Blood sorcery

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.

Clans: Banu Hakim, Tremere

Characteristics

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. 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.

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.

Level 1

A taste for blood (Tremere)

Corrosive vitae (Banu Hakim)

Level 2

Extinguish vitae

Scour Secrets

Level 3

Blood of potency (Tremere)

Scorpion’s touch (Banu Hakim)

Level 4

Theft of vitae

Blood Aegis

Level 5

Cauldron of blood (Tremere)

Baal’s caress (Banu Hakim)

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. The caster pours their Blood on the object to be warded, tracing the glyph in it with their bare finger. Once the caster wipes the Blood off, the ward becomes invisible. The Ward lasts until the warded object is physically destroyed or broken; the trespasser cannot do this. 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

Clinging of the insect

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

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

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.

Coax the Garden

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.

Dampen the Fear

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.

Seal the Brand

Normally tattoos, scars, and other changes to vampire flesh fade during the day’s sleep. Yet some Kindred seek to make a mark on their own flesh, and give that mark permanence.

Ingredients: Molten silver poured over a tattoo, brand, or other body modification.

Process: The vampire casting the ritual pours the molten silver over the target’s tattoo, brand, or body modification. The target suffers damage from the molten silver, but once mended, the affected modification remains permanent.

System: A successful Ritual yields a permanent body modification for the target. This modification cannot be removed by any other means and is now considered part of the target’s undying body. Pouring the molten silver onto the body modification inflicts one point of Superficial damage, which may be mended as normal.

Blood walk (Tremere)

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.

Ward against ghouls (Tremere)

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.

Process:

System: Ward roll

Level 2

Communicate with kindred sire

The caster uses the bond between sire and childe to open a bridge 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

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.

Ishtar’s touch

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.

As Fog on Water

With this Ritual the vampire is able to traverse any body of water, silently walking upon it as if they were weightless, fog rising from their footsteps.

Ingredients: A piece of wood from a ship, and water

Process: The vampire submerges a piece of wood in the body of water they want to cross while spilling their Blood into it.

System: Upon a successful Ritual roll the vampire can walk across the surface of the water for the rest of the night. They can end this effect any time they wish but cannot walk on the surface again until they recast the Ritual.

Calix Secretus

The sorcerer is able to turn a mundane object into a receptacle for their Blood, allowing them to store surprising quantities of it there to be retrieved for later use.

Ingredients: An object that fits in the caster’s hand, and Blood of the user.

Process: The user drenches the object with their Blood and speaks the words of the Ritual. When complete, the object absorbs the Blood.

System: The process takes an hour. Make a Ritual roll, and if successful, the vampire imbues the object with an amount of Blood from the caster. If the caster wishes to release their Blood from the object, they need to say the command word. The amount of Blood stored can sate one Hunger for every two Rouse Checks made when storing the Blood. (Storing a single Rouse Check’s worth of Blood allows for a ghoul to get their fix or for use in another Ritual requirement.)

Soporific Touch

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, as well as attempts at mundane manipulation, coercion, or 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 takes only a few minutes to prepare.

System: Make a Ritual roll vs. the Stamina + Resolve of the target when 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 resistance pools involving Composure or Resolve. (Apply the penalty only once if the pool involves both Attributes.) The narcotic vitae retains its potency until it is touched, up until the end of the scene.

Ward against spirits (Tremere)

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.

Process:

System: Ward roll

Warding circle against ghouls (Tremere)

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 Warding circles (p. 275).

Ingredients: The caster draws the Warding circle with a human bone dipped in the Blood.

Process:

System: Warding roll

Illuminate the trail of prey (Banu Hakim)

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 (Banu Hakim)

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 memory wiping powers. The caster may well guess the cause of a blank or foggy recollection, but cannot recover the actual memory.

Level 3

Deflection of wooden doom

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

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

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.

Fire in the Blood

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.

Ward against lupines (Tremere)

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

Process:

System: Ward roll

Warding circle against spirits (Tremere)

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.

Process:

System: Warding roll

Dagon’s call (Banu Hakim)

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.

One with the blade (Banu Hakim)

The Banu Haqim connection to the delivery of harm and death is such that they can speak with 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).

Level 4

Defense of the sacred haven

The performer of this powerful ritual can ward their haven against the sun itself, protecting their resting place from penetration by its destructive rays as a mystical darkness blankets the area.

Ingredients: Nothing but the Blood of the caster

Process: The caster inscribes a number of sigils and glyphs on and around the area to be protected. They must take special care on windows and doorways, but may even ward an open doorway if the area is indoors. (The ritual wards gray or liminal areas, such as ruins, at the Storyteller’s discretion.)

System: The process takes an hour or more, depending on the state or the area to be warded. The area can be no larger than a circle with a six-meter radius. The ritual automatically fails if the caster steps out of the area at any time after the warding is complete. The caster makes the Ritual roll once the sun rises. On a Win, shadow blankets the area, closing off any view of the outside but also preventing any sun damage to the vampires within. On a critical win, those inside can spy the outside world dimly. The Ritual lasts through an entire day unless ended by the caster stepping outside the area.

Eyes of the nighthawk

Related to the primitive powers of Animalism, this Ritual allows the caster to possess a carnivorous fowl, usually a raven or a bird of prey, directing its flight and seeing through its eyes. Parrots and mynahs, not being carnivores, cannot be used in this Ritual. Some Tremere spent years training crows or ravens to speak before using them as nighthawks; with the Pyramid disrupted, fewer Warlocks have the spare time now.

Ingredients: The eyes of the bird used, taken at the conclusion of the Ritual

Process: The caster feeds their Blood to the bird and enters a trance.

System: On a winning Ritual roll the caster can control the bird and see through its eyes. On a critical win, the bird can perform simple actions under control, such as picking up objects or manipulating keys or dials. The caster can use most nonphysical Disciplines through the bird, even Dominate assuming the caster has Telepathy (p. 252) or some other way to communicate with targets non-verbally. There is no limit to the range the bird can fly, though unless the caster plucks the eyes out of the bird at the end of the night they themselves suffer blindness for three nights to come.

Incorporeal passage

The caster assumes an incorporeal state, not unlike a ghost, able to freely pass through objects and rendered totally immune to physical damage. They cannot interact physically with the material world except by sight and speech.

Ingredients: A mirror

Process: The caster spills their Blood on the mirror, chanting, and then breaks it.

System: Make a Ritual roll . If the roll is a win, the caster assumes an incorporeal form as long as they hold a shard of the broken mirror. While incorporeal, the caster remains immune to everything except fire, sunlight, and arcane weapons and rituals capable of damaging spirits. The caster can still be seen and heard but cannot interact physically with anything or anyone. They cannot Rouse the Blood while incorporeal. Incorporeal casters have no access to any spirit realm; the ritual does not make them wraiths or spirits. The caster can walk through walls and other objects but must do so in a straight line; they cannot change direction while inside solid matter. This Ritual lasts for one scene or until the caster drops the shard. Returning to the material while inside solid matter can result in anything from destruction to entombment to minor inconvenience (the ashtray is stuck halfway through the caster’s arm); the Storyteller decides the precise outcome.

Feast of Ashes

What better way to torment a rival than by turning the blood in their mouth to ashes? Kindred affected by this Ritual cannot drink blood for one night.

Ingredients: A piece of parchment with the name of the target written on it and burned, and ashes from the burned scroll.

Process: The caster writes the name of their target on a piece of parchment and burns it. They collect the ashes and use their own Blood mixed with the ashes to write the sigils required to perform the Ritual.

System: Make a Ritual roll versus the target’s Resolve + Willpower. On a successful roll, the target cannot consume blood for one night, vomiting it up as if it were mortal food and drink. Only ashes sate their Hunger and cannot bring it lower than 3, though few victims think of eating ashes unless told of the spell.

Guided Memory

By imbibing the Blood of a willing Kindred, a vampire can relive the memories of the donor, who guides them through the donor’s past experiences. This can allow the vampire to “recall” memories from before they were born! In addition, these guided journeys can unlock Discipline powers, Merits, and potentially other gifts of the donor’s Blood.

Ingredients: The vitae of another vampire, dried rosemary, and fresh poppies or forget-me-nots.

Process: The sorcerer burns the flowers and rosemary, blending the ashes with the donated vitae, then drinks the Blood.

System: The sorcerer selects a Memoriam goal (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 312), or one of the goals below:
• A Level 1 Discipline power; a one-dot Merit
•• A Level 2 Discipline power; a two-dot Merit
••• A Level 3 Discipline power; a three-dot Merit

The power may be encountered during the Memoriam, or the memory itself deals with the donor learning the power. The Merit may emerge from a similar circumstance, or result from the character unlocking some secret or potential in the past. While the player may pursue a specific power or Merit, the Storyteller is the final judge of which gift they gain. All gifts of guided Memoriam fade as new native memories overlay these resurfaced and imported ones. They last until the end of the session, or (if the guided Memoriam happened at the end of the session) until the end of the next one.

Powers
This power is independent of the sorcerer’s other powers and does not count against the limit of powers they can possess in a single Discipline, although they still need to fulfill the Discipline rating requirement. This power cannot be used as a requirement to learn another power, but a character could gain an Amalgam power temporarily if they already knew the other prerequisite power.

Merits
Merit dots cannot be spread among different Merits or added to existing Merits the player character may already have.

Entering the Guided Memoriam
A guided Memoriam follows all of the same rules as a standard Memoriam except the Kindred donating the Blood and memories rolls the required Rouse check. The donor remains present throughout the scene as a spiritual or disembodied presence or guide that only the Kindred experiencing the Memoriam can interact with. Everyone experiencing the guided Memoriam must partake of the offered Blood. Walking through another Kindred’s memories is a particularly unnatural experience and inflicts penalties based on how far back in time the journey delves. The Blood offered by the Kindred donor is always considered a deep drink (Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 312) and the bonuses supplied from that usually offset some of these penalties.

Additional Guided Memoriam Modifiers
The scene takes place during or after your mortal life: lose one die
The scene takes place less than a century before your mortal life: lose two dice
The scene takes place one or two centuries before your mortal life: lose four dice
The scene takes place three or more centuries before your mortal life: lose six dice

Invisible Chains of Binding

The blood sorcerer binds a subject in invisible chains, confining them to a single spot for the duration of the Ritual.

Ingredients: A link of chain.

Process: The sorcerer inscribes the sigils on the chain using their own Blood. The process takes an hour, at which point the chain link can be concealed on their person to be used on a target at a later time, at which point the chain is thrown at their feet.

System: When throwing the prepared link at a target the user makes a Ritual roll against the target’s Strength + Resolve. The target is unable to move from the spot for one hour per success in the margin as long as the chain link remains intact and within three yards / meters of them. A bound target suffers a four-dice penalty to any physical defense tests as well as to brawl and melee actions. The chain link corrodes to dust at the end of the Ritual’s effect

Ward against cainites (Tremere)

This Ritual wards an item against all vampires except the caster. Any attempt by them to touch the item triggers the effect. However, a vampire examining the Ward with Auspex can read the name of the caster in it with a successful contest of Intelligence + Auspex vs. the caster’s Intelligence + Blood Sorcery. This ward uses the standard rules for Wards (p. 275).

Ingredients: Ash warm from a still-burning fire; casters risk terror frenzy, and cannot inscribe this Ward that night if they succumb to it.

Process:

System: Ward roll

Warding circle against lupines (Tremere)

This ward uses the standard rules for Warding circles (p. 275).

Ingredients: The caster draws the Warding circle with a silver knife dipped in wolfsbane and Blood.

Process:

System: Warding roll

Level 5

Escape to true sanctuary

By preparing two mystic circles in an arduous ritual the caster can instantly travel from one to the other. The journey is one-way, and the caster must designate one circle for departure while the “arrival” circle serves as an exit.

Ingredients: Two charred circles of approximately a meter in diameter.

Process: The caster burns the circles into the ground or floor with an open flame, then consecrates each circle. Consecration requires two hours of chanting per night and two Rouse Checks, for three consecutive nights. In total, this ritual takes twelve Rouse Checks worth of Blood from the caster.

System: Once the circles are complete the caster need but step into the one designated for departure and concentrate for a turn, making a Ritual roll . (The caster makes the Ritual roll each time they attempt to travel, but can only make one attempt per scene.) On a win the caster vanishes, reappearing in an instant in the middle of the exit circle. There is no limit to the distance between the two circles, but they must be inscribed on the ground or on the floor of a building, not on the floor of a vehicle. The caster can transport one person or an object or objects totaling roughly human mass with them. Damaging either circle ruins the ritual completely and renders both circles inert. A vampire can only have one pair of these circles functional at any given time.

Heart of stone

Performing this ritual turns the caster’s unliving heart to stone. This makes them immune to stakes but also, through some fluke of sympathetic magic, completely remorseless and cold-hearted automatons totally unreceptive to emotional and social cues. Even more so than normal.

Ingredients: A stone slab and a wax candle drenched with the Blood of the caster

Process: The caster lies on the stone slab with the candle on their chest letting it burn down to nothing over the course of a night.

System: As the fire reaches their chest, it causes one point of Aggravated damage and forces a terror frenzy roll (Difficulty 3). If the caster fails the frenzy roll, the ritual ends. If the caster does not enter frenzy, they make the Ritual roll . On a win the ritual completes; a critical win heals the candle-fire damage. The effect persists indefinitely, and should the caster wish to reverse the process they must repeat the ritual.
While under the effect of the ritual, the caster’s heart is literally made of stone. Stakes fail to penetrate it, breaking if forced. The caster also exhibits a complete emotional detachment, subtracting three dice from any Remorse rolls as well as active (not resisting) Social-related rolls, except for Intimidation and Dominate. The caster cannot employ Presence but gains three bonus dice to pools used to resist the effects of that Discipline.

Eden’s Bounty

This rare Ritual allows a vampire to drain blood and energy from any living creatures in the nearby area, allowing the caster to stave off Hunger without even having to bare their fangs.

Ingredients: A dead body, a living tree, one fresh apple, one rotten apple.

Process: The vampire lays a dead body (age of the corpse is immaterial) at the foot of a tree and places the healthy apple in the corpse’s mouth, followed by the rotten apple into the vampire’s. If the apple does not fit in the corpse’s mouth, the caster may hammer it in, dislocate the jaw, or otherwise rend the throat open, so long as it fits. As the body rapidly merges with the tree’s roots and trunk, blood from mortals up to 1 mile/kilometer away drains into the earth and out through the rotten apple in the vampire’s mouth, sating Hunger.

System: The player makes a Ritual roll following the placement of the corpse and the apples. On a win, the vampire’s Hunger is slaked to one, despite any Blood Potency feeding penalties. On a critical win, the vampire’s Hunger is slaked to zero without killing. On a total failure, the vampire falls into a hunger frenzy. Depending on the number of kine in the Ritual area and the type of kine nearby, Stains may accrue; for example vampires with a Prey Exclusion (see Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 181) may suffer Stains if this Ritual is used in an area heavily populated by their excluded class of mortal, whereas varied groups with more kine to draw from are less likely to bear an ethical cost.

A lot of blood is wasted with this Ritual, as all the mortals in the area lose a little blood to the earth, though the loss is not visible. For the remainder of the chapter, those kine suffer a one-die penalty to all Physical rolls and 1 Aggravated Health damage.

Creatio Ignis

The caster of this Ritual diverts hungry flame from their flesh, using an enchanted coating of vitae like a buffer and can set items and people alight using the fire. This Ritual is a phenomenal breach of the Masquerade as the power is entirely visible and can cause intense environmental feedback, not to mention the bloody coating of the caster’s hands before activation.

Ingredients: Sufficient vitae (from any vampire) to coat the caster’s arms up to the elbows, a source of flame (such as a lighter).

Process: The vampire immerses their arms in the blood and withstands the urge to feed or frenzy. After extracting their arms, exposure to flame will ignite the vitae rather than the vampire it coats. The vampire can then go on to set targets alight using the fire on their skin.

System: If the user is at Hunger 4 or more, make a hunger frenzy test at Difficulty 3 to avoid draining the ingredients. At any point during the night they may expose the vitae to fire and make a Ritual roll . A win ignites flames on the vampire’s hands and arms, which in a spectacular display provoke a terror frenzy test (Difficulty 2) in all nearby vampires except the caster. They may touch others with Dexterity + Brawl in physical combat to inflict two Aggravated Health damage. Entering a grapple ignites the other person’s clothes, continuing the damage each turn until a Composure + Survival roll (Difficulty 3) is won to end the burn. The caster is only resistant to flame on their arms, and will burn as usual elsewhere. The fiery arms extinguish when the caster wills it or when the scene ends.

Dominion

The Blood Sorcerer makes themselves the sovereign of supernatural powers in their own domain, thwarting others’ use of most vampiric abilities.

Ingredients: Seal made of iron embedded over every doorway in the building.

Process: The ritual takes three hours to cast. During this time, the caster must be embedding iron seals over every doorway, consecrating them with their own vitae, and carving sigils on the doors.

System: Upon a successful Ritual roll, the Blood sorcerer stops any uses of Animalism, Auspex, Dominate, or Presence except by themselves. Any uses of the Disciplines within the building still cause any Rouse checks to occur, though the amount of Blood spent to perform the ritual varies – from Rouse Check for an apartment up to five for a large manor. The Ritual lasts indefinitely but can be broken by the destruction of at least one seal.

Warding circle against cainites (Tremere)

This ward uses the standard rules for Warding Circles (p. 275).

Ingredients: The caster draws the Warding Circle with a rowan wand dipped in the mixture of ash from a still-burning fire and Blood.

Process:

System: Warding roll

Shaft of belated dissolution (Banu Hakim)

The Kindred fear few weapons as they fear the dreaded stake created by this ritual. Thought to be the origin of the myth regarding stakes as the ultimate tool for slaying vampires, the Shaft of Belated Dissolution not only seeks out the heart of the vampire it’s aimed at but actually causes Final Death when reaching its target. If need be, the Shaft works toward this goal as a splinter, inching its way through the target vampire’s body to reach its goal.

Ingredients: stake carved of rowan wood, inscribed with baneful runes

Process: The caster drenches the stake with two Rouse Checks worth of their Blood, while blackening it in an oak-wood fire while reading incantations over it. The ritual takes five hours to complete.

System: This stake confers a three-dice bonus to any pool on any attempt to stake a vampire, whether hammered in while the victim sleeps, wielded in melee, or fired from a crossbow. The caster need not wield the stake themselves. If the attack roll wins with a margin of five or better, the vampire withers to dust in a single turn as if consumed by an invisible fire. If the stake hits, but the roll has insufficient margin (under five) to pierce the heart, the stake breaks off in the wound, the tip burying itself as it slowly begins to inch its way toward the heart of the victim. Depending on where it struck this can take hours or nights, but unless extracted by medical or mystical means, Final Death is assured. To remove it surgically someone other than the victim needs to win a roll of Dexterity + Medicine (Difficulty 6) in a process that takes up to four hours. If no medical expertise can be found, someone can remove the splinter by severing the afflicted limb – unless the splinter has already reached the torso.