Blood Sorcery: Difference between revisions

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''<sub>Chicago Folios, pg. 174</sub>''
''<sub>Chicago Folios, pg. 174</sub>''
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== NEPENTHE ==
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'''Blood Sorcery''' •••
''Nepenthe offers “quiet of all pain and strife, forgetfulness of every ill” — but just a taste. The ritual's draught temporarily clouds the mind and makes the drinker's terrible deeds seem pale and distant, like a story they heard long ago. But the mixture has its dangers: use it too often, and one's ability to feel remorse withers and fades.''
'''Ingredients:''' Poppy seeds, starflower, honey, the subject's tears, the caster's Blood.
'''Process:''' The caster pulverizes the solid ingredients together in a bowl and mixes in the Blood and honey. The last ingredient added should be the tears of the ritual's subject. The potion gives off a strong, sickly sweet smell. The subject must drink the entire draught in one go.
'''System:''' With a win on the Ritual roll, Nepenthe removes 1 Stain from the drinker's tracker before a Remorse roll. On a critical win, Nepenthe removes 2 Stains before a Remorse roll at the end of the session. However, on a Total Failure, 1 Stain carries over to the next session, regardless of whether the Remorse roll succeeded or not. If a vampire uses Nepenthe more than two sessions in a row, their mind becomes dependent on it and one of their Stains becomes permanent. This is a cumulative effect—four sessions in a row results in two permanent Stains, etc.
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''<sub>Blood Sigils, pg. 67</sub>''
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Revision as of 17:22, 7 October 2023

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


Discipline blood-sorcery.png
  • Type: Sorcery
  • Masquerade Threat: Low - High.
    The individual appearance of the powers and Rituals in Blood Sorcery varies as widely as their effects.
  • Blood Resonance: Sanguine.
    Although not inherent in the Blood itself, Blood Sorcery responds eagerly to blood from human occultists, sorcerers, and cult leaders, as well as hemophiles and bibliophiles.


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 — requiring the square of its level in weeks, though a good teacher or excellent grimoire may shorten this period.