you desire. By burning blood, you cause Feral Claws to extend from your hand (and feet, If you so desire) These claws are useable in combat or in climbing, and they inflict aggravated damage. Intermediate: Earth Meld Touch raw soil to sink into the bosom of the earth; but not through stone, wood, concrete or other substances. You take with you only your clothing and small personal possessions that you carry, not fully conscious of the material world at all you are unable to move, except to rise at will. While bonded with the earth, you remain in a semi-tangible state, partially diffused into spirit by your connection to the soil. Thus, you cannot be readily detected either physically or with spirits. If your patch of soil is disrupted in any fashion, you immediately return to physical form and complete wakefulness, shooting up to the surface and showering dirt in all directions. You cannot act immediately in the moment that you rise from the soil in this fashion, though if you rise up of your own accord (which you may do at any time), you are fully aware and able to act normally. You must burn blood to Earth Meld. Sinking into the ground requires a full turn, during which time you can do nothing else (because you are descending slowly into the ground). Shape of the Beast With Shape of the Beast, you can shift your physical body into that of an undead beast, mimicking a normal animal. Most vampires change into wolves or bats, though some possess different forms dependent on their cultural and geographic ties –giant rats in major cities have all been reported. Shifting into animal form costs one bloodpoint and takes three full turns (each additional Blood point spent lowers the transformation time by one turn, to a minimum of one turn with three Blood points). You remain in beast form until the next dawn, or until you decide to change back. Clothing and small personal possessions change with you. In animal form, you can use any of your normal Disciplines except Necromancy, Serpentis, makes Dominate difficult, of course. Wolf form grants you the bonus Mental of Alert and Attentive, as well as the effects of Feral Claws and improved running speed. Bat form grants you flight capability and the benefits of the acute hearing. The animal forms granted by this power are in all ways physically identical to normal animals, though of course they are dead, animated corpses as befits a vampire. Advanced: Mist Form You can dissolve into a fine cloud floating cloud, still able to sense your surroundings and able o move about as you desire. You can slip through tiny cracks and holes, and cannot be dispersed by the mightiest of natural winds. Assuming Mist Form costs one Blood point and takes three full turns (additional Blood points reduce this time at a one-for-one cost, with a minimum of one full turn at three Blood points). You may change back instantly at any time. You are immune to mundane physical attacks in this form, and you take one less level of damage from fire and sunlight automatically. You are still affected normally by mystical attacks, though of course you have no blood in this form. Though you cannot affect the world physically, you can still use Disciplines that do not require a physical form, you may move as desired at the pace of a brisk walk, although you can be pushed about by strong winds. Quietus: Blood used with this Discipline is transmuted into an alchemical poison and thus cannot later be gathered and used to form blood bonds or as a focus for Thaumaturgy. Using Quietus with a physical attack simply involves the normal uses of Brawl, Melee and similar Abilities in the attack. Basic: Silence of Death The mystical Silence of Death permits you to extend a field of silence about yourself, blocking all screams, gunshots, explosions and so on, muffling all sound within 10 feet of yourself. Although sound from outside can still come into this radius and be heard, no sound emanates from anything or anyone close to you. Using this power costs one Blood point to invoke, and the effect lasts for a scene/an hour. Scorpion’s Touch Transmute your blood into a substance that weakens and poisons your victims. Coat weapons with this foul ichor, spit it at your foes or simply bring it to the surface of your skin to affect your victim by touch. Unwary foes may actually drink such tainted vitae. Each Blood point that you spend on this power is converted into a dangerous poison. You can coat weapons of dagger- size or larger with this poisonous blood, or even kiss your opponent. Any given attack may only use one blood point with this power, though multiple attackers with poisoned weapons could wreak deadly havoc on a single victim. Intermediate: Dragon’s Call With a touch, you can infect a victim with a small quantity of your own vitae and later cause that blood to burst forth from the victim, tearing her apart from the inside. You must touch your target physically before using this power. (Thereafter, at any point in the same scene/hour, you can issue (you need not even be able to see the target) Baal’s Caress- The toxins in your vitae melts through flesh once it comes in contact with the bloodstream, leaving other materials unharmed. Indeed, even Cainites without blood in their systems can be affected if the poison enters through a wound. Spend a turn to transform your vitae into poison and then put that blood on an object or weapon of dagger-size or larger. Each Trait of blood so placed on a blade or piercing weapon causes that weapon to inflict aggravated damage with one strike. Thus, the weapon in question must penetrate the victim’s flesh with a successful blow and cannot be on bullets; not enough can be applied for appreciable damage, and most of it will be lost during the flight and initial impact. Note that you must actually place this blood on something and it must enter the target ’s system in order to have any effect Advanced: Taste of Death Your concentrated blood is so powerfully toxic that you can merely spit it at a foe and watch it bum through her skin. The ichor evoked with this power does not affect metal or stone, but melts through flesh and bone, reducing it to smoking sludge. You can spit at a victim with this power (this counts as a single action). If you successfully strike aggravated damage. You must directly spew this blood out; if it misses the victim or is placed on an object, it loses its toxicity within the turn. Note that the blood must be deliberately converted into a poison in this fashion - your own blood can still be drained from your body without poisoning the drinker. Sanguinus Basic: Brother’s Blood Heal any Blood Brother in the caster’s circle at any distance. Octopod with blood from both donor & recipient, l organ/extra limb appears ready for use. Recipient controls. Intermediate: Gestalt Each blood brother burns blood to create a hive mind.; gives brothers mind control powers. All share perceptions diverting most surprise. Walk of Caine Borrow Generation from a brother, maximum 1 Generation. Advanced: Coagulate Entity Brothers join hands and concentrate as they burn three blood points each, they gain Physical/mental unity. Serpentis: you can mesmerize a target with a look, invoke snake like abilities and forms. Basic: The Eyes of the Serpent Meet the gaze of a victim (they need only to be able to see your eyes), your eyes become gold with large black irises, capturing the attentions of your subject. As long as you hold the gaze of the target, he remains completely immobilized. The target is paralyzed as long as you hold his gaze with your own, but, if the target is attacked or injured, the hypnotic spell breaks. The Tongue of the Asp At will, you can cause your tongue to shift in shape to that of a snake. The super-natural razor-edge on the forked tongue inflicts terrible wounds, striking up to a foot and a half away, and it even lets you drink blood from your victims. You need only decide to use The Tongue of the Asp in order to gain the benefits of this power. Your tongue inflicts one aggravated wound with a successful strike; furthermore, on successive turns you can drain blood from the victim as if drinking directly. This draining even causes the Kiss, paralyzing mortal victims with helpless fright and ecstasy. The Tongue of the Asp is highly sensitive to vibrations. Intermediate: The Skin of the Adder Erupt into a serpentine form of protective scales and snakelike flexibility. You can thus transform into a monstrous hybrid of humanoid and snake, an effective engine of war or a terrible slithering beast of intimidation. You must burn blood to invoke this power. The Skin of the Adder overtakes you, covering you in a mottled scaly hide and lending a whip like flexibility to your limbs. Your mouth also distends like a snake’s, so that your bite causes an additional wound. Your cartilaginous body can also fit through any opening wide enough to accommodate your head. Due to the hideous nature of your snake-form, you are Bestial and Repugnant while in this form. This remains in effect until you decide to transform back, or until the next sunrise. The Form of the Cobra Turn into a giant cobra that grants a venomous bite and the ability to slip through small passages, while still allowing you to use any Disciplines that do not require hands or speech. You retain your normal weight turning into a black-and-gold serpent. You must burn blood, the transformation takes about five minutes. Clothing and small personal effects change with you. You remain in serpent form until the next sunrise or change at will. Additionally, the venom of your bite is poisonous to mortals. Advanced: The Heart of Darkness On the new moon, you can pull your very heart from your undead body; with several hours of surgery, you can even do the same to another vampire, the subject must be willing. While most vampiric flesh rots and decays in a single turn after being separated from the body, the withered heart coaxed forth with this power remains intact. Anyone whose heart is removed in this fashion is therefore immune to staking. As the heart is considered the seat of emotion, you may be able to resist frenzy. However, you also lose any Empathy Abilities relating to warm interactions with people, such friendly, Empathetic or Genial. If a separated heart is staked, then its vampiric owner (the vampire that the heart originally came from) is immediately paralyzed. Should the heart be exposed to fire or sunlight for even a few seconds, it is destroyed and its owner erupts into flame and is reduced to ash. Use of the Heart of Darkness can also return a stolen heart to its former body. Returning a heart to a body can be accomplished in the same manner as removing it. With this power the heart can remain out of the body indefinitely. Obviously, trying to use this power on a mortal, even a ghoul, is messily fatal. Thanatosis Basic: Hags’ Wrinkles Contract or expand your skin, sending it into baggy, rippling waves or pulling it taut over your undead flesh. Hags’ Wrinkles obviously can mask your appearance, but you can also use little pockets of flesh to conceal small objects about your person, although such bulges or depressions may be visible if your skin is not already marred (say, by the signature deformities of the Nosferatu and Samedi) or found during a pat-down search. To Reshape your flesh, burn blood and wait five minutes. For the rest of the scene/hour, your features are unrecognizable and you can conceal up to two objects of jacket or smaller concealment class within the folds of your withered flesh. Putrefaction Supernatural decomposition afflicts any flesh that you touch, if you so will it. Pustulent, festering decay spreads from your point of contact, even rotting the preserved flesh of vampires. This sort of wound is accompanied by rotting flesh, decaying teeth and bones, festering sores and fungus-ridden patches. You can strike a victim multiple times. You can even affect vampires and plants in addition to other living creatures. Intermediate: Ashes to Ashes Tearing apart the bonds that hold your physical form together, you collapse suddenly into a desiccated heap of ash. The power of Ashes to Ashes allows you to retain your consciousness, though, keeping you in a pile of fine detritus that can reform later into your original vampiric body. You must burn blood while concentrating for a full turn to transform into a pile of thick, sticky ash. You can vaguely sense your surroundings (10’ in all directions) at this time, and you are completely immune to physical attacks, fire and sunlight. If the ashes are separated, though (a tedious and disgusting task, requiring deliberate effort), you reform missing some parts of your body - the largest remaining pile reforms as yourself, but you take lethal damage depending on how much of your substance was removed. Should you reform while contained in some object, you burst forth, shattering the object as you resume your usual size. Withering By gripping an enemy and channeling your own dead energy into his limbs, you can cause him to twist into an aged, withered and decrepit form. Terrifying pain results as limbs shrink and snap from Withering. The subject immediately suffers the Negative Traits Clumsy and Lame, as the shrunken limb is rendered completely useless. Vampires and other super natural creatures heal the effects of Withering at the end of the night, but mortals and living animals are afflicted permanently. Advanced: Necrosis The hideous decomposition induced with Necrosis disgusts and revolts even the hardiest constitution. Accelerating the forces of decay, you cause the target ’s skin to rot away and slough off, exposing internal organs in a terrifying panoply of pain. Necrosis requires you to touch the victim Multiple strikes can inflict additional damage which will render the victim to a pool of putrescent liquid. Thaumaturgy The Discipline of Thaumaturgy encompasses blood magic and other sorcerous arts. Thaumaturgy is the unique possession of the Tremere and one of its most jealously guarded secrets. Certain Kindred rumors even speak of mystic cabals of Tremere that hunt down those thaumaturges who are not members of the Warlocks' clan. Clan Tremere created this Discipline by combining mortal wizardry with the power of vampiric vitae. Though its existence is not widely known by mortal mages and wizards, those familiar with it see it as a disreputable aberration of true magick. Thaumaturgy is a versatile and powerful Discipline. Like Necromancy, its practice is divided into two parts: paths and rituals. Thaumaturgical paths are applications of the vampire's knowledge of blood magic, allowing her to create effects at her whim. Rituals are more formulaic in nature, most akin to the ancient magical "spells" of bygone nights. Because so many different paths and rituals are available to the arcane Tremere, one never knows what to expect when confronted with a practitioner of this Discipline. When a character first learns Thaumaturgy, the player selects a path for the character. That path is considered the character's primary path, and he or she automatically receive Level One ritual. Thereafter, whenever the character increases their level in Thaumaturgy, their score in the primary path increases by one as well. Rituals are learned separately, as part of a story, they must find someone to teach the rituals in question. Path ratings never exceed the Advanced Level. If a character reaches the Advanced Level in their primary path, they may learn another path. Many vampires (wisely) fear the Discipline of Thaumaturgy. It is a very potent and mutable Discipline, and almost anything the Kindred wishes may be accomplished through its magic. Thaumaturgical Paths Paths define the types of magic a vampire can perform. A vampire typically learns his or her primary path from their sire, though it is not unknown for some vampires to study under many different tutors and learn all their secrets. As mentioned before, the first path a character learns is considered her primary path and increases automatically as the character advances in the Discipline itself. Secondary paths may be learned once the character has reached Advanced Level in their primary path, and they must be raised separately with experience. Each time the character invokes one of the powers of a Thaumaturgical path, the thaumaturge's player must burn blood point and make a path levels, not successes, govern the power of blood magic. Failure indicates that the blood magic fails, while a botch signifies that the character loses a permanent will power trait. Obviously, Thaumaturgy is not an art in which one merely "dabbles." The Path of Blood Almost every Tremere studies the Path of Blood as her primary path. It encompasses some of the most fundamental principles of Thaumaturgy, based as it is on the manipulation of Kindred vitae. If a player wishes to select another path as her character's primary path, they'd better have a good reason (though choosing a different path is by no means unheard of). Basic: A Taste of Blood This power was developed as a means of testing a foe's might - an extremely important ability in the tumultuous early nights of Clan Tremere. By merely tasting the blood of his subject, the thaumaturge may determine how much vitae remains in the subject and, if the subject is a vampire, how recently he has fed, his approximate generation and, with three or more successes, whether he has recently committed diablerie. The number of successes achieved on the roll determines how much information the thaumaturge sees and how accurate it is. Blood Rage This power allows a vampire to force another Kindred to expend blood against his will. The thaumaturge must touch their subject for this power to work, though only the lightest contact is necessary. A vampire affected by this power might feel a physical rush as the thaumaturge heightens their Physical Attributes, or may even find themself on the brink of frenzy as his stores of vitae are mystically depleted.Each success forces the subject to spend one blood point immediately in the way the thaumaturge desires. Intermediate: Blood of Potency The thaumaturge gains such control over his own blood that he may effectively "concentrate" it, making it more powerful for a short time. In effect, he may temporarily lower his own generation with this power. This power may be used only once per night. One success allows the character to lower his generation by one step for one hour. Each success grants the Kindred either one step down in generation or one hour of effect. If the vampire is diablerized while this power is in effect, it wears off immediately and the diablerist gains power appropriate to the thaumaturge's actual generation. Furthermore, any mortals Embraced by the thaumaturge are born to the generation appropriate to their sire's original generation (e.g., a 10th-generation Tremere who has reduced his effective generation to eighth still produces 11th-generation childer). Once the effect wears off, any blood over the character's blood pool maximum dilutes, leaving the character at his regular blood pool maximum. Advanced: Theft of Vitae A thaumaturge using this power siphons vitae from her subject. She need never come in contact with the subject – blood literally streams out in a physical torrent from the subject to the Kindred (though it is often mystically absorbed and need not enter through the mouth). The number of successes determines how much blood the Tremere transfers from the subject. The subject must be visible to the thaumaturge and within 50 feet. Using this power is like drinking from the subject - used three times on the same Kindred, it creates a blood bond on the part of the thaumaturge! This power is obviously quite spectacular, and Camarilla princes justifiably consider its public use a breach of the Masquerade. Cauldron of Blood A thaumaturge using this power boils her subject's blood in his veins like water on a stove. The Kindred must touch her subject, and it is this contact that simmers the subject's blood. This power is always fatal to mortals, and causes great damage to even the mightiest vampires. The number of successes gained determines how much blood is brought to boil. The subject suffers one health level of aggravated damage for each point boiled (individuals with Fortitude may soak this damage using Fortitude). A single success kills any mortal, though some ghouls are said to have survived. The Lure of Flames This path grants the thaumaturge the ability to conjure forth the mystical flames - small fires at first, but skilled magicians may create great conflagrations. The Lure of Flames is greatly feared, as fire is one of the surest ways to bring Final Death upon a vampire. Fire created by this path is not "natural." In fact, many vampires believe the flames to be conjured from Hell itself. Fire conjured by The Lure of Flames must be released for it to have any effect. Thus, a "palm of flame" does not bum the vampire's hand and cause an aggravated wound - it merely produces light. Once the flame has been released, however, it burns normally and the character has no control over it. To soak the damage at all, of course, a vampire must have the Fortitude Discipline. Basic: Candle (Minor damage) Palm of flame (Minor damage) Intermediate: Campfire (Moderate Damage) Bonfire (Severe damage) Advanced Inferno (Major Damage) The Movement of the Mind This path gives the thaumaturge the ability to move objects telekinetically through the mystic power of blood. At higher levels, even flight is possible (but be careful who sees you...). Objects under the character's control may be manipulated as if she held them - they may be lifted, spun, juggled or even "thrown," though creating enough force to inflict actual damage requires mastery of the fourth level or greater. Some thaumaturges skilled in this path even use it to guard their havens, animating swords, axes and firearms to ward off intruders. This path may frighten and disconcert onlookers. Many people are quite put off when the pages of a book turn by themselves! If a thaumaturge loses or relaxes control over an object and later manipulates it again, her player must spend another blood point, as a new attempt is being made. If this power is used to manipulate a living being, the subject may attempt to resist. In this case, the thaumaturge and the subject make opposed Willpower rolls each turn the control is exercised. Iindividual power levels are not provided for this path - consult the chart below to see how much weight a thaumaturge may control. Once a Kindred reaches Level Three, she may levitate herself and "fly" at approximately running speed, no matter how much she weighs, though the weight restrictions apply if she manipulates other objects or subjects. Once a Kindred achieves Level Four, she may "throw" objects at a Strength equal to her level of mastery. Level 1 One pound Level 2 20 pounds Level 3 200 pounds Level 4 500 pounds Level 5 1000 pounds The Path of Conjuring Invoking objects "out of thin air" has been a staple of occult and supernatural legend since long before the rise of the Tremere. This Thaumaturgical path enables powerful conjurations limited only by the mind of the practitioner. Objects summoned via this path bear two distinct characteristics. They are uniformly "generic" in that each object summoned, if summoned again, would look exactly as it did at first. For example, a knife would be precisely the same knife if created twice; the two would be indistinguishable. Even a specific knife - the one a character's father used to threaten her - would appear identical every time it was conjured. A rat would have repeated "tiled" patterns over its fur, and a garbage can would have the exact same fluted texture over its surface. Additionally, conjured objects bear no flaws: Weapons have no dents or scratches, tools have no distinguishing marks, and computers have featureless casings. The limit on the size of conjured objects appears to be that of the conjurer; nothing larger than the thaumaturge can be created. The conjurer must also have some degree of familiarity with the object he or she wishes to call forth. Simply working from a picture or imagination calls for a higher difficulty, while objects with which the character is intimately familiar (such as the knife described above) may actually lower the difficulty. Basic: Summon the Simple Form At this level of mastery, the conjurer may create simple, inanimate objects. The object cannot have any moving parts and may not be made of multiple materials. For example, the conjurer may summon a steel baton, a lead pipe, a wooden stake or a chunk of granite. Concentrate on the object you wish to summon and burn blood for it to appear. Permanency At this level, the conjurer no longer needs concentrate to keep an object in existence. The object is, as this level's name suggests, permanent, though simple objects are still all that may be created. The player must invest three blood points in an object to make it real. Intermediate: Magic of the Smith The Kindred may now conjure complex objects of multiple components and with moving parts. For example, the thaumaturge can create guns, bicycles, chainsaws or cellular phones. Objects created via Magic of the Smith are permanent items and cost five blood points to conjure. Conjuring objects with this power requires intimate knowledge of the object being conjured. Reverse Conjuration This power allows the conjurer to "banish" into nonexistence any object previously called forth via this path. Advanced: Power Over Life This power cannot create true life, though it can summon forth some truly impressive simulacra. Creatures (and people) summoned with this power lack the free will to act on their own, instead mindlessly following the simple instructions of their conjurer. This power requires a great deal of burning blood, one must be careful. Imperfect and impermanent creatures summoned by this path are too complex to exist for to long and will simply disappear within one week Hands of Destruction This Path is practiced almost exclusively by the thaumaturges of the Sabbat. Though it is not widely seen outside that sect, a few Camarilla Tremere have managed to learn the secrets of this path over the centuries. The Hands of Destruction has an infamous history, and some Tremere refuse to practice it due to rumors that it is demonic in origin. Brutal and painful, this path provides thaumaturges with offensive capabilities not found in other, less martial paths. It embodies the violent nature of its Sabbat wielders, existing solely to cause entropy and decay. Basic: Decay This power accelerates the decrepitude of its target, causing it to wither, rot or otherwise break down. The target must be inanimate, though dead organic matter can be affected. The inanimate object touched by the thaumaturge ages 10 years for every minute the Kindred touches it. If the vampire breaks physical contact and wishes to age the object again, another blood point must be spent. Gnarl Wood This power warps and bends wooden objects. Though the wood is otherwise undamaged, this power often leaves the objects completely useless. This power may also be used to swell or contract wood, in addition to bending it into unwholesome shapes. Unlike other powers of this path, Gnarl Wood requires merely a glance rather than physical contact. Fifty pounds of visible wood may be gnarled for each blood point spent on this power. It is also possible to warp multiple visible objects - like all the stakes an opposing team of vampire-hunters wields. Intermediate: Acidic Touch The thaumaturge secretes a bilious, acidic fluid from any portion of his body. The viscous acid corrodes metal, destroys wood and causes horrendous chemical bums to living tissue. The vampire burns blood to create the acid - the blood literally transmutes into the volatile secretion. One blood point creates enough acid to burn through a quarter-inch of steel plate or three inches of wood. The damage from an acid-augmented hand-to-hand attack is aggravated and costs one blood point per turn to use. A thaumaturge is immune to their own acidic touch. Advanced: Atrophy This power withers a victim's limb, leaving only a desiccated, almost mummified husk of bone and skin. The effects are instantaneous; in mortals, they are also irreversible. Vampires may resist this damage with fortitude, and may heal the damage. The victim may resist the effects of Atrophy. Failure means the limb is permanently and completely crippled. Partial resistance is possible. Mortals are permanently crippled. This power affects only limbs (arms and legs); it does not work on victims' heads, torsos, etc. Turn to Dust This fearsome power accelerates decrepitude in its victims. Mortals literally crumble to dust at the mere touch of a skilled thaumaturge, aged beyond death and into putrefaction. Each success ages the victim by 10 years. A potential victim may resist with Stamina. Obviously, this power, while it affects vampires, has no detrimental effect on them (they're immortal). At most, a Kindred victim withers slightly for one night. Rituals Rituals are Thaumaturgical formulas, meticulously researched and prepared, that create powerful magical effects. Rituals are less versatile than paths, as their effects are singular and straightforward, but they are better suited toward specific ends. All thaumaturges have the ability to use rituals, though each individual ritual must be learned separately. By acquainting herself with the arcane practice of blood magic, the thaumaturge gains the capacity to manipulate these focused effects. Thaumaturgical rituals are rated from Basic to Advanced each level corresponding to both the level of mastery of Thaumaturgy the would-be caster must possess and the relative power of the ritual itself. Unless stated otherwise, a ritual requires five minutes per level to cast. Only one success is required for a ritual to work, though certain spells may require more successes. This uncertainty of effect is a recent development; Tremere rituals formerly worked infallibly, so long as the caster executed them successfully. Many thaumaturges fear that the movements of awakening Antediluvians have caused imbalance in the flow of magic, making the success of rituals more precarious than in previous nights. Should a roll to activate a ritual fail, the player is encouraged to create strange occurrences or side effects, or even make it appear that the ritual was successful, only to reveal its failure at a later time. A botched ritual may even indicate a catastrophic failure or summon an ill-tempered demon... Rituals sometimes require special ingredients or reagents to work - these are noted in each ritual's description. Common components include herbs, animal bones, ceremonial items, feathers, eye of newt, tongue of toad, etc. Acquiring magical components for a powerful ritual may form the basis for an entire story. At the first level of Thaumaturgy, the vampire automatically gains a single Basic ritual. To learn further rituals, the thaumaturge must find someone to teach him, or learn the ritual from a scroll, tome or other archive. Learning a new ritual can take anywhere from a few nights (Basic ritual) to months or years (Advanced ritual). Some dreaded Warlocks have studied individual rituals for decades, even centuries. Precisely what these rituals do is unknown, but their effects are surely grave. Basic Rituals: Defense of the Sacred Haven This ritual prevents sunlight from entering an area within 20 feet of this ritual's casting. A mystical darkness blankets the area, keeping the baneful light at bay. Sunlight reflects off windows or magically fails to pass through doors or other portals. The caster draws sigils in her own blood on all the affected windows and doors, and the ritual lasts as long as the Tremere stays within the 20-foot radius. This ritual requires one hour to perform, during which the thaumaturge recites incantations and inscribes glyphs. One blood point is required for this ritual to work. Wake with Evening's Freshness This ritual allows a Tremere to awaken at any sign of danger, especially during the day. If any potentially harmful circumstances arise, the Tremere immediately rises, ready to face the problem. This ritual requires the ashes of burned feathers to be spread over the area in which the Kindred wishes to sleep. This ritual must be performed immediately before the Tremere settles down to slumber for the day. Any interruption to the ceremonial casting renders the ritual ineffective. If danger arises, the Tremere awakens ready to face the problem. Communicate with Kindred Sire By enacting this ritual, a Tremere may join minds with her sire, speaking telepathically with him over any distance. The communication may continue until the ritual expires or until either party ends the conversation. The caster must possess an item once owned by her sire for the ritual to work. The caster must meditate for 30 minutes to create the connection. Conversation may be maintained for 10 minutes per success. Deflection of Wooden Doom This ritual protects the Tremere from being staked, whether or not she is resting or active. While this ritual is in effect, the first stake that would pierce the Tremere's heart disintegrates in the attacker's hand. A stake merely held near the Tremere is unaffected; for this ritual to work, the stake must actively be used in an attempt to impale the vampire. The thaumaturge must surround herself with a circle of wood for a full hour. Any wood will work: furniture, sawdust, raw timber, 2' x 4's, whatever. The circle must remain unbroken, however. At the end of the hour, the vampire places a wooden splinter under her tongue. If this splinter is removed, the ritual is nullified. This ritual lasts until the following dawn or dusk. Devil's Touch The Tremere use this ritual to place curses upon mortals who earn their ire. Using this ritual marks an individual invisibly, causing all those who come in contact with him to receive him poorly. The mortal is treated as the most loathsome individual conceivable, and all who deal with him do anything in their power to make him miserable. Even bums spit at an afflicted individual, and children taunt him and barrage him with vulgarities. The effects of this ritual last one night, disappearing as the sun rises. The mortal (it doesn't work on vampires) must be present when the ritual is invoked, and a penny must be placed somewhere on his person (in a pocket, shoe, etc.). Intermediate Rituals: Ward Versus Ghouls Wary Tremere created this ritual to protect themselves from the minions of vengeful rivals. By invoking this ritual, the Tremere creates a glyph that causes great pain to any ghouls who come in contact with it. The Kindred pours a point's worth of blood over the object he wishes to ward (a piece of parchment, a coin, a doorknob, etc.), and recites the incantation, which takes 10 minutes. In 10 hours, the magical ward is complete, and will inflict excruciating pain on any ghoul unfortunate enough to touch the warded object. Ghouls who touch warded objects suffer lethal damage. This damage occurs again if the ghoul touches the object further. This ritual wards only one object - if inscribed on the side of a car, the ward affects only that door or fender, not the whole car. Wards may be placed on weapons, even bullets, though this usually works best on small-caliber weapons. Principal Focus of Vitae Infusion This ritual imbues a quantity of blood within the object upon which the ritual is cast. The object must be small enough for the vampire to carry in both hands, and it may be as small as a dime. After the ritual is conducted, the object takes on a reddish hue and becomes slick to the touch. At a mental command, the thaumaturge may release the object from its enchantment, causing it to break down into a pool of blood. This blood may serve whatever purpose the vampire desires; many Tremere wear enchanted baubles to ensure they have emergency supplies of vitae. An object may store only one blood point of vitae. If a Kindred wishes to make an infused focus for an ally, she may do so, but the blood contained within must be her own (and if the ally then drinks the blood, he is one step closer to the blood bond). The ally must be present at the creation of the focus. Incorporeal Passage Use of this ritual allows the thaumaturge to make herself insubstantial. The caster becomes completely immaterial and thus is able to walk through walls, pass through closed doors, escape manacles, etc. The caster also becomes invulnerable to physical attacks for the duration of the ritual. The caster must follow a straight path through any physical objects, and may not draw back. Thus, a Kindred may walk through a solid wall, but may not walk down through the earth (as it would be impossible to reach the other side before the ritual lapsed). This ritual requires that the caster carry a shard from a shattered mirror to hold her image as she moves insubstantially. The thaumaturge may prematurely end the ritual (and, thus, her incorporeality) by turning the mirror shard away so that it no longer reflects her image. Pavis of Foul Presence The Tremere joke privately that this is their "ritual for the Ventrue." Kindred who invoke the Presence Discipline on the subject of this ritual find the effects of their Discipline reversed, as if they had used the power on themselves. For example, a vampire using Presence to instill utter fear in a Kindred under the influence of this ritual feels the fear herself. This ritual is an unbroken secret among the Tremere, and the Warlocks maintain that its use is unknown outside their clan. The magical component for this ritual is a length of blue silk, which must be worn around the neck of the person protected by the magic. This ritual lasts until the sunrise after it is enacted. Note that the Presence Discipline power must actually succeed before being reversed by the ritual. Advanced Rituals: Bone of Lies This ritual enchants a mortal bone so that anyone who holds it must tell the truth. The bone in question is often a skull, though any part of the skeleton will do - some Tremere use strings of teeth, necklaces of finger joints or wands fashioned from ribs or arms. The bone grows blacker as it compels its holder to tell the truth, until it has turned completely ebony and has no magic left. This ritual binds the spirit of the individual to whom the bone belonged in life; it is this spirit who wrests the truth from the potential liar. The spirit absorbs the lies intended to be told by the bone's holder, and as it compels more truth, it becomes more and more corrupt. If summoned forth, this spirit reflects the sins it has siphoned from the defeated liar (in addition to anger over its unwilling servitude) or this reason, anonymous bones are often used in the ritual, and the bone is commonly buried after it has been used to its full extent. A specific bone may never be used twice for this ritual. The bone imbued with this magical power must be at least 200 years old and must absorb 10 blood points on the night that the ritual is cast. Each lie the holder wishes to tell consumes one of these blood points, and the holder must speak the truth immediately thereafter. When all 10 blood points have been consumed, the bone magic ceases to work any longer. Blood Contract This ritual creates an unbreakable agreement between the two parties who sign it. The contract must be written in the caster's blood and signed in the blood of whoever applies their name to the document. This ritual takes three nights to enact fully, after which both parties are compelled to fulfill the terms of the contract. This ritual is best handled by both Players, who may bring those who sign the blood contract into compliance by whatever means necessary (it is not unknown for demons to materialize and enforce adherence to certain blood contracts). The only way to terminate the ritual is to complete the terms of the contract or to burn the document itself. One blood point is consumed in the creation of the document, and those who sign it consume an additional blood point. Valeran The third eye appears when Salubri masters the intermediate level and opens when they use any power above that. Basic: Sense Vitality Caster measures strength of target’s life force. Player asks target a question relating to health, the answer automatically reveals if target is vampire, ghoul, or mortal. Anesthetic Touch Paralyze target and stop any pain by touching a resisting target. This has no effect on vampires. The target is paralyzed one min per blood point burned. Intermediate: Burning Touch Cause searing pain and paralysis as long as you are touching target ( causes no damage but prolonged contact may traumatize). Ending The Watch Willing target goes into deep peaceful sleep, then death. The target can’t be Embraced or become Wraith. If target is unwilling attempt fails. Advanced: Vengeance Of Samiel Third eye opens, glows red (some Salubri close their normal eyes to taunt/horrify target). Any single attack automatically hits target. Mystic forces guide the blow and no power can stop contact. Viscissitude: Flesh crafting, can craft flesh as if it were clay. Through Vicissitude, the wielder can reshape flesh under his very touch, whether into gross deformity or unearthly beauty. When used on mortals, ghouls, revenants and vampires of weaker generation than the user, Vicissitude’s effects are permanent. Vampires of equal or more potent generations can heal back each Vicissitude-inflicted scar as an aggravated wound. Nosferatu, Samedi and vampires with similar deformities in their blood always heal back alterations of Vicissitude that attempt to improve their appearances. Most Vicissitude effects require physical contact. You must burn blood to use every aspect of this discipline. Basic: Malleable Visage Bending your flesh under your hands, you can change your own appearance. Malleable Visage allows you to duplicate others or simply make your own surface skin different from your natural forms. Cosmetic changes like alterations of voice or skin tone and build are all possible, though you must actually sculpt the desired changes into your flesh. Changing yourself with Malleable Visage costs one blood Trait, and it requires you to spend time reshaping yourself appropriately. You can copy someone else’s appearance, you can also change your own appearance to that of a more hideous and frightening nature. Fleshcraft Your hands can turn flesh to putty, shaping it like potter’s clay. You can perform drastic alterations to the flesh and organs of any creature that you touch. You must touch your victim to use Fleshcraft, pulling or shaping the flesh to your whims. You can reshape flesh on yourself or others within the limits described in Malleable Visage, or you can move around clumps of tissue or simply reduce someone to scarred deformity. Intermediate: Bonecraft Just as you shape flesh with your touch, you can grasp and twist bone, turning it into any desired shape or moving, lengthening, bending or compressing it. Bonecraft lets you literally pull the bone through a subject’s flesh, or you can use it with Fleshcraft to completely restructure a victim - or yourself. Using Bonecraft allows you to remake appearances just like Fleshcraft, but you can also change someone’s height or body structure, reshape bone into unusual or spectacular forms, and even make bone spurs and weapons. You must grab the victim, and then twist, pull or bend the bones appropriately. If you do so without exercising Fleshcraft, each such strike causes lethal damage as bones warp and tear their way through flesh. Used in conjunction with Fleshcraft, you can rebuild someone ’s visage completely, or you can create defensive spines or offensive bone weapons. Such alterations allow the subject to inflict lethal damage with otherwise unarmed attacks. Horrid Form Your own body warps and grows into a hideous monstrosity with Horrid Form. Your skin becomes black, rubbery and slimy, while sharp bony spikes protrude from your hands and back. You grow to a full 8’ in height, and you shift into something from a nightmare vision. Those unused to such sights may run in horror You have the Physical Traits: Brawny, Dexterous, Enduing, Ferocious, Quick and Stalwart for the duration of the power. You may also not initiate Social Challenges except for the purposes of Intimidation. You inflict lethal damage in brawling combat, and you have increased damage on all such attacks. You may remain in Horrid Form until you decide to change back. Advanced: Bloodform Deliquescing into a puddle of vitae is within your power. You need only concentrate briefly, and you can reduce any of your limbs or body parts into a puddle of your own pure blood. You can change part or all of yourself, as desired. This blood functions in all ways as your own blood, but you retain a level of autonomic control over it. In Bloodform you can move at a slow walking pace as a puddle of blood, oozing over things and through cracks. Changing body parts back requires only that you be in contact with the blood, or that you regrow your part by expending Blood appropriate to the part (a single Trait to regrow a limb, for instance), in which case the blood that previously formed the piece becomes inert. While fully in Bloodform, you can use mental Disciplines, and you are immune to all physical dangers except fire or sunlight. If all of the blood is imbibed or destroyed while you are in this form, though, you meet Final Death.