Post by Phsycodelic on Jan 25, 2017 23:19:43 GMT
Sadhana: Asura-Raja ( Path Of Anubis, Spirit Manipulation, Suleiman's Laws )
Assamites, Followers Of Set, Tremere
Assamites, Followers Of Set, Tremere
Sadhana paths all call for Willpower rolls. A sadhu evokes all path magic by sheer force of will because that's how she believes ascetic magic works: If you gain enough merit through your austerities, what you wish comes true. Most Sadhana rituals call for an Intelligence + Occult roll from the player, just like every other style of Thaumaturgy. The exceptions, like Rakta-Maya rituals of hypnotic illusion, are noted in their sections.
Unlike Hermatic magus, a sadhu needs to learn an additional Ability besides Occult. Sadhana's austerities demand that a practitioner also develop the Secondary Skill of Meditation. A sorcerer cannot employ path magic at a higher level than her Meditation Trait, though she may perform rituals of a higher level. She still knows her primary path to the level of her full Thaumaturgical mastery; she simply lacks the spiritual force or focus to use it. When her player raises the character's Meditation Trait, she can use the path to the higher level. Note: This applies to ALL paths learned in this line, including ones "imported" from other paths.
Meditation has many uses in its own right, in accordance with an Indian adept's overmastering will. At the Storyteller's option, a sadhu's player can substitute an Intelligence + Meditation roll for a path power's Willpower roll – but at the cost of the power taking as much time as a ritual of the same level. Meditation is not quick.
Created to replace the rituals practiced by Clan Tremere in the days when it was a band of mortal wizards, Spirit Manipulation is the art of forcing spirits into actions and situations that would normally be contrary to their nature. These spirits are not the wraiths controlled by Necromancy, but a manifestation of the great powers of the universe that the limited humanoid brain perceives as spirits. Some believe that spirits are tulpas - constructs of human will created by faith to explain how the universe manages to function. Spirit Manipulation forces these spirits into a grotesque mockery of their normal behaviors to achieve magical results in the material world.
Spirit Thaumaturgy botches (regardless of which form of Sorcery allows access to this path) open the vampire up to possession by a spirit or simply cause him to believe that he has been possessed. Regardless, treat this like a manifestation of the Multiple Personality Derangement, with the currently dominant personality based on a relevant spirit. [Rites Of The Blood - Page 132]
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 ] Hermetic Sight ( Rites Of The Blood - Page 142 )
The vampire can perceive the spirit world, either by gazing deeply into it or by seeing the presence of nearby spirits as a hazy overlay on the material world.
System: Hermetic Sight allows the thaumaturge to perceive the spirit realm interlaid over the material world for one hour. Each additional level of success on the activation roll increases the duration of this power by an additional thirty minutes.
[ 2 ] Astral Cant ( Rites Of The Blood - Page 143 )
The languages of the spirit world are infinitely varied and mainly incomprehensible to mortal (and immortal) minds. Astral Cant does not teach the thaumaturge the tongues of the spirits, but it does allow him to understand them as they speak to him and to reply in their own languages. The use of this power is not always necessary; many spirits speak human tongues, but choose to feign ignorance when dealing with vampires. Spirits are not affected by Dominate, but may be manipulated by Presence. Some thaumaturges theorize that this is because spirits are not actually sentient as a vampire would understand the concept, but are manifestations based on the perception of those that are self-aware.
System: Astral Cant allows the thaumaturge to speak to any spirit visible via Hermetic Sight for fifteen minutes. Each additional level of success on the activation roll increases the duration of this power by an additional fifteen minutes to the duration.
[ 3 ] Voice Of Command ( Rites Of The Blood - Page 143 )
This is perhaps the most dangerous power in the Spirit Manipulation arsenal, for the consequences of failure can be particularly unpleasant. Voice of Command allows the thaumaturge to issue orders to a spirit, compelling it to heed her bidding whether or not it desires to do so.
Spirits compelled by this power are fully aware that they are being forced into these actions, and may well seek revenge on their erstwhile masters at a later time. Thaumaturges who issue commands above and beyond what their spirit servants are compelled to perform may find themselves ignored or mocked. A trickster spirit may agree to a situation to follow orders only to betray its master, leaving the thaumaturge in a situation of potentially fatal embarrassment.
System: The thaumaturge makes the normal opposed Willpower roll against the spirit. The target spirit resists with Willpower (difficulty of the thaumaturge's Manipulation + Occult). The degree of success the thaumaturge attains determines the complexity and severity of the command that she can issue.
| Successes | Result |
| Botch | The spirit is immune to the character's commands for the rest of the night. It reacts however the Storyteller deems appropriate. Typically, the spirit is angry enough to seek revenge at the first opportunity. It may ignore, taunt or even attack the character, at the Storyteller's discretion. |
| Failure | The spirit is unaffected, and further attempts to command it are made at +1 difficulty (cumulative). |
| 1 | The spirit obeys a very simple command that is of no great inconvenience to it. |
| 2 | The spirit heeds a relatively straightforward command that it is not innately opposed to performing. |
| 3 | The spirit agrees to perform a moderately complex task that does not violate its ethics. |
| 4 | The spirit consents to an extended or intricate task that does not place it in immediate danger. |
| 5 | The spirit accepts a lengthy or nigh-impossible task, or one that means its destruction. |
[ 4 ] Entrap Ephemera ( Rites Of The Blood - Page 143 )
This power allows a thaumaturge to bind a spirit into a physical object. This can be done to imprison the target, but is more often performed to create a fetish - an artifact that grants mystical benefits powered by the spirit. Fetishes created by this power are often unreliable and fail at inopportune moments, as the spirits within are understandably displeased with their situation and will take any opportunity to escape or thwart their captors. Lupines find it offensive for vampires to possess a fetish, and often they will frenzy simply at the sight of a vampire wielding one.
System: The thaumaturge must first locate a vessel symbolically aligned with the targeted spirit that will eventually become the fetish. Then she must command the targeted spirit to enter the vessel via an opposed Willpower roll. The target spirit resists with Willpower (difficulty equals the thaumaturge's Manipulation + Occult).
Should the thaumaturge succeed, she can create a fetish of a power level based on the number of successes achieved over the spirit, up to a level five fetish. For example, if the thaumaturge wins the opposed Willpower roll against the spirit by three successes, she creates a level three fetish. Creating and maintaining a fetish is difficult; because of this, the number of fetishes a thaumaturge may create is limited by her Willpower. If the thaumaturge gives away said fetish, it still counts against her total available slots. She may only create an additional fetish when one of her previous fetishes has been destroyed.
A fetish grants a number of bonus dice to a specific skill comparable to the level of the fetish. For example, a healing spirit trapped inside a scalpel would grant extra dice (the level of the fetish) for any Medicine roll. The Storyteller always has final authority on what sort of fetish can be made.
A fetish is activated by rolling the user's Willpower (difficulty equals the fetish's power level + 3). A botch on this roll destroys the physical component of the fetish and frees the spirit that was trapped within.
[ 5 ] Duality ( Rites Of The Blood - Page 144 )
The thaumaturge can now fully interact with the spirit world - a strange place that only sometimes resembles the real world. While using this power, she exists on both planes of existence at once. She is able to pick up objects in the physical world and place them in the spirit world and vice versa. Beings and landscape features in both realms are solid to her, and she can engage in any manner of interaction. She can even use Thaumaturgy and other Disciplines in either world. This is not without its dangers. With a single misstep, the vampire can find himself trapped in the spirit realm with no way to return home. Several incautious thaumaturges have starved into tor while trapped on the other side of the barrier that separates the physical and spirit realms.
System: The thaumaturge may interact with the spirit world for fifteen minutes. Each additional level of success on the activation roll increases the duration of this power by an additional fifteen minutes. Duality can only be enacted while the character begins the process in the physical world. While in this state, the thaumaturge becomes susceptible to attacks from both realms and suffers from a +1 difficulty to all Perception rolls. The character is still considered to be in the physical world for purposes of basic physics (and common sense).
Spirits who have been previously angered will seek physical revenge on unwary thaumaturges using this power.
A botch on the roll to activate this power tears the vampire out of the physical world and traps him in the spirit realm. The way back the physical realm, if there is one, is left to the Storyteller's discretion, and may spark an entirely new story.
