BLOOD SORCERY
Thaumaturgy | Quietus | Koldunism | Akhu | Nahuallotl | Sadhana
The Tremere maintain that Blood Sorcery, or “Thaumaturgy” as they call it, was their invention. To hear the Banu Haqim give their version, “Quietus” was their blood right long before the Tremere became vampires. Other clans make the same statements. While its origins are murky, the dreaded nature of Blood Sorcery is not. Few Kindred trust the wielders of a power that can manipulate the vitae in their veins and turn Blood into poison.
Unlike other Disciplines, which could be described as advancing organically through the victims chosen by the vampire, practitioners of Blood Sorcery require teachers. The Tremere once relied on their pyramidic clan hierarchy to arrange tutelage for neonate apprentices, while the Banu Haqim stress the sire-childe relationship as being the best form of mentorship. These nights, many a Child of Haqim washes up in Europe or America far from their sire, and with the Pyramid broken Tremere neonates frantically search through moldy tomes and palimpsests for scraps of true lore. Genuine masters of this Discipline develop their own Rituals, though many guard them from others, revelling in the mystery surrounding their unknown cache of abilities. To practice Blood Sorcery is to twist one’s own Blood into submission. Any form of this power reminds a vampire that they’re far from human, as no mortal could wield magic in this way.
CHARACTERISTICS
- Masquerade Threat: Low - High.
The individual appearance of the powers and Rituals in Blood Sorcery varies as widely as their effects.
- Blood Resonance: Sanguine.
Although not inherent in the Blood itself, Blood Sorcery responds eagerly to blood from human occultists, sorcerers, and cult leaders, as well as hemophiles and bibliophiles.
Blood Sorcery is a special Discipline in that it both confers powers, like other Disciplines, and also unlocks the ability to perform Rituals up to and including the level the user holds in the Discipline. Ghouls of Blood Sorcerers or thin-bloods drinking from Sanguine temperaments gain temporary access to the Discipline powers, but not to Rituals. Its regular powers seem comparatively weak, but the versatility of the Rituals more than compensates, assuming the user can learn them. At character creation, a player can choose one Level 1 ritual if they have at least one dot in Blood Sorcery. Characters can buy new rituals at the cost of the ritual’s level x 3 experience points. Learning new Rituals during play requires both experience and time. Expect a Ritual to take at least the square of its rating in weeks to learn.
LEVEL 1
CORROSIVE VITAE
Expand
Blood Sorcery •
Altering the properties of some of their own Blood, the user can make it highly corrosive to dead substances, able to corrode most items down to steaming sludge, given enough time and Blood shed.
Cost: One or more Rouse Checks
System: No additional skill roll is required. The user concentrates for a turn and forces Blood through an open, usually self-inflicted, wound. The user then spills their Blood on a nonliving object (except unliving flesh such as that of the Kindred) to corrode and decompose it. Each Rouse Check corrodes approximately 35 cm of matter in all directions from the splash; this takes approximately five minutes (longer on soft metals like copper or cast iron). Harder metals such as alloys and steel merely scar and pit; whether they meaningfully weaken remains at the Storyteller’s discretion. (This power might corrode through handcuff chains given enough time and vitae.)
Duration: N/A
A TASTE FOR BLOOD
Expand
Blood Sorcery •
By tasting a drop of blood, the user can discern certain basic traits of the one to whom it belongs.
Cost: Free
Dice Pools: Resolve + Blood Sorcery
System: The user dabs the blood on their tongue and makes a Resolve + Blood Sorcery roll (Difficulty 3). With a win, the user can determine the resonance and intensity of the blood if human. They can also identify whether the blood belongs to a mortal, ghoul, vampire, or other supernatural creature (it may not necessarily be able to identify the supernatural creature if not Kindred or ghoul). Tasting vitae also determines the relative Blood Potency (and thus the likely generation band) of the vampire. A critical win also reveals whether the subject has ever committed diablerie, and the generation (within one) of the vampire. If the user knows of the supernatural creature in question, they can identify the specific supernatural creature on a critical win after tasting the blood.
Duration: N/A
SHAPE THE SANGUINE SACRAMENT
Expand
Blood Sorcery •
Learned only by the most ostentatious of Tremere, this power is used to manipulate blood or vitae into finely crafted images — whether entertaining your fellows at Elysium with gaudy magician's tricks or diverting flowing rivulets into painstakingly precise Hermetic sigils.
Cost: Free (or One Rouse Check if using own Blood)
Dice Pools: Manipulation + Blood Sorcery
System: Using a measure of blood or vampiric vitae, the user may channel their master of Blood Sorcery to influence the very essence of the blood itself, to obey the user's whim. By making a successful Manipulation + Blood Sorcery roll, the user may craft the blood into any shape or image they desire. Complexity of the image varies by difficulty — a simple message of "Help!" or a basic polygonal shape may only be at Difficulty 2, while a lengthy diatribe or an intricate sculpture may be Difficulty 4 or higher. Failure on this roll means the blood fails to form the desired shape or does not respond at all — a Critical Success not only form the desired image, bu negates the need for any further rolls to change its shape for the duration of the scene.
Duration: For the remainder of the scene, unless dispelled by the user.
LEVEL 2
EXTINGUISH VITAE
Expand
Blood Sorcery ••
The user can intentionally remove the unlife-giving properties of some of the Blood in another vampire, stoking their Hunger as the victim’s inner reserves curdle into impotence.
Cost: One Rouse Check
Dice Pools: Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Composure
System: The user rolls a contest of Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs the Stamina + Composure of a target vampire in line of sight while concentrating for a turn and gesturing subtly. A win increases the target’s Hunger by one while a critical win increases it by two. The victim can discern who afflicts them if they can see the user while making an Intelligence + Occult vs Wits + Subterfuge roll.
Duration: N/A
LEVEL 3
BLOOD OF POTENCY
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
The vampire can concentrate their Blood, increasing its potency temporarily.
Cost: One Rouse Check
Dice Pools: Resolve + Blood Sorcery
System: The user makes a Resolve + Blood Sorcery roll against a Difficulty of 2 + their Blood Potency. A win increases their Blood Potency by one for that scene; a critical win increases it by two. The vampire can use this power to exceed their generation limit on Blood Potency during its duration.
Duration: One scene or one night
SCORPION'S TOUCH
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
The vampire can transmute some of their Blood into a paralyzing poison, capable of affecting mortals and vampires alike. They can use this ichor to coat bladed weapons, or even spit it at a target. Scorpionated Blood incapacitates affected mortals, while hampering vampires if not necessarily rendering them helpless. Specific breathing and biofeedback exercises practiced by some secret societies form the best defense against this Blood, aside from Fortitude.
Cost: One or more Rouse Checks
Dice Pools: Strength + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Occult or Fortitude
System: The user concentrates for a turn and forces Blood through an open, usually self inflicted, wound. Each Rouse Check worth of poison made takes a turn and emits enough Blood to coat one bladed melee weapon stickily or to fill one mouthful to be spat at a foe. Spitting poison at someone involves a Dexterity + Athletics attack roll (which can be dodged like any ranged attack), although vampires have been known to French kiss a victim and transfer the poison that way. Even more subtle vampires scorpionate their Blood to poison would-be diablerists: drinking poisoned Blood from the vein guarantees a hit! Aside from such vein-to-fang transmission, however, scorpionated Blood is a contact poison that sublimes away in liquids and is too viscous to inject with a syringe. The user cannot poison beverages with it or (thanks to the pressure differential) inject it by their own bite. Arrowheads and bullets carry too little Blood to use this power with ranged weapons; the effect does not last long enough for the user to fill hollow bullets with scorpionated Blood.
If the poison hits, the user rolls a contest of Strength + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Occult. (Vampires with Fortitude may resist with Stamina + Fortitude.) If the user wins, the poison does the margin in Aggravated Health damage to mortals and in non-halved Superficial Health damage to vampires. A mortal who takes even one point of damage collapses unconscious.
Duration: The poison remains potent for one scene
TRANSITIVE BOND
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
The user is able to extend the Blood Bonding properties of their vitae, enabling it to retain its ensnaring properties when stored, or even when present in the body of a ghoul. Anyone drinking the stored vitae or from the ghoul will be affected just as if they’d imbibed it directly from the user’s wrist. Developed by the Tremere in a failed attempt to alleviate their Bane, the power has resurfaced in the Sabbat, where the Discipline is less limited by clan lineage, and has been used to great effect in some of their longer schemes.
Cost: One or more Rouse Checks
Dice Pools: None
System: The user activates this power when calling upon their Blood, either for storing or when giving it to a ghoul. Each use empowers three Rouse Checks’ worth of Blood. Anyone ensnared by the Transitive Bond will be unaware of its effect until they lay eyes on their eventual Regnant, but they might become restless and catch glimpses of them in dream-like visions during daysleep. The Blood Bond otherwise functions as described in Vampire: The Masquerade, pp. 233-234).
Duration: n/a
LEVEL 4
THEFT OF VITAE
Expand
Blood Sorcery ••••
Through mystical means the vampire opens a wound in a major artery of a mortal victim, blood shooting out through the air in a stream toward the open mouth of the user. This has the additional effect of keeping the mortal subdued as if in the throes of the Kiss, and the wound closes by itself once the effect ends, whether the victim expired or not. This power is extremely spectacular and a potential Masquerade breach while in progress, but once ended leaves no traces.
Cost: One Rouse Check
Dice Pools: Wits + Blood Sorcery vs Wits + Occult
System: The user makes a beckoning gesture toward a mortal target in line of sight and rolls their Wits + Blood Sorcery vs Wits + Occult. A win opens an arterial wound, and the vampire can start feeding from across the room. (A target wearing full-body protection such as a hazmat suit merely bleeds ecstatically out into the suit.) The user can do nothing else while feeding, but they can feed at twice the normal speed (at triple speed on a critical win) thanks to the sorcerous pressure of this power.
Duration: One feeding
LEVEL 5
BAAL'S CARESS
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••••
The vampire can transmute their Blood into an extremely aggressive poison, lethal to mortal and Kindred alike.
Cost: One or more Rouse Checks
Dice Pools: Strength + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Occult or Fortitude
System: This power uses the same system (and its poison has the same restrictions) as Scorpion’s Touch (p. 273), with increased damage.
If the poison hits, the user rolls a contest of Strength + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Occult. (Vampires with Fortitude may resist with Fortitude in lieu of the Occult Skill.) If the user wins, the poison does the margin in Aggravated Health damage to mortals and vampires alike. A mortal who takes even one point of damage dies instantly.
If a vampire target takes Aggravated damage from this poison, the user rolls the contest again; on a win, the vampire enters torpor when next they go to sleep.
Duration: The poison remains potent for one scene
CAULDRON OF BLOOD
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••••
This gruesome power lets the user boil the blood of a victim in their own veins, causing massive damage and excruciating pain. While there are more efficient ways to kill, few methods approach this level of cruelty.
Cost: One Rouse Check and gain one (or more) Stains
Dice Pools: Resolve + Blood Sorcery vs Composure + Occult or Fortitude
System: The user pays the cost and touches the victim (Dexterity + Athletics in combat or similar situations), rolling a contest of Resolve + Blood Sorcery vs Composure + Occult. (Vampires with Fortitude may resist with Composure + Fortitude.) On a win, each point of margin causes one point of Aggravated damage in the victim. Mortals taking at least one point of damage die screaming. Vampire victims add 1 Hunger per point of damage inflicted, until Hunger is at 5.
Duration: One turn
RECLAMATION OF VITAE
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••••
No matter the distance, Blood calls to Blood. Working on that principle, this power allows a vampire to reclaim Blood that has been yielded to create ghouls, reclaiming that which has been given. Regardless of where they are, ghouls of the vampire will find the life-giving vitae in their veins rebelling within them, returning through mystical means to its source, while their bodies suffer catastrophic damage. Sabbat elders have been known to keep ghouls for this express purpose, an emergency reserve available anywhere at any time, at the trifling cost of a few mortal lives.
Cost: One or more Stains (when called to return)
Dice Pools: None
System: The user concentrates for a turn and choses which of their servants are to repay their Blooddebt. The ghouls do not need to be present, and distance doesn’t matter. The vampire sates two Hunger for each ghoul, while the ghoul suffers five levels of aggravated damage as their body ages irregularly and rapidly, the undead Blood inside them feeling as if it were attempting to violently vacate them.
While the power does not require the vampire to Rouse the Blood it should, if ever learned by someone outside the Sabbat, merit Stains to employ.
Duration: n/a
RITUALS
Unless otherwise noted, performing a ritual requires a Rouse Check, five minutes per level to cast, and a winning Intelligence + Blood Sorcery test (Difficulty = Ritual level + 1). Rituals usually require additional ingredients, though some need only the uninterrupted concentration of the user, and often involve the mingling of Blood with ingredients chosen according to the principles of sympathetic magic or alchemy. Unless otherwise stated the caster can only perform beneficial rituals on themselves.
Wards:
The Tremere employ Wards extensively, basing them on their Hermetic traditional sigils. Banu Haqim Wards usually involve gematriac or abjadic writing, rather than occult symbols, but the methodology remains the same in both cases. Wards consist of a glyph or line of script keyed to repel a single type of supernatural, called “the trespasser” in these rules. When touched, they cause something like an electric shock to the trespasser’s mind and body, imparting both physical burns and a sudden bout of sheer terror. The ward does not work on forced contact – a warded sword will not trigger the ward when striking a trespasser, but it will if a trespasser tries to pick it up.
Wards can only cover a space about a meter across: for example, a caster cannot ward a whole car, but they can ward a steering wheel.
Do not make the Ritual roll until the first time the trespasser touches the Ward, triggering its effect. Gloves or other garments offer no protection. If the caster wins the Ritual test, the victim suffers one point of Aggravated Health damage. On a critical win, damage for this Ward is three points of Aggravated damage. The caster does not need to make the Ritual roll for each trespasser touching the Ward, only the first. Anyone affected who wants to touch the warded object again must spend a point of Willpower and then win a Stamina + Resolve test (Difficulty 4, or 7 for a critical-success Ward) to make the attempt.
Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1) can detect a Ward with a contest of Intelligence + Auspex vs the caster’s Intelligence + Blood Sorcery.
Warding Circles:
A Warding circle resembles a regular Ward, painted on the ground or floor. It requires three times the ritual ingredients of a regular Ward of the same type. Knowledge of one Ward does not convey knowledge of its corresponding Warding circle, or vice versa. Trespassers who attempt to cross a Warding circle suffer its effect. Unless the caster inscribes the Warding circle “pointing inward” around the trespasser in the first place, it does not block attempts to leave the circle.
Its rules differ from regular Wards in a few respects: It costs three Rouse Checks worth of Blood to paint the circle and pentacles, which can cover up to a three-meter radius. It takes one full night to cast and a Ritual roll made at the time (at +2 to Difficulty) if the caster wants it to last a year and a day; otherwise it dissipates at dawn.
When the trespasser attempts to cross the circle, roll a contest of Intelligence + Blood Sorcery vs the trespasser’s Willpower. (If the Storyteller or player wrote down the result of the original Ritual roll used to cast a year-long Warding circle, they can use that result here.) If the Warding circle fails, the trespasser can enter it. If the caster wins, the trespasser takes three points of Superficial Health damage (three points of Aggravated damage on a critical win) and cannot enter. The trespasser must spend a point of Willpower to attempt to enter the circle again. If the trespasser wins the contest, enters the circle and leaves it again, they must repeat their half of the contest (the caster’s initial result remains) to re-enter it.
LEVEL 1
BLOOD WALK
Expand
Blood Sorcery •
This Ritual expands upon the power A Taste for Blood allowing the user to learn more details about the subject studied, assuming the subject is a vampire.
Ingredients: A silver cup filled with Blood from the subject. (One Rouse Check’s worth).
Process: The user mixes their Blood with the subject’s and repeats an incantation over the cup, spending an roughly an hour.
System: A win on the Ritual roll (see General Systems) allows the user to learn the generation and name of the subject as well as the subject’s sire. A Critical Win also informs the user of any Blood Bonds active on the subject, as regnant or thrall.
CLINGING OF THE INSECT
Expand
Blood Sorcery •
The vampire gains the ability to cling to walls like a grotesque insect or spider.
Ingredients: A living spider.
Process: The caster fills a vial with their own Blood and crushes the spider into it, mixing the ground bits with the Blood before ingesting it. (This does not refund any Hunger gained.) The caster can only perform this ritual on themselves; others gain no benefit from drinking the mixture.
System: A successful Ritual yields the ability to cling to walls and ceiling for a scene, while a critical win extends the duration to a whole night. The caster must cling to the surface with both hands and feet; they move at approximately half their usual rate.
CRAFT BLOODSTONE
Expand
Blood Sorcery •
This Ritual results in a Bloodstone, a magical tracker to which the caster always knows the direction as well as general distance. As the Camarilla retreats from modern technology, this previously neglected Ritual has seen a resurgence in use.
Ingredients: A pebble of iron ore or a small magnet and a liter of blood from any source in a silver bowl.
Process: The user spills their Blood into the blood in the bowl and then recites a chant over it for an hour, repeating the chant over the next two nights. The pebble (or magnet) absorbs the blood over the three nights; upon successful completion, the liquid appears translucent.
System: Make the Ritual roll at the end of the third night. On a win the caster attunes their mind to the Bloodstone. The caster can unerringly sense the direction and distance to the stone. This effect lasts until the Bloodstone is destroyed or a week has passed. A caster can have and keep track to a number of stones up to their Resolve.
WAKE WITH EVENING'S FRESHNESS
Expand
Blood Sorcery •
Performed before dawn, this ritual allows the caster to awake at any sign of danger, fully alert as if awake during the night.
Ingredients: The burnt bones and feathers of a rooster.
Process: The caster mixes the ashes with their own Blood, drawing a circle with the mixture around their place of sleep.
System: Do not make a Ritual roll unless true danger appears. If the caster is threatened during the day, make the Ritual roll then, with the caster rousing on a win. For the duration of the scene the vampire ignores the daytime penalties for staying awake. On a critical win, the effects last until the following dawn.
WARD AGAINST GHOULS
Expand
Blood Sorcery •
Wary Tremere created this ritual to protect themselves from the minions of vengeful rivals. This ward uses the standard rules for Wards (p. 275).
Ingredients: Nothing apart from the usual requirement of the caster’s Blood.
COAX THE GARDEN
Expand
Blood Sorcery •
This Ritual allows the caster to bring plant life, such as roots, grass, and tree branches to act in their defense.
Ingredients: Human blood, poppy seeds.
Process: The vampire casts a concoction of human blood and poppy seeds onto the earth, and in doing so rouses all plant life within a 5 yard/meter diameter. While these plants are rarely lethal in their attacks, they can successfully disable and alarm their victims.
System: A win on the Ritual roll following the casting of the Ritual ingredients animates the plant life. The affected flora causes a two-dice penalty to physical dice pools for those caught in the range of the Ritual, as plants trip and grip them. Victims who stay in the area for longer than a turn must make a Dexterity + Athletics roll (Difficulty 3), or be grappled and suffer one point of Superficial Health damage for each turn ensnared. If the caster achieves a critical win, the damage from plant attacks doubles. On a total failure, the plants attack the caster. The plants will target anyone who isn’t the caster. They remain active until the end of the scene.
Cults of the Blood Gods, pg. 55
DAMPEN THE FEAR
Expand
Blood Sorcery •
This Ritual allows the caster to briefly douse their natural vampiric fear of fire.
Ingredients: A holy object, such as a crucifix, bible, or Qur’an.
Process: The vampire must burn the holy symbol before walking into, past, or otherwise interacting with fire. The object does not need to be destroyed, just exposed to the fire.
System: A successful Ritual roll following the burning of the holy object grants the character +2 dice on all rolls relating to resisting Rötschreck. A critical win results in the character needing to make no terror frenzy rolls at all. The power wears off once the scene ends.
Cults of the Blood Gods, pg. 67
LETTER WARD
Expand
Blood Sorcery •
Ingredients: Pigeon blood, wax, dog blood.
Process: The letter writer, who need not be the sorcerer, pens a missive in pigeon blood and clearly addresses the recipient. The sorcerer then melts wax and mixes it with dog’s blood to seal the letter.
System: The sorcerer makes the Ritual roll when anyone other than the recipient opens the letter. The victim suffers one point of Aggravated Health damage if the caster wins the Ritual roll, or three points of Aggravated damage on a critical win, and the letter destroys itself in a burst of flame.
Once the Letter Ward is triggered, anyone wanting to open the letter must roll Stamina + Resolve at Difficulty 4 for a normal Ward, or Difficulty 7 for a critical-success Ward.
Let the Streets Run Red, pg. 77
BLOODY MESSAGE
Expand
Blood Sorcery •
Ingredients: Mirror, sufficient human blood to write the message, UV light.
Process: The practitioner designates a type of individual in their mind — e.g., mortal, ghoul, vampire, male, a child, unemployed — and bathes a mirror in UV light. The sorcerer writes a message on the mirror with a fingertip, using human blood as the ink. The message appears on another reflective surface (a mirror, polished glass, water) the practitioner has seen before and can mentally recall, when the designated type of individual passes by.
System: The sorcerer makes the Ritual roll when enchanting the designated surface. For every success the practitioner rolls, the message will repeat for each new individual of the chosen type who passes the surface. The message clears itself from the surface as soon as it’s been read once. It appears in the handwriting and language in which the sorcerer wrote it.
Let the Streets Run Red, pg. 77
HERD WARD
Expand
Blood Sorcery • or •••
Ingredients: Scorpion poison, sufficient vitae to provoke a Rouse Check.
Process: The sorcerer mixes scorpion poison with their own vitae to draw the ward. The vampire can ward a single kine at level 1, or at level 3 inscribe the ward on a door so all who stay within the ward for that night are protected.
System: The sorcerer makes the Ritual roll when another vampire tries to feed on the warded kine. The transgressor suffers one point of Aggravated Health damage if the caster wins the Ritual roll, or three points of Aggravated damage on a critical win.
Once the Herd Ward is triggered, a Kindred still trying to drink from the kine must roll Stamina + Resolve against Difficulty 4 for a normal Ward, or 7 for a critical-success Ward.
Let the Streets Run Red, pg. 77
BEELZEBEATIT
Expand
Blood Sorcery •
This ritual causes lower-order living creatures to find the ritual area repellent. Animals avoid the area, vermin scuttle away from it, and even plants may take on a pitiful appearance. Used as a low-level precaution against Animalism spies, this ritual also prevents infestations of the sorts of creatures who would be drawn to gore, carrion, and the other sorts of remains the Sabbat often leaves in its wake.
Ingredients: Vinegar or alcohol
Process: The ritualist sprinkles the vinegar or alcohol on the floor and turns counterclockwise, visually circumscribing the area in which the lesser creatures are to be expelled.
System: If the ritual is successful, living creatures of animal intellect and below hastily vacate the area of about a hundred meters square. Thereafter, nothing prevents a directed or controlled creature from returning (but such things may be visible, and stand out due to their active expulsion), but such creatures won’t do it of their own volition unless enraged or no other option to traverse it exists. The effects last for one scene or one night, whichever comes first.
LEVEL 2
COMMUNICATE WITH KINDRED SIRE
Expand
Blood Sorcery ••
The caster uses the bond between sire and childe to open a bridg e between minds, allowing the childe to create a telepathic link for the purpose of long-distance communication. As with some other Rituals, this one sees a resurgence in these nights of wiretaps and electronic surveillance.
Ingredients: An object previously possessed by the sire and a silver bowl filled with clear water.
Process: The caster submerges the object in water and lets their Blood drip into the bowl, concentrating upon the last memory of their sire for up to 30 minutes.
System: Make the ritual roll after 15 minutes have passed. A win allows for ten minutes of two-way silent mental communication once 15 more minutes have passed. A critical win allows immediate communication. Any major disturbance on either end breaks the connection.
EYES OF BABEL
Expand
Blood Sorcery ••
By ingesting the tongue and an eye of a person the caster gains the ability to read and speak any language known by the victim.
Ingredients: A fresh eye and tongue of a person
Process: Plucking the ingredients fresh from the victim, the vampire chews and swallows them. (This most likely incurs a Stain.)
System: The Rouse Check required for this ritual allows for the supernatural dissolution of the ingredients once swallowed. Once this is done, make the Ritual roll. A win gives the caster the ability to read and speak any language known by the victim, at the same skill level for a week. A critical win extends the duration to a month.
ILLUMINATE THE TRAIL OF PREY
Expand
Blood Sorcery ••
The ritual allows the caster to perceive the previous whereabouts of a designated person as a subtly glowing trail, visible only to them.
Ingredients: A white satin ribbon.
Process: The performer of the ritual soaks the ribbon in their own Blood, setting it alight.
System: If the Ritual roll is a win the ribbon catches fire despite being wet, burning fiercely like a fuse. Once consumed, the ritual takes effect. While the ritual remains active, the caster can follow faint traces of the target even in areas where they left no tracks, such as crowded cities. To follow the tracks, the caster makes an Intelligence + Survival roll against a Difficulty equal to 6 minus the margin on the ritual test. The target must be known by face by the caster, who sees the path travelled by the victim over the previous 24 hours. The path remains visible for the entire night; a critical win extends this to two nights.
TRUTH OF BLOOD
Expand
Blood Sorcery ••
Until recently known only to Banu Haqim viziers, this Ritual creates a mystic potion capable of sifting lies from truth. This Ritual has power enough even to sometimes uncover facts unknown to the speaker.
Ingredients: One pint of blood from the subject.
Process: The performer of the Ritual mixes their own Blood with that of the subject in a vessel large enough to allow for the dipping of the finger.
System: Instead of the regular Ritual roll, the caster immerses their finger in the mixture and makes a Resolve + Blood Sorcery vs Composure + Occult roll for every statement made by the subject. The first failed contest ends the Ritual. A Win tells them whether that statement is true, as far as the subject knows. On a critical win by the caster, the subject involuntarily expands upon their answer, providing more information, including details they glancingly saw or subconsciously forgot. (The Storyteller should inform the caster if there is no more information about that topic.) The mixture bubbles and seethes during the process, turning completely to ash at the end of the scene.
This Ritual cannot pierce Cloud Memory, the Forgetful Mind, or other memorywiping powers. The caster may well guess the cause of a blank or foggy recollection, but cannot recover the actual memory.
WARD AGAINST SPIRITS
Expand
Blood Sorcery ••
This Ritual wards an item against incorporeal beings suchs as wraiths, ghosts, and elemental spirits. Any attempt by them to manipulate or pass through the item triggers the effect. This ward uses the standard rules for Wards (p. 275).
Ingredients: A handful of salt (in some versions, a handful of brick dust) mixed with the Blood.
WARDING CIRCLE AGAINST GHOULS
Expand
Blood Sorcery ••
This Ritual creates a circular Ward on the floor or ground, intended to prevent the passage of ghouls. This ward uses the standard rules for Wards (p. 275).
Ingredients: The caster draws the Warding circle with a human bone dipped in the Blood.
UNSEEN UNDERGROUND
Expand
Blood Sorcery ••
After performing this ritual, the user gains invisibility and causes no sounds, allowing them to scurry around and hide like a rat.
Ingredients: Rat’s blood and eyes.
Process: The caster drains a rat completely dry and removes its eyes from its skull, before throwing them into the nearest shadowed or unlit place. The caster can only perform this ritual on themselves.
System: A successful ritual yields the ability to go completely invisible for an hour. The ritual immediately ends if the caster ventures above ground. The only thing that can end the ritual early is violent intent. Should the user attack another individual, the effect immediately ends. The victim may make a Wits + Awareness roll against a difficulty equal to the number of successes obtained on the ritual’s activation roll to react in time and defend themselves. If they fail this roll, treat the first attack as a Surprise Attack (VtM, page 300). As per Obfuscate, a user of this Ritual can be detected with Sense the Unseen (Auspex 1), however Blood Sorcery is used instead of Obfuscate.
ISHTAR'S TOUCH
Expand
Blood Sorcery ••
The blood sorcerer can convert a dose of their own vitae into a touch activated narcotic that renders a victim uninhibited and vulnerable to Disciplines such as Presence and Dominate, along with attempts at mundane manipulation, coercion and interrogation.
Ingredients: A small amount of hashish or other narcotic substance
Process: The chosen substance is mixed with the user’s Blood and rubbed between their fingers as the incantation is read (or whispered). The Ritual only takes a couple of minutes to prepare.
System: The user makes a Ritual roll vs. the Stamina + Resolve of the target mortal or vampire after they make contact with the affected vitae. For the remainder of the scene, the victim suffers a dice penalty equal to the margin of win on the Ritual roll on all resist pools involving Composure or Resolve. (Apply the penalty only once in case the pool involves both Attributes.) The narcotic vitae retains its potency until it is touched, up until the end of the scene.
Camarilla Sect Book, pg. 166
CALLING THE AURA'S REMNANTS
Expand
Blood Sorcery ••
This ritual allows the caster to speak with the residual psychic aura of someone who has died.
Ingredients: A human corpse or the corpse of a destroyed vampire.
Process: The ritual must be cast within ten feet of a human corpse or the corpse of a destroyed vampire.
System: A successful Ritual test allows the caster to speak with the animate reflection of the deceased for one scene as if they were still alive. This communication is not with the deceased spirit and only has access to the memories of the deceased up to the time of death. A Critical Win extends the duration of the speech to an entire evening.
Chicago by Night, pg. 171
LEVEL 3
DAGON'S CALL
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
A terrifying technique employed by the assassins of the Banu Haqim, this Ritual lets the user rupture the very blood vessels of the victim from afar, having only touched them but briefly previously. Mortals expire rather messily, and even vampires must fear this silent killer.
Ingredients: A gold inlaid ceremonial dagger.
Process: Before proceeding with the ritual the victim must be exposed the caster’s Blood, either by drinking it or having it touch an open wound or even their bare skin: a single drop smeared across the arm is enough. After an hour but before a week has passed the caster can perform the ritual by piercing their own skin with the ceremonial dagger, shedding blood. As their Blood hits the ground the ritual takes effect.
System: Make a Resolve + Blood Sorcery vs Stamina + Resolve roll. Every point of margin on a win does a point of damage to the victim, as their blood vessels burst and their lungs fill with blood. This damage is Aggravated for mortals, but only Superficial on vampires. The caster can repeat this process up to two more times, each time requiring them to make an additional Rouse Check.
DEFLECTION OF WOODEN DOOM
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
By performing this ritual the vampire protects themselves from being staked. The first stake that would pierce their heart shatters before penetrating the skin.
Ingredients: Wood splinters or shavings.
Process: The vampire mixes the shavings with their Blood and draws a circle around themselves. They must then meditate in this circle for an hour, concluding by placing one splinter of wood under their tongue.
System: Make no Ritual roll until the vampire is staked. If the Ritual roll is a win, the stake shatters as it touches the skin of the vampire. (A critical win blinds the attacker for two turns, showering their face with splinters.) This only works on genuine attempts at staking - merely holding the stake against the vampire does not trigger the effect. The protection lasts until the end of the night or until the splinter is removed from under the tongue of the vampire, whichever comes first.
ESSENCE OF AIR
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
The caster creates a potion that when imbibed allows for limited flight. The Camarilla frowns upon the use of this Ritual, due to the extreme risk of Masquerade breaches; for this reason, its popularity has lessened considerably in the modern nights.
Ingredients: Leaves and berries of belladonna.
Process: The caster steeps the belladonna in their Blood, reducing the brew over a brazier while incanting words of power.
System: Make the Ritual roll when reducing the mixture. (A critical win prepares two doses worth of potion.) The caster can tell whether the ritual succeeded, so they won’t end up with a dud. The resulting black potion retains its potency for a night and activates when imbibed. The potion enables the caster (and only them) to fly or hover at approximately running speed for a scene. The caster can carry a human-sized mass, though their speed drops to walking speed. Grabbing and carrying aloft an unwilling subject, or pulling the flier to the ground, both require a contest between the caster’s Strength + Blood Sorcery and the other’s Strength + Athletics.
FIREWALKER
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
A painful ritual to perform, this allows the caster to make themselves and even their comrades resistant to fire.
Ingredients: A fingertip of the caster.
Process: The vampire cuts one of their fingertips off and burns it together with their Blood in a golden chalice or bowl.
System: Make a Stamina + Resolve test (Difficulty 3) to cut off a fingertip. On a winning Ritual roll, a bluish flame consumes the Blood and fingertip, signaling the completion of the ritual. For the rest of the night fire damage to the caster is halved. This ritual can be performed on others, but the fingertips sacrificed must all belong to the caster. The mutilation is not enough to count as damage to the caster; the fingertip regrows during day-sleep.
WARD AGAINST LUPINES
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
This Ritual wards an item against werewolves, in any form. Any attempt by them to touch the item triggers the effect. This ward uses the standard rules for Wards (p. 275).
Ingredients: A handful of silver dust mixed with the Blood.
WARDING CIRCLE AGAINST SPIRITS
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
This Ritual creates a circular Ward on the floor or ground, intended to prevent the passage of spirits. Although more difficult than some Warding circles, it is one of the most commonly found in grimoires and other sources. A human occultist could potentially reconstruct a functioning version of this Ritual with an Intelligence + Occult test (Difficulty 6), although they could not cast it without vitae or some other supernatural aid or element. This ward uses the standard rules for Warding circles (p. 275).
Ingredients: The caster draws the Warding circle with an iron knife dipped in salt and Blood.
ONE WITH THE BLADE
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
The Banu Haqim connection to the delivery of harm and death is such that they can speak to a weapon and command it to strike with increased accuracy and lethality. Many Banu Haqim are known for their dedicated weapon, which in some cases are carried with them for centuries of use. Such a weapon never rusts or dulls for as long as it remains in the vampire’s possession.
If someone else physically claims it as their own, it ages much as a ghoul denied vitae would do. In the case the weapon is still useable following this degeneration, if it is used against its original owner — the blood sorcerer — it inflicts grievous harm in retribution for them having lost it.
Ingredients: A melee weapon and enough of the caster’s vitae to fully immerse it.
Process: The vampire submerges their chosen weapon in their own vitae and speaks a mantra dedicating their life to the weapon. The weapon must remain submerged without interruption until the following sunrise.
System: Once the Blood is exsanguinated and the weapon is submerged, make a Ritual roll. On a win, the weapon becomes mystically dedicated to the user. It remains of immaculate quality unless subjected to focused harm when outside the caster’s ownership. Additionally, if anointed by the Blood of the user it gains a two-dice bonus when used in combat. The anointment takes a single turn, forces a Rouse check and lasts for a full scene. A vampire can never possess more than one weapon dedicated this way. In order to perform this ritual on a new weapon, the previous dedicated weapon must be destroyed first.
The vampire with this weapon must ensure it never leaves their possession. If stolen and used against them, it cannot gain any additional dice but deals Aggravated damage against its owner (the one who originally performed the Ritual).
Camarilla Sect Book, pg. 166
EYES OF THE PAST
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
This ritual shows what happened in the caster’s present location at a specific time in the past up to five years ago.
Ingredients: One drop of blood for each year the caster is trying to look backward in time (three or more drops requires a Rouse Check).
Process: The caster selects the location for their ritual, cuts their hand, and allows the drops of blood to spill on the earth.
System: A successful Ritual test allows the caster to see what happened in their present location at a specific time of their selection, up to five years ago. The caster can see what happened in the past as if they had been standing where they are now. Duration is one scene with clarity of vision determined by the number of successes scored. The vampire cannot recall the vision with any clarity after the scene elapses, meaning the Storyteller is not obligated to answer any questions about the vision after that time. A Critical Win permanently fixes the scene in their memory.
Chicago by Night, pg. 172
ILLUSION OF PEACEFUL DEATH
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
This ritual heals obvious wounds on a corpse, causing a body to appear as though it died a natural death.
Ingredients: A white feather.
Process: The caster must symbolically “dust” the body with a white feather.
System: A successful Ritual test causes a corpse to appear as if it died a natural death. This ritual does not add blood to the corpse, but does reduce the chance that this blood loss will be discovered (increase difficulty of all rolls to determine cause of death by three). The body must have at least half its original blood for this ritual to succeed. A Critical Win increases the difficulty of all rolls to determine cause of death by five.
Chicago by Night, pg. 172
GENTLE MIND
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
This ritual fortifies the target’s mind against frenzy.
Ingredients: Crystal glass, Kindred vitae.
Process: The caster shares blood with the target of the ritual while the caster whispers quietly into the target’s ear, weaving a temporary cage around the target’s beast.
System: The caster must share a glass of blood with their target. A successful Ritual test grants the target a four-die bonus to resist frenzy for one scene. A Critical Win extends this duration to an evening. The caster must share blood with another and cannot cast this ritual upon themselves.
Chicago by Night, pg. 172
THE UNSEEN CHANGE
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
This ritual forces Lupines into their wolf form.
Ingredients: Wolf blood, Kindred vitae, a silver jug.
Process: The caster mixes Kindred vitae with wolf’s blood and pours the mixture from a silver jug around a specific area. This can be as small as a meter or large enough to encircle a house.
System: The caster makes three Rouse checks to summon the blood necessary for the ritual and marks out a closed area with a mixture of Kindred vitae and wolf’s blood. A successful Ritual test forces all Lupines crossing the threshold defined by the caster to automatically transform into their Lupus form, unless they succeed on a contested Willpower test against the casters Intelligence + Blood Sorcery or the number of successes scored on the initial ritual roll (if yearlong). The ritual dissipates at dawn unless the initial ritual roll is made at +2 to difficulty. If successful, the ritual lasts a year and a day. A Critical Win doubles the number of successes the Lupine needs on its roll to defeat the ritual. The Unseen Change forces the target Lupine into their form as a normal wolf, denying them the raw power of their dreaded half-wolf form.
Chicago by Night, pg. 172
SANGUINE WATCHER
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
This ritual forms a small rat out of Kindred vitae that goes wherever the caster instructs and observes whatever the caster desires.
Ingredients: Kindred vitae, small quantities of alcohol, silver bowl.
Process: The ritual is cast over the course of 20 minutes while the caster fills a silver bowl with vitae and measured doses of alcohol. A rat made of blood slowly forms as the caster stirs the mixture, becoming ever more solid until it scampers out of the bowl to serve its master.
System: A successful Ritual test summons a rodent made of Kindred blood from the bowl that is bound to the caster and allows them to see through its eyes. The rat will go wherever the caster instructs it to go and observe whatever the caster tells it to look for. The rat can be instructed to steal small items, but the caster must be very explicit as to what they want stolen and where it is located. The rat remains in service until sunrise. A Critical Win allows the caster to provide the creature with extremely precise instructions.
Chicago by Night, pg. 174
BLADED HANDS
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
This ritual sharpens the caster’s hands to a razor’s edge.
Ingredients: A pair of razor blades, two drops of Kindred vitae.
Process: The caster places a razor blade in each palm, gripping them tightly as the ritual is cast. At the end of the ritual, they vanish into the caster’s person, leaving a pair of supernaturally sharp hands in their wake.
System: The caster must make a successful Ritual test and two Rouse Checks. Success turns the caster’s hands into light piercing Brawl weapons with a +2 damage modifier. The caster must be very careful about what they touch while employing Bladed Hands (+1 difficulty to all rolls to handle delicate objects). A Critical Win increases the damage to +3. The ritual lasts for a single evening.
Chicago by Night, pg. 174
ILLUSION OF PERFECTION
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
This ritual shrouds the caster in the illusion of a nondescript person that blends easily into crowds.
Ingredients: A plain white mask , vitae from a Kindred with the Discipline of Obfuscate, and a chameleon’s skin.
Process: The caster performs an hour-long ritual that concludes when they don a featureless white mask and consume a concoction of vitae and lizard skin. A sweat of blood forms under the mask, spreading across the caster’s body until they are coated in a ruby crust that mystically conceals their true identity. The mask itself slowly turns crimson until the ritual wears off.
System: A successful Ritual test is required to activate this ritual. Upon success, the caster is cloaked in the illusion that they are an ordinary person in their mid-20s, with a nondescript face and average body similar to the Obfuscate ability Mask of a Thousand Faces. The nondescript appearance of this vampire shifts across different faces, seen as different by individuals who can all see the caster. This can of course lead to confusion and alarm. The caster can only see their own reflection in mirrors and photographs. Illusion of Perfection can be pierced by the Auspex ability Sense the Unseen, with a contested Wits + Auspex vs. the successes scored on the ritual roll. Illusion of Perfection lasts one scene, but a Critical Win extends its duration to an entire evening.
Chicago by Night, pg. 174
HAUNTED HOUSE
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
This ritual creates the illusion that a vampire’s haven is haunted.
Ingredients: Vitae from a Kindred who possessed the Discipline of Obfuscate
Process: The caster places a drop of Kindred blood on all entrances and exits to the haven in addition to all exterior walls and the roof over the course of a three-hour ritual.
System: The caster makes three Rouse Checks in addition to a Ritual test. Upon success, the haven assumes an ominous cast and rumors begin to circulate that the house in haunted. Casual passersby will avoid the house at all cost and even the most courageous mortals will think twice before entering. Mortals attempting to enter the haven must make a successful Composure + Resolve test against the number of successes the caster made on their ritual roll. Success indicates they can enter while failure bars their passage (although they can spend Willpower to enter a turn). The effects of Haunted House last for 10 years, after which the haven appears strange and run down, but not “haunted.” Dr. Mortius spent decades crafting this ritual with vampires of Clan Ravnos, inspiring Clan Tremere to forbid its use as a threat to the Masquerade (and their power), but knowledgeable Kindred may be willing to share it with others for a price.
Chicago by Night, pg. 174
FIRE IN THE BLOOD
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
This Ritual allows a vampire to invoke the anguish of fire in a victim’s blood. Blistering heat emerges from the target’s veins and causes intense pain. The power from this Ritual differs from Cauldron of Blood (see Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 274) in that it is usable from a distance and an efficient way to incapacitate rather than kill the victim.
Ingredients: A sample of the target’s blood, a visual depiction of the target such as a photo, painting, or video recording, a candle made from red wax or a lighter made of iron.
Process: The vampire concentrates on the visual depiction of their target (which can be the individual in person) and burns the target’s blood sample, usually held in a petri dish, glass bottle, or vial, over the flame. The effect occurs almost immediately, as the victim’s blood heats up in their veins.
System: The player makes a Ritual roll following the incantation versus the target’s Resolve + Occult (or Resolve + Fortitude, if the target is a creature with this Discipline). Each point of the vampire’s margin is applied as Superficial Health damage that also inflicts wracking pain upon the victim, forcing them to incur a −2 dice penalty to Physical pools for the remainder of the scene. On a critical win, the penalty increases to −3. A Kindred target must make a Rouse Check due to the damage to their vitae.
Cults of the Blood Gods, pg. 67
SLEEP OF JUDAS
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
Ingredients: Blood of Willerton’s Judas tree (though possibly the blood from another mystical landmark), opium.
Process: The sorcerer distills and boils the blood of the Judas Tree until only a black tar-like substance remains. They mix this with an equal amount of opium, which can either be used as a paste or re-liquefied with no loss of effect.
System: The sorcerer makes the Ritual roll when the target is drugged. On a normal success, the victim may oppose by rolling dice equal to their remaining undamaged Health boxes. A critical success immediately incapacitates a vampire and kills a mortal or ghoul. Sleep of Judas wears off after a number of hours equal to the sorcerer’s Intelligence.
Let the Streets Run Red, pg. 77
COMMUNAL VIGOR
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
Based on sanguinary properties similar to the Vaulderie, this Ritual allows a Pack Priest to share their Blood Potency with their pack, while strengthening their own ability to keep those packmates in line.
Ingredients: One fingernail of the Pack Priest
Process: The Priest tears a nail from their finger and breaks it into pieces, one for each member of the Pack. They place their own portion of the torn nail in the Vaulderie chalice, while the other members place theirs under their tongue. If the Ritual is successful, the pieces of nail dissolve into the Vaulderie blood consumed.
System: In addition to the effects of the Vaulderie, the members of the Pack have their Blood Potency raised to the same level as the officiating Priest. Additionally, the Priest gains three dice on any Dominate or Presence tests against other members of the Pack. The effects last for one night.
GALVANIC RUINATION
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
This Ritual violently disrupts electrical currents in the area, shorting out or fusing all wiring in the vicinity. Used to kill alarms, surveillance, and artificial lighting, the element of stealth is often short-lived, as collateral damage in the form of fires usually follows. Many Sabbat packs consider this less a flaw than a feature, though.
Ingredients: A copper coin
Process: The caster smears their Blood on the coin, drops it to the ground and grinds their foot on it, as if they were extinguishing a cigarette. If the Ritual is successful, the coin shatters like porcelain as a Blood-borne current ravages the electrical systems of the surrounding area.
System: The Ritual instantly wrecks wiring in the vicinity to the extent that all electrical equipment ceases to function. This includes isolated circuits such as cars on batteries and any backup generators running or starting up within a minute of the casting. The area affected is equivalent to a large warehouse or a three-story building, though it can be extended at casting by adding a level of Difficulty for each additional building or building-equivalent. On a critical win the outage is relatively discreet, but will otherwise cause at least one fire, together with random bursts of static electricity raising hell with speakers, car alarms, and other loud electrical objects.
LEVINBOLT
Expand
Blood Sorcery •••
This ritual allows for the caster to make a victim the target of bolts of electricity and lightning. When activated, electricity arcs from power outlets, electrical objects, wires, cables and may even call down lightning directly from the sky. While electricity doesn't generally affect Kindred, this can devastate groups of mortals.
Ingredients: Charged magnet, electricity, sanguine resonant blood
Process: The magnet is placed in a pool of blood while the electrical current is run through it. When the magnet has absorbed the blood, the ritual is complete. The magnet becomes a charred and melted lump of iron when the ritual has fully run its course.
System: The ritual is enacted, after which the magnet maintains its "charge" for the oddly specific next 1.21 hours.
The magnet must then be placed on the target (which may require a Dexterity + Athletics or Stealth roll), at which point the activation roll is made - once activated the location of the magnet is irrelevant and they can still be struck if they dispose of it.
For the rest of the scene, the vampire can call upon bolts of electricity to strike the target with a Wits + Science roll. This can be dodged as normal and is treated as a Firearms attack. If the attack hits, the mortal must succeed in a Stamina + Composure roll (difficulty 3) or be paralyzed for the rest of the scene, as well as taking margin in superficial damage.
While the ritual can only affect one target per turn, once the first target is paralyzed the vampire can cause electricity to arc from their primary target to other mortal targets with the same roll, but with -1 to their dice pool. When this happens, the primary target absorbs all the superficial damage.
Technology that can be short circuited is typically destroyed when it comes into contact with this amount of electricity. Vampires are unaffected, although it can of course destroy any technology they have on them.
| THE PATH OF LEVINBOLT...
|
| Due to a historical lack of understanding of the principles of electricity, the Path of Levinbolt remained incredibly obscure until the birth of modern science. Though thaumaturges no longer have to wait until a convenient thunderstorm to charge their powers, the Path of Levinbolt is still rarely studied or taught. As such, it requires a specific teacher to learn.
Furthermore, practitioners of the Path of the Levinbolt tend to cause a good deal of static electricity around them, even when not engaging in combat. Sometimes this plays havoc with cellular service, causes lights to flicker without reason, and computers to experience power surges in their presence.
|
