Post by Phsycodelic on Jan 25, 2017 0:25:03 GMT
Akhu: Path Of Thoth ( Echo Of Nirvana, Path Of The Focused Mind )
Assamites, Followers Of Set, Tremere
Assamites, Followers Of Set, Tremere
A Lector Priest obtains the body of someone who has been buried in accordance with traditional ancient Egyptian practice (which is increasingly difficult in the modern nights) and desecrates the corpse, thus plunging the deceased's soul into eternal torment while it resides in Osiris's dominion of the Western Lands. This serves a multitude of purposes. The soul in eternal torment disrupts the hold of Osiris on his afterlife dominion by showing the power Set commands in his followers. This blow against his ancient enemy pleases Set, and he channels his power to the Lector Priest. This show of Set's power, furthermore, exposes the lie that is Osiris's promise of eternal life in the Western Lands a little more; these dead shall not find paradise; they find only an eternity of torment.
The Book of Going Forth by Night is an inversion of The Book of Coming Forth by Day, commonly known as the Book of the Dead. Just as the shackles that bind the unbelievers will be corrupted and ultimately destroyed, revealing to them the truth of Set, the structure of Setite rituals are corruptions (or perversions) of ancient Egyptian practices. These rituals make their targets more susceptible to the corruption and manipulation that is ultimately for their own good.
A would-be thaumaturge must possess a strong will and well-developed intellect to master the subtle art of Thaumaturgy. Practitioners of the Focused Mind greatly enhance their mental alacrity and readiness, allowing better comprehension of problems and situations. Thaumaturges, already mentally disciplined, become frightfully powerful in the realm of the cerebral when mastering this Path.
Developed by Melvin Liebknecht, a Tremere Kabbalah scholar, this Path of Thaumaturgy languished in obscurity until discovered in a lost chantry in Berlin after the end of the WWII. Interest in this Path quickly spread through the Pyramid as the adaptable Tremere realized its great potential and benefits. Unlike most Thaumaturgy, the powers of this Path do not require an action to invoke, although they still require the normal blood expenditure and Willpower activation roll. Thaumaturges with this Path may use any single power from this Path during a single turn.
Setite Sorcery botches, regardless of school, cause the sorcerer to acquire an intense photophobia. When exposed to extremely bright lights, the sorcerer must roll for Rötschreck against a difficulty of (4 + the sorcerer's Path rating). Setite lector-priests do not suffer this effect. [Rites Of The Blood - Page 132]
[ 1 ] Readiness ( Rites Of The Blood - Page 139 )
Using Readiness makes the caster able to gain a quicker understanding of a predicament. Enhanced lucidity enlightens the caster, allowing increased cleverness and better reactions to changing situations.
System: This power is only usable on the thaumaturge herself. Every success on the activation roll adds one die to a special dice pool for the remainder of the turn. These dice may be used on any Wits-related rolls or actions that the thaumaturge performs during this turn. Alternatively, each die removed from the dice pool adds one to the caster's initiative rating.
[ 2 ] Centering ( Rites Of The Blood - Page 139 )
By invoking this power, the thaumaturge causes a sudden, intense calmness in the subject by whispering soothing words to her. While under this serenity, the target is better able to focus on tasks at hand, ignoring distractions and annoyances, including grave bodily harm. Thaumaturges in fear of frenzy often use this power on themselves to stifle their own emotions and achieve a state of tranquility.
System: This power is usable on any one subject within earshot of the thaumaturge and lasts for one turn per success on the activation roll. During this period, the target is unaffected by any power or effect (with the notable exception of Elder disciplines) that reduces her dice pools. This includes wound penalties, situational modifiers, and Disciplines. Modifications to difficulty numbers still apply during this time, however. In addition, due to the unnatural serenity that this power bestows, the target receives two additional dice in all attempts to avoid or break frenzy.
[ 3 ] One-Tracked Mind ( Rites Of The Blood - Page 140 )
By extending her powers to other individuals, the thaumaturge is able to fixate the subject on one action. This single-mindedness of the target is so complete that they ignore everything else that occurs around them. Guards are easily distracted with this power, as their attention becomes fixated elsewhere, and research becomes a dedicated, focused task. Use of this power is sometimes colloquially referred to as "railroading someone."
System: This power may affect anyone who can hear the thaumaturge. Successful invocation makes the target unable to split any dice pools for multiple actions and unable to change tactics after actions have been declared. As a side benefit, the target reduces the difficulty of the declared action by one. Additional actions that the victim takes (from Celerity, for example) during the duration of this power must follow up upon their initial action, as they concentrate wholly upon this one idea. If the target wishes to attempt a different course of action, she must spend a point of Willpower per scene (or per turn in combat). The duration of One-Tracked Mind is one scene, or one turn per success on the activation roll.
[ 4 ] Dual Thought ( Rites Of The Blood - Page xxx )
The rigors of learning Thaumaturgy strengthen the mind and the will of a thaumaturge. As a result, those skilled with Thaumaturgy often have the ability to quickly assess a situation and calculate the options available to them. At this level of mastery of the Focused Mind, the thaumaturge is able to divide her attention to two completely separate tasks without penalty or distraction. As One-Tracked Mind forces the subject's attention into a single objective, Dual Thought expands the thaumaturge's concentration to the point that focus upon two goals is possible.
System: Successful use of Dual Thought allows the caster to take two actions without penalty during her turn. (Note that this power specifically lifts the restrictions of multiple actions detailed in V20, p. 248.) The extra action granted by this power must be a mental action, whether it's the use of Disciplines such as the use of Auspex or Thaumaturgy, or the contemplation of some problem. If the character is using both actions to solve a problem, she has two separate dice pools to draw from. These two actions happen at the same time, as determined by the initiative rating of the character. You may not use the extra action to re-cast Dual Thought.
[ 5 ] Perfect Clarity ( Rites Of The Blood - Page xxx )
Perfect Clarity brings about a Zen-like moment of focused insight for the thaumaturge as she gains a brief, perfect understanding of herself, the universe, and her place within it. This lucidity protects the thaumaturge from influences both internal and external; even the Beast within is unable to rage forth. Thought and action become one as a complete serenity of the mind descends upon the thaumaturge.
System: Perfect Clarity lasts for the duration of one scene, (or one turn plus an additional turn for every success on the activation roll if used while in combat). For this period, the thaumaturge has the difficulties of all actions reduced by two. The Kindred is immune to frenzy and Rötschreck from all sources, even supernatural triggers. Finally, any means to control or influence the thaumaturge suffer a +2 difficulty, including powers such as Presence, Dominate, and Dementation.
