Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
Beastken - All Clans
Common to all Vampires, this Sorcery allows them to command their affiliated animal by augmenting uses of Animal Handling, and to disguise themselves in its shape.
Each bar adds a die to the roll to call and command the animals. Each bar represents 4 animals that can be reliably controlled at a time, and allows for 2 blood-bound animals. This means a total of six animals at the Vampire’s command, with four of them more like temporary minions, and the blood-bound as permanent, empowered minions.
Third Bar grants the ability to shapeshift into the clan animal - Yaundae, Ithim, and Uthar can choose to take a swarm form instead.
Vampires can also ride the senses of commanded animals, to see what they see, to smell as they smell, by rolling Intuition/Beastken. The Vampire is vulnerable while doing so, though they may still benefit from the supernatural sense conferred by Haemoturgy, Aeromancy, Hydromancy, or Geomancy in the event of an attack. At 4th Bar, this power can be used while the Vampire sleeps or pupates.
There is no roll required to ride the senses of a blood-bound animal. With the expenditure of 1 Blood, the Vampire can control a ridden animal.
Associated Animals:
Loxite - Wolf
Ithim - Bat
Yaundae - Snake
Wahran - Lizard
Uthar - Spider
Gorite - Boar
Hunter Clan Sorceries
Shadowmeld - All Hunter Clans
Each point of Shadowmeld adds +1 die to Stealth rolls. Every 2 ranks adds a +1 to Dodge Rating. Each rank can have an added effect, chosen when the rank is gained, which is activated with 1 Blood. Each dedicated Bar ramps up the efficacy of the side-effect. These include: Allowing shadowmeld to defeat supernatural senses; -1 to Awareness or Investigation rolls. Dampening the senses of mortals around the Vampire; -1 to Awareness of Investigation rolls. Actually blending into the shadow to become intangible; counts as +1 Soak for the Combat Round in which it is activated.
Ithim Sorceries
Aeromancy
The primary Sorcery of the Ithim. This allows them to control the winds and air; to fly when their wings have no right to lift them and to steal the breath from your lungs. It is then very like the Pattern of the Sapphire Storm, but limited solely to manipulations of the air. Canny old Ithim have simply learned to influence the weather in a more ponderous and roundabout way than a Magus’ brute force. It also adds to their already impressive hunting tools, allowing them to better track scents and feel air movement.
Haemoturgy
The secondary Sorcery of the Ithim. This doesn’t behave like many other Sorceries, being very specifically about blood and the manipulation thereof. The earliest manifestation is the most dangerous tool available to an Ithim - they can track a target whose blood they have tasted from miles away. As they age, this Sorcery even allows them to taste the memories of a target through their blood. They gain an occult sense for nearby mortals through the blood in their bodies. As elder Ithim are less dependant on a constant blood supply, they can even weaponize their own blood; hurling it as caustic, congealed spines. Suffocating a target. Marking them to be followed.
1st: Sense living things by the blood in their bodies from up to a mile away, track a target you've tasted within a mile per Bars x Intuition. Sense how close a victim is to bleeding out, and seal up their wound. Add blood storage, +2 maximum per Bar.
2nd: Cause wounds to keep bleeding, refusing to heal and very difficult to stanch. Alternatively, make wounds STOP bleeding and help them seal up. Sensory powers improved, range of sensing etc.
3rd: Slowing the flow altogether. Deadening movements, slowing heartbeats, imposing penalties to speed and reactions (applies as -1 per success rolled to enemy Physical values). Drinking memories.
Loxite Sorceries
Caroforma
The primary Sorcery of the Loxite, expressing the protean nature of their curse and their inescapable link to both base matter and humanity. Behaves like the Pattern of the Silver Tree, but is limited in scope to affect only flesh and bone, living or dead.
Initially, this power is largely limited to their own body, but they can reshape it almost at will for little cost, making them masters of disguise. Given the Loxite proclivity to rulership, they will often hone an accompanying Craft Focus to apply Caroforma to minions for maximum effect.
Nyctomancy
The secondary Loxite Sorcery, and probably their most versatile. Nyctomancy operates in a manner not unlike the Pattern of the Ebon Night. It is more obvious in use than it might seem; the darkness it creates feels wrong, unnatural. While it can hide the Loxite, it won’t do anything for suspicion. It’s far easier for this Sorcery to conjure shadowy tendrils to snare and cut victims, and older Loxite can, like Shadows, produce construct-minions of dark-stuff - but those made by Loxite often have a taste for blood and a worrying independent streak.
Yaundae Sorceries
Venomancy
The primary Sorcery of the Yaundae, allowing them to convert their blood into various supernatural toxins. Mechanically, each level of this Sorcery represents an Attribute the Yaundae can produce a venom to affect - such as a Venom which specifically clouds the victim’s mind, reducing Intuition or Intellect.
While this costs blood to use, the efficiency of the conversion increases with levels of the Sorcery. At first, it costs 1 Blood to produce a single dose of Toxicity 1 Venom, while by second level 1 Blood will net two doses of Toxicity 2 Venom, with another choice of Attribute to damage.
It is possible to dedicate a Venom to affect Vampires, but it will function at one Rank lower.
Hydromancy
The secondary Sorcery of the Yaundae, giving them power over the water in which they make their home. Behaves similarly to the Pattern of the Emerald Sea, and is ultimately a power with utility more than raw might.
Initially, Yaundae will find this Sorcery useful for moving faster through bodies of water, of interpreting the echoes and ripples in the water, and preventing mortal swimmers from escaping. Eventually it becomes a potent weapon against other vampires, and while they can never heat the water, Yaundae can learn to hurl spikes of ice.
Warrior Clan Sorceries
Warform - All Warrior Clans
By spending 2 Blood, the Vampire grows in size and power. They gain Soak equal to the level of Warform, 5 temporary Condition, and Claws with the Slashing and Piercing damage types, +2.
Gorite Clan Sorceries
Pyromancy
This is the primary Gorite sorcery, and behaves like the Pattern of the Golden Flame. A Gorite is more resistant to fire than its fellow Vampires, and even has the power to control it. Each Rank of Pyromancy is roughly equivalent to a Logos of Conflagration, but deals exclusively with fire.
Geomancy
The secondary Sorcery of the Gorite. Their tie to the earth and metal within it, much like their bones seem increasingly made of bronze with age and their skins grow stony. Behaves very similarly to the Pattern of the Bronze Mountain, but is limited to stone and a few metal. In particular, it cannot affect brass.
At first, this provides Gorites with what, in time, will be their most valuable tool - they can sense the geography around them and soon learn to interpret vibration in the earth to locate prey or threat. It can later be used to reshape stone and metal as they require it, and there are legends of Gorite wielding great weapons, clad in armour, adding to their already daunting resilience.
Wahran Clan Sorceries
Levitomancy
The secondary Sorcery of the Wahran, from which they gain their name among the Lamans - lightning lizards. It behaves very like the Pattern of the Sapphire Storm, but is limited purely to electricity. Some elder Wahran have learned to apply it to magnetism, but the results so far seem limited to sense the electromagnetic fields of potential prey.
At first this allows them to deliver shocks to enemies through touch, but they can learn to hurl great bolts of lightning as they age.
Wildken
The primary Sorcery of the Wahran, this is a mirror to Caroforma. It is similar to the Pattern of the Silver Tree, but applies only to plants and fungi. Initially, it provides Wahran with a strong sense of their environment (which can make urban landscapes disorientating at first), but with time they often develop symbiotic vines, fungus, and other flora rooted in their flesh. For the best effects, Wahran will often ‘water’ plants in their blood in order to strengthen the bond and allow their gardens to defy natural law.
Uthar Clan Sorceries
Plague
The primary Sorcery of the Uthar, which leads them to be outcast by other Vampires. With a touch or bite, the Uthar can infect an individual human. Communicability is based on the rank of this Sorcery.
The symptoms of the Plague are fever, persistent nightmares, hair loss, light sensitivity, hunger for raw meat, and increasingly severe brain damage. Death by the Plague fetters the ghost of the victim to the Uthar responsible.
Victims also become obsessed with the Uthar - either an inchoate fear that makes it impossible for them to face the Vampire, or a sense of peace or that their symptoms are alleviated in its presence that makes them pliant to its orders.
Uthar can sense Plague victims within a number of miles equal to their rank in this Sorcery.
It costs 1 Blood per Rank per Victim
Rank 1: The Uthar can decide whether a victim will suffer terror or become servile. The terror is immediate and death can follow within a week. The servitude takes a week, starting with nightmares, then fevers, then hair loss, then light sensitivity, loss of faculties, and increasing hunger for raw meat. Somewhere in the second week of infection, if not sooner, the victim will seek out the Uthar and pledge to serve them. If not fed with the Uthar's blood, they will die in the next two weeks and their mental faculties will degrade rapidly until they're functionally ghouls.
Rank 2: The Uthar can now spread the infection through their pet spiders. Servile victims can survive up to a month but are essentially near-mindless revenants by then.
Rank 3: The Uthar can now allow the infection to be spread by victims. Servants who have not been fed can survive up to six months.
Rank 4: The Uthar can force the Plague into dormancy before symptoms appear, and trigger it at any time after the first week. If this is not triggered with six months the effect wanes. Servile victims can survive up to a year.
Rank 5: The Uthar can telepathically command and communicate with servile victims. Servile victims can survive indefinitely through cannibalism.
Deadweaving
The secondary Sorcery of the Uthar. Deadweaving allows them to see and manipulate ghosts, and peer into the World Without Sun. In practice, this means the Uthar can interrogate ghosts for information or witness a murder long past. ‘Natural’ ghosts are under no obligation to cooperate in any fashion. The Uthar can use its Blood to bind willing Ghosts into service.
Ghosts killed by Plague treat the Uthar as their Haunt, and are not required to be well disposed toward her - but they will still suffer the Social penalty the Plague inflicted in life, making them adoring servants or terrified slaves. At the lowest levels, the Uthar can demand information from their haunting ghosts, and even empower them with a little Blood to fulfill simple tasks. As their power grows, the Uthar can even undertake a kind of reverse possession, allowing a ghost to ride in their body in order to access skills or memories the ghost had.
Around the mid-range of power, Uthar can transfer the ghost via blood into a host spider. The spider must be prepared for some time first, allowing it to grow fat and huge on Vampire blood. The ghost suffers a mental recalibration and is shackled to the will of Uthar, becoming a Dreadcrawler - an intelligent and largely autonomous servant. There are stories of some Dreadcrawlers being being twisted into half-humanoid monsters; a person from the waist up, bloated abdomen and skittering legs from the waist down.
Aberrant Sorceries
Unholy Strength - Spend 1 Blood to gain +[Rank] Strength for [Rank] Turns of combat.
Unearthly Grace - Spend 1 Blood to gain +[Rank] Dexterity for [Rank] Turns of combat.
Unnatural Speed - Spend 1 Blood to gain +[Rank] Speed for [Rank] Turns of combat.
Aberration - A unique Sorcery to be discussed with your GM
Common to all Vampires, this Sorcery allows them to command their affiliated animal by augmenting uses of Animal Handling, and to disguise themselves in its shape.
Each bar adds a die to the roll to call and command the animals. Each bar represents 4 animals that can be reliably controlled at a time, and allows for 2 blood-bound animals. This means a total of six animals at the Vampire’s command, with four of them more like temporary minions, and the blood-bound as permanent, empowered minions.
Third Bar grants the ability to shapeshift into the clan animal - Yaundae, Ithim, and Uthar can choose to take a swarm form instead.
Vampires can also ride the senses of commanded animals, to see what they see, to smell as they smell, by rolling Intuition/Beastken. The Vampire is vulnerable while doing so, though they may still benefit from the supernatural sense conferred by Haemoturgy, Aeromancy, Hydromancy, or Geomancy in the event of an attack. At 4th Bar, this power can be used while the Vampire sleeps or pupates.
There is no roll required to ride the senses of a blood-bound animal. With the expenditure of 1 Blood, the Vampire can control a ridden animal.
Associated Animals:
Loxite - Wolf
Ithim - Bat
Yaundae - Snake
Wahran - Lizard
Uthar - Spider
Gorite - Boar
Hunter Clan Sorceries
Shadowmeld - All Hunter Clans
Each point of Shadowmeld adds +1 die to Stealth rolls. Every 2 ranks adds a +1 to Dodge Rating. Each rank can have an added effect, chosen when the rank is gained, which is activated with 1 Blood. Each dedicated Bar ramps up the efficacy of the side-effect. These include: Allowing shadowmeld to defeat supernatural senses; -1 to Awareness or Investigation rolls. Dampening the senses of mortals around the Vampire; -1 to Awareness of Investigation rolls. Actually blending into the shadow to become intangible; counts as +1 Soak for the Combat Round in which it is activated.
Ithim Sorceries
Aeromancy
The primary Sorcery of the Ithim. This allows them to control the winds and air; to fly when their wings have no right to lift them and to steal the breath from your lungs. It is then very like the Pattern of the Sapphire Storm, but limited solely to manipulations of the air. Canny old Ithim have simply learned to influence the weather in a more ponderous and roundabout way than a Magus’ brute force. It also adds to their already impressive hunting tools, allowing them to better track scents and feel air movement.
Haemoturgy
The secondary Sorcery of the Ithim. This doesn’t behave like many other Sorceries, being very specifically about blood and the manipulation thereof. The earliest manifestation is the most dangerous tool available to an Ithim - they can track a target whose blood they have tasted from miles away. As they age, this Sorcery even allows them to taste the memories of a target through their blood. They gain an occult sense for nearby mortals through the blood in their bodies. As elder Ithim are less dependant on a constant blood supply, they can even weaponize their own blood; hurling it as caustic, congealed spines. Suffocating a target. Marking them to be followed.
1st: Sense living things by the blood in their bodies from up to a mile away, track a target you've tasted within a mile per Bars x Intuition. Sense how close a victim is to bleeding out, and seal up their wound. Add blood storage, +2 maximum per Bar.
2nd: Cause wounds to keep bleeding, refusing to heal and very difficult to stanch. Alternatively, make wounds STOP bleeding and help them seal up. Sensory powers improved, range of sensing etc.
3rd: Slowing the flow altogether. Deadening movements, slowing heartbeats, imposing penalties to speed and reactions (applies as -1 per success rolled to enemy Physical values). Drinking memories.
Loxite Sorceries
Caroforma
The primary Sorcery of the Loxite, expressing the protean nature of their curse and their inescapable link to both base matter and humanity. Behaves like the Pattern of the Silver Tree, but is limited in scope to affect only flesh and bone, living or dead.
Initially, this power is largely limited to their own body, but they can reshape it almost at will for little cost, making them masters of disguise. Given the Loxite proclivity to rulership, they will often hone an accompanying Craft Focus to apply Caroforma to minions for maximum effect.
Nyctomancy
The secondary Loxite Sorcery, and probably their most versatile. Nyctomancy operates in a manner not unlike the Pattern of the Ebon Night. It is more obvious in use than it might seem; the darkness it creates feels wrong, unnatural. While it can hide the Loxite, it won’t do anything for suspicion. It’s far easier for this Sorcery to conjure shadowy tendrils to snare and cut victims, and older Loxite can, like Shadows, produce construct-minions of dark-stuff - but those made by Loxite often have a taste for blood and a worrying independent streak.
Yaundae Sorceries
Venomancy
The primary Sorcery of the Yaundae, allowing them to convert their blood into various supernatural toxins. Mechanically, each level of this Sorcery represents an Attribute the Yaundae can produce a venom to affect - such as a Venom which specifically clouds the victim’s mind, reducing Intuition or Intellect.
While this costs blood to use, the efficiency of the conversion increases with levels of the Sorcery. At first, it costs 1 Blood to produce a single dose of Toxicity 1 Venom, while by second level 1 Blood will net two doses of Toxicity 2 Venom, with another choice of Attribute to damage.
It is possible to dedicate a Venom to affect Vampires, but it will function at one Rank lower.
Hydromancy
The secondary Sorcery of the Yaundae, giving them power over the water in which they make their home. Behaves similarly to the Pattern of the Emerald Sea, and is ultimately a power with utility more than raw might.
Initially, Yaundae will find this Sorcery useful for moving faster through bodies of water, of interpreting the echoes and ripples in the water, and preventing mortal swimmers from escaping. Eventually it becomes a potent weapon against other vampires, and while they can never heat the water, Yaundae can learn to hurl spikes of ice.
Warrior Clan Sorceries
Warform - All Warrior Clans
By spending 2 Blood, the Vampire grows in size and power. They gain Soak equal to the level of Warform, 5 temporary Condition, and Claws with the Slashing and Piercing damage types, +2.
Gorite Clan Sorceries
Pyromancy
This is the primary Gorite sorcery, and behaves like the Pattern of the Golden Flame. A Gorite is more resistant to fire than its fellow Vampires, and even has the power to control it. Each Rank of Pyromancy is roughly equivalent to a Logos of Conflagration, but deals exclusively with fire.
Geomancy
The secondary Sorcery of the Gorite. Their tie to the earth and metal within it, much like their bones seem increasingly made of bronze with age and their skins grow stony. Behaves very similarly to the Pattern of the Bronze Mountain, but is limited to stone and a few metal. In particular, it cannot affect brass.
At first, this provides Gorites with what, in time, will be their most valuable tool - they can sense the geography around them and soon learn to interpret vibration in the earth to locate prey or threat. It can later be used to reshape stone and metal as they require it, and there are legends of Gorite wielding great weapons, clad in armour, adding to their already daunting resilience.
Wahran Clan Sorceries
Levitomancy
The secondary Sorcery of the Wahran, from which they gain their name among the Lamans - lightning lizards. It behaves very like the Pattern of the Sapphire Storm, but is limited purely to electricity. Some elder Wahran have learned to apply it to magnetism, but the results so far seem limited to sense the electromagnetic fields of potential prey.
At first this allows them to deliver shocks to enemies through touch, but they can learn to hurl great bolts of lightning as they age.
Wildken
The primary Sorcery of the Wahran, this is a mirror to Caroforma. It is similar to the Pattern of the Silver Tree, but applies only to plants and fungi. Initially, it provides Wahran with a strong sense of their environment (which can make urban landscapes disorientating at first), but with time they often develop symbiotic vines, fungus, and other flora rooted in their flesh. For the best effects, Wahran will often ‘water’ plants in their blood in order to strengthen the bond and allow their gardens to defy natural law.
Uthar Clan Sorceries
Plague
The primary Sorcery of the Uthar, which leads them to be outcast by other Vampires. With a touch or bite, the Uthar can infect an individual human. Communicability is based on the rank of this Sorcery.
The symptoms of the Plague are fever, persistent nightmares, hair loss, light sensitivity, hunger for raw meat, and increasingly severe brain damage. Death by the Plague fetters the ghost of the victim to the Uthar responsible.
Victims also become obsessed with the Uthar - either an inchoate fear that makes it impossible for them to face the Vampire, or a sense of peace or that their symptoms are alleviated in its presence that makes them pliant to its orders.
Uthar can sense Plague victims within a number of miles equal to their rank in this Sorcery.
It costs 1 Blood per Rank per Victim
Rank 1: The Uthar can decide whether a victim will suffer terror or become servile. The terror is immediate and death can follow within a week. The servitude takes a week, starting with nightmares, then fevers, then hair loss, then light sensitivity, loss of faculties, and increasing hunger for raw meat. Somewhere in the second week of infection, if not sooner, the victim will seek out the Uthar and pledge to serve them. If not fed with the Uthar's blood, they will die in the next two weeks and their mental faculties will degrade rapidly until they're functionally ghouls.
Rank 2: The Uthar can now spread the infection through their pet spiders. Servile victims can survive up to a month but are essentially near-mindless revenants by then.
Rank 3: The Uthar can now allow the infection to be spread by victims. Servants who have not been fed can survive up to six months.
Rank 4: The Uthar can force the Plague into dormancy before symptoms appear, and trigger it at any time after the first week. If this is not triggered with six months the effect wanes. Servile victims can survive up to a year.
Rank 5: The Uthar can telepathically command and communicate with servile victims. Servile victims can survive indefinitely through cannibalism.
Deadweaving
The secondary Sorcery of the Uthar. Deadweaving allows them to see and manipulate ghosts, and peer into the World Without Sun. In practice, this means the Uthar can interrogate ghosts for information or witness a murder long past. ‘Natural’ ghosts are under no obligation to cooperate in any fashion. The Uthar can use its Blood to bind willing Ghosts into service.
Ghosts killed by Plague treat the Uthar as their Haunt, and are not required to be well disposed toward her - but they will still suffer the Social penalty the Plague inflicted in life, making them adoring servants or terrified slaves. At the lowest levels, the Uthar can demand information from their haunting ghosts, and even empower them with a little Blood to fulfill simple tasks. As their power grows, the Uthar can even undertake a kind of reverse possession, allowing a ghost to ride in their body in order to access skills or memories the ghost had.
Around the mid-range of power, Uthar can transfer the ghost via blood into a host spider. The spider must be prepared for some time first, allowing it to grow fat and huge on Vampire blood. The ghost suffers a mental recalibration and is shackled to the will of Uthar, becoming a Dreadcrawler - an intelligent and largely autonomous servant. There are stories of some Dreadcrawlers being being twisted into half-humanoid monsters; a person from the waist up, bloated abdomen and skittering legs from the waist down.
Aberrant Sorceries
Unholy Strength - Spend 1 Blood to gain +[Rank] Strength for [Rank] Turns of combat.
Unearthly Grace - Spend 1 Blood to gain +[Rank] Dexterity for [Rank] Turns of combat.
Unnatural Speed - Spend 1 Blood to gain +[Rank] Speed for [Rank] Turns of combat.
Aberration - A unique Sorcery to be discussed with your GM
