Blood Sorcery

Blood magic among the vampires has many names. Clan Tremere refer to it as thaumaturgy, a system of hermetic magic that the clan brought with it from its past among the magi. The Banu Haqim, on the other hand, claim to have practiced the same arts under the name of Dur-An-Ki or quietus. Other clans also have their own stories about blood magic. Regardless of its origins, blood sorcery is a potent system for manipulating the blood in ways not possible with other disciplines.

Unlike other disciplines that advance organically as a vampire grows older, blood sorcery requires instruction. Both Clan Tremere and the Banu Haqim used to have a much more extensive system of teachers and libraries dedicated to the higher arts, but these nights much has fallen to the torches of the Second Inquisition.

System: Blood sorcery, unlike other disciplines, is tied to both a kindred's ability to manipulate the blood and their theoretical knowledge. The discipline requires instruction to learn, and cannot be acquired by other means. A Caitiff can never have Blood Sorcery as one of their original Disciplines, thinbloods cannot duplicate its powers with alchemy or gain access to it based on what blood they last drank, etc.

Level 1

A taste for blood: The most basic power also opens the way for the rest of the discipline. By tasting a drop of blood, the player can analyze where the blood comes from and what properties it has.

Flame bolt: The sorcerer focuses their power into a flame that hovers over their palm. The fire poses no risk of frenzy and spreads light like a small lantern. At any time, the character can fire the fire as a projectile at an enemy within line of sight.

Cost: None

System: The character tastes a drop of the blood from what they want to analyze. This is not enough to form a blood bond if the blood is from a vampire. The sorcerer knows if the blood came from a human, vampire or other supernatural being. If the blood is human, the character learns its resonance. If it is a vampire who is the source, he knows which blood potency and clan the person has. If the character has a mental value of 10 or more, they also find out if the owner of the blood performed diablerie.

Cost: None

System: The player raises one hand with the palm facing up and says “firebolt”. Other characters react to the fire as if it were a normal fire, risking Rötschreck. Physical contact with the flame is extremely painful for vampires.

Force bolt: The sorcerer creates a blast of kinetic energy that can be used to knock down other people or hurl objects. The power is not sufficient to do direct damage, but can temporarily knock down an opponent or publicly humiliate someone. Alternatively, the character can also use the power for simpler manipulation of objects, such as opening a door, pulling a glass or creating a dramatic gust of wind.

Cost: None

System: If the force is used offensively, the player points to the opponent and says "force bolt" followed by their MV. If this is higher than the opponent's unmodified AV, they are thrown to the ground. This does no damage, but interrupts an ongoing freescape as long as Celerity is not involved. The opponent retains the speed they had before the power was used, so creative uses of the power can do damage, such as using it to hurl the opponent in front of a car, down a bridge, or out a fifth floor window. Consult an organizer in such cases. Minor manipulation of objects is used during cutscenes as a mainly dramatic effect.

Silence of death

The power creates an aura of supernatural silence around the character that prevents sound from being created in their presence. The effect is often used for sneaking, but is equally effective at masking the sound of a battle, a gunshot, or a cry for help.

Cost: None

System: The player says "Silence of Death" and puts one index finger to the lips to indicate that the power is active. Within one meter of the player, no sounds can be made, but people within range can still hear outside sounds. Powers that rely on verbal commands, such as Dominate, cannot be activated within this range.

Level 3

Blood of potency (requires A taste for blood)

Through the control of the blood, the character can temporarily concentrate their own blood to simulate the inherent power that usually only comes to kindred who have existed far longer than the character. The concentration of the blood is not only positive, but also temporarily creates certain limitations on what kind of blood the character can be nourished by.

Hand of flame (requires Flame bolt)

The character can now exert such control over the flames that they can be used as weapons. Flames spread from the character's hands up to the elbows without damaging either the character, their clothes or risking Rötschreck. Other people who come into contact with the fire, for example in close combat, are not so lucky.

Cost: Hunger +1

System: During the next half hour, the player gains a blood potency of one level above their own. For characters that are not ancillae or thin-bloods, this means BP 2. The effect gives +3 to either the player's MV or AV. For one hour, however, they cannot receive any nourishment from stored blood or animal blood. The power cannot be reactivated until the player's BP returns to normal.

Arms of air (requires Force bolt)

The sorcerer can now control and lift up a person, or objects of comparable size. The most obvious use is to hold an opponent defenseless in the air, but the sorcerer can also use it on himself to move through the air. This is, of course, something that poses a great risk of masquerade crimes.

Cost: Hunger +1

System: If the power is used on an opponent, the player makes a gripping gesture with their hand in the air and says "arms of air" followed by their MV. If this is higher than the opponent's unmodified AV, they can be lifted off the ground as high as the sorcerer wishes and held there as long as they maintain concentration. Physical disciplines are effectively useless in the air, but the victim is not paralyzed and can still speak and use disciplines that do not require physical contact.

If used to fly, the sorcerer can travel through the air at a speed equal to his walking speed.

The power requires concentration and is broken if the character enters combat, takes damage, or activates another discipline.

Cost: Hunger +1

System: The player says "hand of flame". The fire counts as a weapon that deals aggravated damage and gives +2 AV. This cannot be combined with other weapons, but it can be combined with physical disciplines such as potency or celerity. Things touched by the fire can ignite and these fires are beyond the character's control.

Scorpion’s touch (requires Silence of death)

The character focuses their blood into a potent poison that is deadly to humans and kindred alike. The poison is too viscous to use in potions, but optimal for smearing on weapons to make them even more deadly than normal. Most often, the poison is applied by the sorcerer cutting open a wound in the palm. The power can also be used to poison blood while someone else tries to drink from the person, which can be an effective defense against potential diablerists.

Cost: Hunger +1

System: The player "cuts" their hand with a weapon that has some kind of edge, such as a knife, sword or axe and says "scorpion's touch". Until the next battle or sunrise, whichever comes first, the weapon will deal aggravated damage in addition to its normal bonuses. Humans and ghouls that are injured will fall into a sort of coma for the rest of the night. If the power is used to poison blood that another person tries to drink, the victim is affected as if they lost a battle against aggravated damage, provided at least one level of hunger is drunk.

Level 3

Extinguish vitae (requires Blood of potency)

With a subtle gesture and an act of will, the character can temporarily disrupt the energies contained in the blood of other people. This has its most obvious effect on other kindred who are temporarily stripped of many of their abilities, but humans and thin-bloods are also temporarily weakened.

Fire in the blood (requires Hand of flame)

At this level, the character can manipulate heat to such a degree that they can manipulate the temperature of an opponent's blood. By heating the blood of the opponent, the sorcerer creates burns and intense pain that makes the person less able to withstand other attacks.

Cost: Hunger +1
System: The player gestures to the character to be affected and says "extinguish vitae" followed by their MV. If the victim has a lower MV, they can no longer use any abilities that cost hunger to activate. It includes all Disciplines above level 1, healing wounds or activating blush of life. The effect lasts for 15 minutes, after which the character's abilities return. Humans, ghouls, and thin-bloods are instead weakened, easily fatigued, and out of breath for 30 minutes, and during that time suffer -1 AV per level of blood sorcery of the player who used the power. During that time, their blood also provides no nourishment to kindred who drink from them.

Combat telekinetics (requires Arms of air)

The sorcerer now has such control over the kinetic energies that they can use them in battle. The character fights through his mind rather than his body. Telekinetic attacks in the form of invisible punches and slashes rain down on the opponent while the sorcerer themselves does not have to get their hands dirty.

Cost: Hunger +1

System: The player activates the power by saying “combat telekinetics”. By using the power, the character can fight with their MV instead of their AV. The MV does not receive a bonus from things that would normally increase the AV, such as weapons or physical disciplines, but the power itself provides a weapon bonus of +2 to the character's MV. The damage done with this power is always normal damage.

In addition to that, the character can manipulate small or large objects up to one ton in total weight at a time. It is also possible to stop ammunition from ranged weapons in mid-air, provided the character has time to react.

Cost: Hunger +1

System: The player activates the power by saying “fire in the blood” and pointing at the victim followed by their MV. If the person's unmodified AV is lower, they get -1 to their AV per level they lost by. The AV cannot be more than halved this way, but the victim is greatly affected by the pain for about ten minutes. After that time has passed, they can spend hunger to heal and restore their AV, if the character wishes.

Taste of death (requires Scorpion's touch)

At this level, the character can further concentrate the poison in their blood into a form of acid that has a devastating effect on others. The poison cannot be smeared on weapons, but can be spat on opponents like the venom of a cobra. Normally, the character bites their tongue and then spits the poison at a suitable victim.

Cost: Hunger +1

System: The player points to a victim they can see and says "taste of death". The victim takes -3 AV that heals at the rate of aggravated damage to represent the damage from the poison. Humans and ghouls hit by the poison die instantly.