Mortis

 

The lost discipline of the Cappadocian clan and it's offshoots, Mortis was signature in that it dealt with the act of dieing, death itself and what goes beyond death. (important note: the Giovanni only use these paths during the dark ages)

 

Cappadocian paths:

 

The Grave's Decay

 

The Grave's Decay was created by applying the effects of decay and aging upon objects and bodies. Through this, the Cappadocians created a versatile discipline capable of both combat uses and to get rid of any spend meals.

 

1 - Destroy the Husk: Turn a mortal corpse into a pile of dust roughly the same size as the body. This allows the vampire to quickly dispose of corpses, as no ordinairy mortal force is capable of discovering anything unusual on the pile of dust. However, Auspex or other supernatural powers may be able to tell the user something about the dust's prior identity. (Use spends a bloodpoint and drips this on the corpse, rolling Intelligence + Medicine. Only 1 succes is required to turn the corpse into dust, but the process takes 5 turns minus the number of successes gained.)

2 - Rigor Mortis: A target within sight and 25 yards of distance may be rendered completely immobile. The Rigor Mortis normally associated with corpses that have been recently deceased sets into a living or unliving body, and the victim must take considerable effort to move any muscle in his/her body. (User spends a Willpower point and rolls Manipulation + Medicine at diff 7. Each succes freezes the target for one turn. Failure means the user lost his/her Willpower point, and botching means the victim becomes immune to the user's Grave's Decay for the next 24 hours. For it's duration, the victim acts as though staked, though can roll Willpower at diff 7, if the victim scores 2 successes he/she breaks free. If however the victim fails, he/she takes a level of bashing damage and spends 1 more turn frozen.)

3 - Wither: Allows the user to cause the limb of a target to shrivel away. Muscles wither away, skin flakes off and bones become brittle. With this power the user can effectively shut down use of a limb on a victim, allowing the user to render otherwise dangeous opponents helpless. With kindred it lasts a single day, with mortals it is permanent. (Costs a Willpower point, all the user has to do is touch the intended victim. If the victim is actively avoiding the touch, the user must make a normal Dexterity + Brawl roll to touch the victim. When the touch lands, the effected limb takes 2 aggravated damage, which must be healed for the effects to be lifted. Vampires can heal the aggravated damage as normal, but mortals will suffer the effects for the rest of their lives or until they recieve supernatural aid. The wounds caused by this power will never degenerate further, they will not become infected or turn gangrenous. A withered arm has a strength of 0 and will not be able to lift anything heavier then half a pound, and a withered leg will prevent the victim from moving any faster then a draging limp. If an ear or eye is effected, it raises difficulty for all related perception based rolls by 1. If both eyes or ears are effected, the victim becomes deaf/blind. If the tongue ifs effected the victim becomes mute and can no longer speak. If the victim's face is effected, the victim loses 1 point of appearence for every level of aggravated dealt to it.)

4 - Corrupt the Undead Flesh: Inflict a terrible disease upon a victim, be it kindred or mortal. The victim becomes severely weakened, dizzy and vomit blood.  Mortals need only spend a few hours near the victim and they will become infected as well, if other vampires drink of the victims blood they too become infected, and the strength of the disease doesn't wear down after spreading through many victims.  If the victim survives, the disease fades after a week. (Costs a Willpowerpoint, user rolls Manipulation + Medicine against difff 6. The victim must roll Stamina + Fortitude against a diff of the user's Willpower, and if the victim scores more successes the effects of this power are entirely negated, otherwise the victim suffers from the disease immediately. The victim must be in sight and within 20 yards of the user.

The disease has the following effects:

Victims lose half their Strength and Wits

Victims lose one point of Dexterity

If mortal, the victim loses a health level each night and will vomit any food he/she eats.

If vampire, the victim must spend 2 bloodpoints instead of 1 to rouse him/herself from slumber every night. Also, each time the vampire feeds the vampire must roll Self-Control or Instict against diff 8. If the vampire fails on this roll, he/she vomits all the blood he/she had fed, thusly losing any advantage the vampire may have gained from drinking the blood.

Lastly, the victim of this power can roll Stamina each evening after sunset with a diff of 11, minus the number of sunsets that have pased since aquiring the disease. If the victim succeeds, they start recovering from the disease immediately, vampires can manage their blood normally again and mortals can eat normally, and regain their lost attributes by one point per hour.)

5 - Dissolve the Flesh: By using this discipline on a portion of the user's own blood and dripping it on vampiric flesh, the flesh turns to dust as though the victim was burned by the sun. (The user spends 2 bloodpoints and a Willpower point, and then rolls Willpower against a diff of the victims Stamina + 3. This infuses the blood of the user with the power of the grave, and if administered to the flesh of a vampiric victim within the next few turns after casting this power, it turns the flesh it touches into dust, dealing a point of aggravated damage for every success on the Willpower roll. Most of the blood must reach the victim, so just flinging a few drops at someone is pointless. Also, the dust created in this manner has strong magical properties, that Thaumaturges (like the Tremere and Cappadocians) can take advantage of. )

 

 

 

The Corpse in the Monster

 

Cappadocians believed that the corpse is the gateway between life and death, and vampires to be stuck in the corpse. This path distorts the borders between life and death, upon which vampires balance.

 

1 - Masque of Death: Allows the user to turn his/her own body, or that of another touched target, to turn to a corpse like state. Skin becomes pale and thin, stretches tightly across bone etc, allowing the user to easily hide as a corpse in a crypt or even use this power as a minor curse on an enemy. (User spends a bloodpoint, and if the user wishes to use it on someone else must also roll Stamina + Medicine against a diff of the target's Stamina + 3. No roll is required if the user casts this upon him/herself. The victim of this power loses 2 points in Dexterity and Appearence down to a minimum of 1 Dexterity and 0 Appearence, but gains 2 dices in Intimidation rolls due to her/his horrid appeareance. If the one under the effects of this power remains perfectly still, onlookers must roll Perception + Medicine at diff 7 and score at least 5 successes to recognize the corpse as not being normal. This power lasts for a single day and night,m unless the caster of this power wishes to end it's effects early.)

2 - Cold of the Grave: The user's mind takes a form of death, becoming lethargic and unemotional, the user can feel neither emotional nor physical pain for the duration of this power. As a side effect, their skin becomes quite cold, and their breath may even mist in warm climates. Those with truly exceptional senses may even detect a red hinge to the user's breath. (The user spends a Willpowerpoint to activate this power's effects, and it lasts for single night. For it's duration, the user does not suffer from any wound penalties and gains one die in all pools where he/she is resisting emotional manipulation (for example, versus Presence) but also loses one die in all attempts to preform emotional manipulation. However, this power does not protect the user from the Beast, and as such has no effect on frenzy rolls.)

3 - Curse of Life: Temporarily make a undead victim feel certain undiserable urges that the living suffer from. This can be anything from a mundane need to drink or eat, to sweating or even the need to urinate or defecate, or even a decrease in sensory capability or greater vulnerability to damage that vampires otherwise easily shrug off.  (User spends a Wilpowerpoint and rolls Intelligence + Medicine at diff 8. The target victim must be within line of sight of the user and no more then 20 yards away. For it's duration, the victim sufers from all the negative parts of being alive, and these distractions cause a +2 diff on all rolls. At the cost of one Willpowerpoint, the vampire can ignore these distractions for a scene. Additionally, the vampire cannot spend bloodpoints to increase his/her Physical attributes, and no spending of Willpower (as discribed before) can circumvent this penalty. This power lasts until the next sunset.)

4 - Gift of the Corpse: For one minute, the user can ignore weaknesses of the vampiric breed. Sunlight, being staked or holy objects no longer harm the user for the duration. However, for it's duration the user gains an even more deathlike parlor then normally associated with the Cappadocian clan. In fact, the user becomes more like an animated corpse then a vampire. Also, the vampire's aura shows a pulsating red tinge, which may give away the user's identity. (User spends Willpower point and rolls Stamina + Occult at diff 8. Each success increases the duration of this power by 1 turn. For it's duration, holy artifacts or sanctified grounds have no effect, the vampire becomes immune to frenzy and Rötshreck, being staked through the heart is no more lethal then being stabbed anywhere else with a sharp object, Sunlight deals only bashing damage and only if shining upon naked skin on a clear day and fire only deals lethal damage. However, using this power is considered a spiritual rejection of even the remainder of humanity in the cainite form, which may influence Humanity/Path/Road ratings, at the Storytellers discretion.)  

5 - Gift of Live: Cappadocians long tried to cure themselves of their undead affliction, but this power was the peak of their research into reaching the line in between life and undeath. Upon casting this power, the user becomes able to experience all the best things of being a mortal. The user can consume food and drink, have sex and even the light of the sun no longer burns the user. However, this comes at a terrible price. The user must spend a tremendous amount of blood to activate this power, which will almost asuredly cause the user to seek out a victim, which will be killed during the casting due to the amount of blood the user must extract from the victim.  (The user must spend 12 bloodpoints (yes 12) in order to cast this power. The bloodpoints must be spend at the user's generational limit per turn, until 12 bloodpoints have been burned, which the user may do as he/she feeds on a victim. Then, the user rolls Stamina + Occult at diff 6, needing only 1 succes for the power to properly activate. Botching on this roll may be disasterous, perhaps resulting in the death of the user or the Embrace of the victim the user was draining. If succesful, the user can enjoy all the finer things in life (as discribed above) and all Fortitude soak difficulties against sunlight are halved. If the user sufficiently covers him/herself, then he/she wont even take damage from the sun. Fire turns to lethal damage instead of aggravated, and the difficulty for all frenzy and Rötshreck rolls is halved, rounded up. Also the user does not need to roll Humanity/Road to stay awake during the day, though the user will be tired during the day. However, the user can still be harmed normally by holy artifacts or True Faith, can still be staked, and his/her blood is still Vitae. Lastly, this power is a mere mockery of life, which may influence Humanity/Path/Road ratings. When the Gift of Life ends, the Beast comes surging back into the cainite's mind with a vengeance, increasing the diff of frenzy rolls by 3 for 6 nights. The Gift of Life lasts until the stroke of midnight, regardless of how far away it was when the user cast the power.)

 

 

 

Cadaverous Animation

 

One of the most renowned abilities of the Cappadocians was their ability to resummon life into the dead. This path has sprung from the belief that in every corpse there remains an echo of life, one that can be manipulated to fore the corpse into servitude.

 

1 - Trace of Life: The user causes mild traits of life in a corpse or vampire in torpor, such as twitching, breathing or heartbeats. The user cannot make the corpse speak, but still there's little thats more fightening then to see a recently deceased loved one suddenly turn around in his coffin. This power cannot make a corpse do anything more then what a sleeping mortal could do though. This power can also be used on vampires in torpor, with the same results. (The user rolls Manipulation + Occult at diff 6 on any visible corpse within 30 feet. If the user scores one succes, the user can make a corpse make a single motion, such as flicking it's hand up or making it take a deep breath. With 4 or more successes, the user can establish of movements that the corpse will preform over the remainder of the scene. Failure means the user can try again normally. If the user botches, the corpse turns to dust. Onlookers must roll Perception + Medicine at diff 7 and score more successes then the use to realise the corpse is in fact dead. If a onlooker touches the corpse and notices the lack of warmth, the difficulty drops to 5. If the corpse has it's eyes open and onlookers gaze into the milky rotting eyes, they immediately realise the corpse is in fact dead. If used on a vampire, the user requires 2 more successes for anything, so requires at least 3 successes to cause any efect at all. )

2 - Call the Homuncular Servant: Allows the user to reanimate a small mobile part of a corpse (like a hand) which will detach itself from its body and then obey the user. The servant has mystical senses allowing it to see and hear, hides extremely well from strangers in it's way, moves quickly and even possesses a mediocre amount of intelligence, allowing it to understand simple commands given by the user. As long as the servant remains within a quarter mile of it's umaster, the servant will be telepathically connected to it's master, allowing it to roughly relay what it sees and hears to it's master and even recieve telepathic commands from it's master. The servant cannot carry anything, but things may be attacked to it. The servant is completely obedient to it's master, and will ignore any requests or orders made by others. If the servant moves outside the quarter-mile radius from it's master, it will follow it's last instructions untill destroyed. (Costs a bloodpoint, user rolls Dexterity + Occult at diff 7. The user then drips the blood on the target limb.  Each success animates it for one additional night, while failure allows the user to try the same power again normally, and a botch indicates the targetted limb is forever ruined.

Homuncular servant statistics:

Strength 1, Dexterity 4, Stamina 1. All Social attributes are 0. Perception is 3, Intelligence 1, Wits 2

Alterness 1, Athletics 1, Dodge 2, Stealth 2

Willpower 0, bloodpool 0, has only 2 healthlevels, the first of which has no wound penalty, the second the full amount. The Homuncular servant soaks damage like a normal human, but can be ordered to attack for 2 dices of bashing damage. The Homuncular servant can move 2 yard per turn.)

3 - Raise the Corpse to Service: Rises a corpse in service to the user. The corpse cannot attack (though it may be able to attempt to disarm foes by taking their weapons and armor), but can move about, interact with objects (even clean houses and prepare meals!) and understands spoken commands perfectly. This power works on freshly deceased corpses and on corpses already decayed into skeletons. (Costs a bloodpoint, the user rolls Manipulation + Occult at diff 6. The user then drips the vitae into the mouth of the target corpse, and the reanimating proces costs 3 turns. After this, the corpse will remain active in the vampire's service for one day per succes. However, during this time it will decay as normally. When the corpse loses the effects of this power, it may be ressurected again with no penalties. If the user botches on the activation roll, the corpse is consumed in unholy flame.

Corpse servant:

Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3. All Social attributes are 0. Perception 2, Intelligence 1, Wits 1.

Crafts 1, Seneschal 2.

Willpower 0, 5 health levels, suffers only -2 dices woundpenalty on both it's last 2 healthlevels.

Has no bloodpoints, and cannot attack enemies directly. The corpse is immune to most mind-altering effects, and soaks Bashing and Lethal damage like vampires. The corpse servant can at most move 5 yards per turn. )

4 - Call the Athanatos: Like Raise the Corpse to Service, but instead creating a monster, a servant with no other purpose then to kill.  Instead of just resummoning life into the corpse, this ritual binds a spirit to the corpse, one said to serve the Grim  Reaper itself. Rumors are abound of unfortunate souls who were slain by their own creation, for the Athanatos is not a willing servant, and seeks only to kill. (The user spends 2 bloodpoints and rolls Stamina + Occult against diff 8, while dropping blood on a corpose in a ritual manner over the course of 5 minutes. Leftover successes can be used to improve the abilities of the Athanatos. Upon animating the corpse, the user must roll Willpower against diff 7 in order to gain control over his/her new servant. If the corpse moves 100 yards away from the user, the same Willpower  roll must be made. If the corpse goes into battle, and is for whatever reason left without enemies to fight, the user must again make the same Willpower roll to keep control over his/her servant. If at any time control is broken, the servant will attack anyone that it sees, be it mortal or vampire.

Statistics for the Athanatos:

Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4. All social attributes are 0. Perception 1, Intelligence 1, Wits 2

Archery/Firearms 2 , Athlethics 2, Brawling 2, Dodge 3 and Melee 3

Willpower 0, 6 healthlevels, does not suffer from wound penalties untill the last health level, for which penalties are normal. The Athanatos is immune to most mind altering effects, and soak Lethal and Bashing damage like vampires. Athanatos move at a normal speed.

Note that if a corpse is used for this power that had greater abilities then the normal Athanatos, those abilities are used instead.)

5 - Muster a Corpse Army: Much like the Call the Athanatos, except with multiple corpses. This power is all the more dangerous as here, the user risks losing control of several angry warrior corpses. Alternatively, the user may also use this power to summon corpse servants instead of Athanatos warriors. (Costs 3 bloodpoints, user rolls Stamina + Occult against diff 8 as the user spends 10 minutes ritually sprinkling blood on the corpses he/she wishes to animate. Each success animates 2 warriors, but the user cannot spend leftover successes to improve the abilities of members of the horde. As discribed under Call the Athanatos, the user must make Willpower rolls to keep control over his/her little army, but instead the diff is 9. This power may also be used to create corpse servants instead of warriors, using the exact same system but without the need to do Willpower rolls to keep control.)

 

 

Lamia path:

 

Path of the Four Humours

 

The form of Mortis used by the Lamia, this path allowed the Lamia to turn their bodily fluids into various useables, including poison.

 

1 - Whispers to the Soul: By whispering the name of the user's intended victim (as the user knows it) while speaking to your victim, the user creates a small whisp of his/her own black bile which will whisper nightmares to the victim as he/she sleeps and speak the dark mutterings of the mad during the day. (The user need make no roll, just whisper the name of your victim in his/her presence. The victim then rolls Willpower against diff 8, and if he/she fails, the dark whisp (which is in fact black bile in vaporous form) will crawl into the ear canal of the victim. For a number of days equal to the user's Manipulation, the victim suffers from nightmares while he/she sleeps and will hear whispers of madness while he/she is awake. This removes 1 dice from all dice pools, and at the storyteller's discretion also increases the difficulty to resist Rötshreck by one point.)

2 - Kiss of the Dark Mother: The user mixes his/her own black bile with his/her blood, and directs it into their mouth. By coating his/her own lips and teeth with the mixture, the user's bite becomes very lethal. In addition, the mixture tastes acrid and bitter, as though vitae had been scorched. (The user spends a bloodpoint to create the mixture, this is a reflexive action so does not consume an action during the turn it has been activated, but it's effect is only applied from the next turn onward. The next time the user makes a succesful bite attack (so, when attacking with fangs and not when applying the Kiss) it deals double damage. After this attack, the mixture is lost and must be re-applied. Otherwise, the mixture is not lost untill the user manually spends a turn to remove it from his/her mouth.)

3 - Dark Humours: The user becomes able to use their Black Bile, Yellow Bile, Phlegm and ofcourse blood to inflict a negative condition on a target. The poisons created in this manner can be excreted from the user's skin and applied to a victim's skin, causing the effect, or be used to taint a beverage, or even the vitae of the user. (The user spends 2 bloodpoints, regardless of the Humour chosen. Upon being poisoned by the user, the victim rolls Stamina against diff 8 to resist the effects of the poison.

 

poison effects:

Black Bile - The victim is poisoned and takes Lethal damage equal to the user's Stamina against which armor is useless..

Yellow Bile - The victim becomes depressed and generally shows low levels of enthusiasm or eagerness for any activity. The victim also becomes plagued by various distressing visions of death, and cannot use Willpower for the rest of the night.. All Willpower rolls of the victim are at +2 difficulty.

Phlegm - The victim becomes weary and exhausted, reducing all dice pools by 2 untill the end of the night.

Blood - The victims blood finds it harder to clot, and as such is prone to bleeding excessively even from a small cut, causing any lethal or aggravated damage to deal an extra point of damage on the turn after the damage originally occured. Blood altered using this power will not turn humans into ghouls or cause bloodbonds.

 

In addition, each of the humours has a side effect on the user as the user uses this power. These however have no serious repurcusions for the user.

Upon using:

Black Bile - The user becomes generally optimistic.

Yellow Bile - The user becomes calm and placid.

Phlegm - The user becomes aroused and angry.

Blood - The user becomes depressed and pessimistic.

4 - Clutching the Shroud: By drinking the blood of a corpse, the user can become something closer to an animated corpse rather then a vampire. The user grows cold and distant, and his/her skin becomes more resistant to damage. (The user must drink at least 5 bloodpoints from a corpse that is at least 24 hours old, though no more then 3 days into the grave. This generally takes 2 turns. Then, the user must spend as many turns as is neccesary to burn all 5 bloodpoints. For the remainder of the night, the user gains 2 additional soak dices for all damage, as though the user had Fortitude. Also, the user gains a mystical sense that allows the user to see how far those people around him/her are from death. Wether they are young and healthy or old and infirm, or diseased, or even if they are undead, ghoul or mortal. Lastly, the user gains the ability to see beyond the Shroud into the lands of the dead, and interact freely with ghosts. This requires a Perception + Occult roll at a diff determined by how close the local area is to death. A cemetary would be diff 5, while a warm homestead would be diff 7. However, this power as a whole makes the user more susceptable to the powers used by ghosts, making it a risky tool where the influence of the dead is strong.)

5 - Black Breath: By expelling the user's black bile through breath, the user can breath a miasmic black cloud. The cloud is quite massive and anyone caught in it (even mages and garou) will be stricken with despair and hopelessness. The user on the other hand will feel light-headed and optimistic, as though the user expelled the most depressing part of his/herself into the world. (The user spends a point of Willpower and a bloodpoint, and rolls Stamina + Athletics. The cloud is 5 yards per success rolled. Anyone who has an available action when the cloud hits may attempt a Dexterity + Dodge roll incase he/she has an available escape route. Those caught in the cloud must immediately roll Willpower against diff 8 (7 for supernaturals). If the victims fail, they will on their next turn attempt to commit suicide in the most efficient and quick manner possible. If they fail in the attempt, the impulse to commit suicide will continue to hit the victim whenever the opportunity presents itself over the remainder of the night, or at the storyteller's discretion, the remainder of the next 24 hours. Cainites, instead of attempting to commit suicide, will fall into torpor if they fail on the Willpower roll. Regardless of wether or not the victim succeeds the Willpower roll, the victim will develop an unhealthy fascination with the prospect of death, and loses 2 dices on all dice pools for the remainder of the night.)

 

 

Giovanni paths:

 

Nigromancy

 

The Giovanni shaped Mortis into much more then the clan of their origin, this path allowing the user to gain power over spirits.

 

1 - Witness of Death: Through this power, the user gains the ability to see ghosts as transparant phantoms gliding among the living. The user can also hear their whispers and moans, and can even feel their cold touch and smell them.

2 - Summon Soul: A ghost is summoned to the caster's side, and cannot leave out of eyesight of the user untill the user dismisses the ghost or until the sun rises again. The user can see and hear the ghost clearly.

3 - Compel the Shade: Force a ghost to do whatever the user wills, from a simple chore to a dangerous mission. This normal only lasts for several hours, though the user may spend temporary willpower to increase the duration of the command by 1 days or permanent willpower to increase the duration of the command for 1 additional year.

4 - Fetter the Dead: Imprison a ghost in an object or force them to haunt a certain place (the binding can last from a few minutes to a full year). If a ghost in bound in a corpse, the ghost may be able to reanimate the corpse.

5 - Usurer's Scales: The user may give their blood or willpower to empower a ghost, or drain a ghost of it's energies and add these to the user's willpower.

 

 

Path of Haunting

 

Translated from the Giovanni's early fascination with spirits, the Path of the Haunting allows the user to haunt a target like a ghost would, except usually with more terrifying effects.

 

1 - Morbid Fascination: Infects a victim with an unhealthy fixation of death. This drains the victims willpower and eventually might drive them to suicide (if mortal) or torpor (if kindred).

2 - Summon Wisp: Create a wisp that creates a pale light of any colour that will attempt to distract the victim. The wisp can fly as fast as the user can run, and casts about as much light as a candle. Though other kindred effected by this power may just be annoyed by the distraction of the wisp, mortals may become entranced by the light and will attempt to follow it anywhere, even into danger.

3 - Harrowing: The next time the victim sleeps sleeps, the victim suffers from nightmares of his/her own death. In addition, the victim will have both the Nightmares and Eerie Presence flaw and cannot restore willpower for a single day.

4 -  Phantasms: Create a simple yet terrifying illusion(s).

5 - Torment: Attract malicious ghosts to torment a victim. The ghosts will do everything in their power to make the live of the victim as miserable as possible for several days, and might even drive the victim to suicide or madness. When using this power, the ghosts will find it especially easy to torment the victim. (difficulties reduced)