Post by Phsycodelic on Nov 18, 2016 23:44:36 GMT
Thaumaturgy: Path Of Conjuring ( Brahma-Vidya, Jinn's Gift, Path Of Ptah )
Assamites, Followers Of Set, Tremere
Assamites, Followers Of Set, Tremere
Like Necromancy, the practice of Thaumaturgy is divided into paths and rituals. Thaumaturgical paths are applications of the vampire's knowledge of blood magic, allowing her to create effects on a whim. Rituals are more formulaic in nature, most akin to ancient magical "spells." Because so many different paths and rituals are available to the arcane Tremere, one never knows what to expect when confronted with a practitioner of this Discipline.
When a character first learns Thaumaturgy, the player selects a path for the character. That path is considered the character's primary path, and she automatically receives one dot in it, as well as one Level One ritual. Thereafter, whenever the character increases her level in Thaumaturgy, her rating in the primary path increases by one as well. Additional rituals are learned separately, as part of a story; players need not pay experience points for their characters to learn rituals up to the level equal to their overall rating in Thaumaturgy, though they must find someone to teach the rituals in question. Path ratings never exceed 5, though the overall Thaumaturgy score may. If a character reaches a rating of 5 in her primary path and increases her Thaumaturgy score afterward, she may allocate her "free" path dot to a different path.
Many Kindred fear crossing the practitioners of Thaumaturgy. It is a very potent and mutable Discipline, and almost anything the Kindred wishes may be accomplished through its magic.
Paths define the types of magic a vampire can perform. A vampire typically learns his primary path from his sire, though it is not unknown for some vampires to study under many different tutors.
As mentioned before, the first path a character learns is considered her primary path and increases automatically as the character advances in the Discipline itself. Secondary paths may be learned once the character has acquired two or more dots in her primary path, and they must be raised separately with experience points. Furthermore, a character's rating in her primary path must always be at least one dot higher than any of her secondary paths until she has mastered her primary path. Once the character has achieved the fifth level of her primary path, secondary paths may be increased to that level.
Each time the character invokes one of the powers of a Thaumaturgical path, the thaumaturge's player must spend a blood point and make a Willpower roll against a difficulty equal to the power's level +3. Only one success is required to invoke a path's effect - path levels, not successes, govern the power of blood magic. Failure on this roll indicates that the magic fails. A botch causes some kind of loss or catastrophic backfire, such as losing a Willpower point (or dot!), spontaneous combustion, or accidentally letting a living statue run rampant. Thaumaturgy is an unforgiving art.
Various Sects and Clans have different access to each path, but unless the Storyteller decides otherwise, it is assumed the Tremere have some access to all of them. ("Having access" does not mean the same thing as "easily gained," especially within the Tremere power structure.) The paths start with one of the most common (The Path of Blood), and thereafter are presented in alphabetical order. (The unusual "path" of Thaumaturgical Countermagic is also presented, although it is considered a separate Discipline).
Invoking objects "out of thin air" has been a staple of occult and supernatural legend since long before the rise of the Tremere. This Thaumaturgical path enables powerful conjurations limited only by the mind of the practitioner.
Objects summoned via this path bear two distinct characteristics. They are uniformly "generic" in that each object summoned, if summoned again, would look exactly as it did at first. For example, a knife would be precisely the same knife if created twice; the two would be indistinguishable. Even a specific knife - the one a character's father used to threaten her - would appear identical every time it was conjured. A rat would have repeated "tiled" patterns over its fur, and a garbage can would have a completely uniform fluted texture over its surface. Additionally, conjured objects bear no flaws: Weapons have no dents or scratches, tools have no distinguishing marks, and cellphones all look like they just came out of their packaging.
The limit on the size of conjured objects appears to be that of the conjurer: Nothing larger than the thaumaturge can be created. The conjurer must also have some degree of familiarity with the object he wishes to call forth. Simply working from a picture or imagination calls for a higher difficulty, while objects with which the character is intimately familiar (such as the knife described above) may actually lower the difficulty, at the Storyteller's discretion.
When a player rolls to conjure something, the successes gained on the roll indicate the quality of the summoned object. One success yields a shoddy, imperfect creation, while five successes garner the caster a nearly perfect replica.
[ 1 ] Summon The Simple Form ( Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition - Page 221 )
At this level of mastery, the conjurer may create simple, inanimate objects. The object cannot have any moving parts and may not be made of multiple materials. For example, the conjurer may summon a steel baton, a lead pipe, a wooden stake, or a chunk of granite.
System: Each turn the conjurer wishes to keep the object in existence, another Willpower point must be spent or the object vanishes.
[ 2 ] Permanency ( Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition - Page 221 )
At this level, the conjurer no longer needs to pay Willpower costs to keep an object in existence. The object is permanent, though simple objects are still all that may be created.
System: The player must invest three blood points in an object to make it real.
[ 3 ] Magic Of The Smith ( Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition - Page 221 )
The Kindred may now conjure complex objects of multiple components and with moving parts. For example, the thaumaturge can create guns, bicycles, chainsaws, or cellphones.
System: Objects created via Magic of the Smith are automatically permanent and cost five blood points to conjure. Particularly complex items often require a Knowledge roll (Crafts, Science, Technology, etc.) in addition to the basic roll.
[ 4 ] Reverse Conjuration ( Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition - Page 221 )
This power allows the conjurer to "banish" into non-existence any object previously called forth via this path.
System: This is an extended success roll. The conjurer must accumulate as many successes as the original caster received when creating the object in question. This can also be used by the thaumaturge to banish object she created herself with this Path.
[ 5 ] Power Over Life ( Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition - Page 221 )
This power cannot create true life, though it can summon forth impressive simulacra. Creatures (and people) summoned with this power lack the free will to act on their own, mindlessly following the simple instructions of their conjurer instead. People created in this way can be subject to the use of the Dominate power Possession, if desired.
System: The player spends 10 blood points. Imperfect and impermanent, creatures summoned via this path are too complex to exist for long. Within a week after their conjuration, the simulacra vanish into insubstantiality.
