Necromancy

 

As the Giovanni would say, Mortis is a thing of the Past. Necromancy is the modern day Thaumaturgy school dealing with death. It's main path is for a Giovanni vampire always The Sepulchre Path, which must be learned first. When a vampire reaches level 3 in The Sepulchre Path, the vampire may choose to buy new rituals in 1 other path, and when the vampire reaches level 5 in The Sepulchre Path, he/she can learn the third path.

 

Giovanni paths:

 

The Sepulchre Path

 

A leftover from the earliest studies of the Giovanni, this path is essentially a evolution of Nigromancy. It allows the user to converse with and manipulate the souls of the dead. (special effect, if the user is within the vicinity of an object that was very important to target wraith/ghost, the difficulty for using powers on that wraith/ghost is reduced by 2)

 

1 - Insight: By gazing into the eyes of a corpse, the user can see the last thing the corpse saw. It appears as a vision in the eyes of the corpse, but only the user can see it. However, it does not work on vampires who have reached Golconda or on corpses where advanced decomposition has set it. Lastly, if the user fails miserably in his attempt, he may instead see his own final death in the eyes of the corpse, causing frenzy in the user. (Perception + Occult, diff 8 for mortal creatures and diff 10 for unliving ones)

Success effect chart:

1 success: A basic sense of the subjects final death.

2 successes: A clear imagine of the subjects death and the seconds preceding it.

3 successes: A clear imagine, with sound, of the subjects death and several minutes preceding it.

4 successes: A clear imagine, with sound, of the subjects death and the half hour preceding it.

5 successes: Full sensory perception of all the events within the hour preceding and leading up to the subjects death.

2 - Summon Soul: A ghost is summoned to the caster's side, though for conversational purposes only. The spirit will remain with the user for the duration of the ability, and is unable to leave the users side until he is dismissed or the sun rises again. Only the user can see and speak with the ghost.  However, to summon the spirit, the user must first:

- know the ghost's name, or have a picture of him/her

- have an object in his/her possession with which the ghost has had at least some measure of contact with in his/her life.

However, there are limits to this ability. The user cannot summon the spirits of vampires who have reached Golconda, and many spirits of the dead simply cannot be summoned because they have since left the underworld somehow. However, the user must be careful, failure during this ritual may summon a malevolent spirit named a spectre, which will torment the user until it's forced to leave.  (Perception + Occult, diff 7. If the storyteller knows the willpower of the ghost that is to be summoned, that becomes the difficulty instead. The amount of successes determines the traceability of the spirit and the durations of its stay, though a spirit that was willingly summoned may appear fully for the user regardless of successes. Each time the user asks a question to the spirit, the storyteller must roll 1 die per success gained by the user (diff 6). At least one success is needed to prevent the spirit from fading back into the underworld.)

3 - Compel the Shade: Force a ghost to do whatever the user wills, from answering any questions asked truthfully or obeying every command the user may give it. First however, the user must summon a spirit to command. Though a spirit may be able to resist Compel the Shade through it's own power of will, the user may call upon this ritual for as many times as the target spirit remains before the user. (Roll Manipulation + Occult with a diff of the targets willpower before it leaves the site of the summoning. The wraith may expend Pathos (a ghostly form of bloodpoints, take 7 pathos for all ghosts unless the storyteller says otherwise) to remove 1 from every success the user rolls if the spirit desires to do so. For every success the user rolls, the user gains a certain degree of power over the wraith (see chart below) and may hold the wraith there for 1 hour per success. The user may spend temporary willpower to increase the duration of the spirit's service by 1 day or permanent willpower to increase the duration of the spirit's service for 1 additional year. )

Success effect chart:

Failure: The bond tieing the spirit to the location breaks and the spirit is free to leave, though many take the opportunity to attack his would-be master.

1 success: The wraith is forced to remain in the vicinity of the user and may not attack any creatures without the users' permission.

2 successes: The wraith is forced to remain and must answer any answers the user asks truthfully, though may take the liberty to phrase these answers in a manner that may seem vague or evasive.

3 successes: The wraith is forced to remain and must ask any answers the user asks truthfully, without phrasing his answers in a cryptic or evasive manner.

4 successes: The wraith is forced to remain, must answer any answers the user asks truthfully (see above) and will heed any command the user gives the wraith, though the wraith may choose to interpret the command differently then the user intended.

5 successes: The wraith is utterly trapped, and must obey any command the user gives it to the best of it's ability.

4 - Haunting: Binds a ghost to an object or place. If the ghost attempts to leave the area, the ghost must roll Willpower (diff 10) and gain at least 2 successes to leave. Otherwise, it takes a level of aggravated damage. If the ghost loses all health in this manner, it's hurled deep into the underworld, were it will most likely face destruction. (Manipulation + Occult, difficulty of the targets willpower or if the wraith does not resist, diff 4. Each success ties the wraith to target object/location for a night, though the user may spend temporary Willpower to increase the duration by a week, and permanent Willpower to increase the duration by a year.)

5 - Torment: The user may strike at wraiths through the Shroud, inflicting damage upon their incorporeal form. However, the user remains in the physical world, meaning that the wraith cannot strike the user in return. Should the user use this ability to take away all of a spirit's health levels, the spirit is sucked through a doorway into what appears to be some nightmare realm. Wherever it goes, the spirit in question cannot be recommended for a month. (Stamina + Empathy with the wraith's Willpower being the difficulty. After this the user need only touch the wraith, inflicting equal lethal damage on the wraith to the number of successes gained)

 

 

 

The Bone Path

 

The Giovanni version of rising the dead to service.

 

(Note: the stats for a corpse raised using the Bone Path is:

Strength 3

Dexterity 2

Stamina 4

Brawl 2

Corpses always act last during a turn (unless circumstances say otherwise) and never attempt to dodge attacks.

They have no Willpower points to spend, but resist attack as though their Willpower was 10.

All Mental and Social stats are zero.

Corpses do not lose dices from dicepools from damage they take, unless that damage is aggravated.

Most corpses have around 10 health levels, but can never heal any damage they take.)

 

1 - Tremens: Causes a corpse to make a single instantaneous movement. Though the user can never make a corpse attack in this manner, it is ofcourse still frightening to onlookers to see a partially decayed corpse suddenly sit up in it's coffin. (Costs 1 bloodpoint. Dexterity + Occult, diff 6. Successes indicate the complexity of the movement. 1 success may mean the corpse will only twitch, while 5 successes may mean the user can make the corpse react to someone walking into the room.)

2 - Apprentice's Brooms: Causes corpses to rise and commit a perform a simple function until the job is finished or the corpse is rendered inanimate. Corpses animated in this manner still decay, though slower then normal, and if they completely decay before the job is done they are destroyed. The corpses do not react to anyone disturbing them in their work and will simply attempt to finish their job to the best of their clumsy ability. (Wits + Occult, diff 7. Costs both a blood point and a Willpower point.)

3 - Shambling Hordes: Reanimate corpses as warriors, though rather inept ones. These warriors do not require dead flesh to function, and will carry out the command given to them until they are completely destroyed. If they are commanded to protect a crypt against trespassers, they will wait for years, ages even, if necessary and awaken to fulfil their task when trespassers arrive. (Costs a point of Willpower and a bloodpoint for every corpse you target for reanimation. Wits + Occults at diff 8, with every success raising one corpse. Each reanimated corpse can obey a simple command like "guard this graveyard against any intruders" or "kill them!")

4 - Soul Stealing: Tear a soul from it's body, be it a living or unliving one. The victim essentially becomes a ghost hovering aimlessly near it's last tie to the mortal world, it's now empty body. The body will remain alive, but without a soul to guide it, it's essentially a vegetable. (User makes a contested Willpower roll, diff 6, against the victim. The number of successes denote the number of hours the victims soul is removed from his/her body.

5 - Daemonic Possession: If the user finds a recently deceased corpse (at most 30 minutes old) the user may transfer a soul into it, allowing it to breathe new unlife into the corpse. Though placing a new soul in the body wont revive it, the body will remain a corpse ofcourse, the soul can still control it's new vessel untill it falters. The user may place any useable soul into a body, as long as it is willing (this includes wraiths, spectres and vampires using astral form). The user, if he's quick enough, may even place a soul into a recently killed vampire body that has not turned to dust yet. Lastly, a user may even combine this ability with Soul Stealing, granting the new souls pristine bodies to use while keeping the old soul out until the new one leaves its shell. (requires no roll unless the user wishes a soul to inhabit a vampiric body. If this is the case, the user must make a contested Willpower roll against the previous owner of the vampiric body. If the user gets less then 5 successes, the soul he/she attempted to place into the body will simply be cast out.)

 

 

The Ash Path

 

The Ash Path allows the user to gaze into the lands of the dead, and even step through the borders and effect both worlds. However, doing so makes the user vulnerable to the attacks of vengeful wraiths.

 

1 - Shroudsight: Allows the user to see past the borders of the living world and the Underworld, allowing them to see into both worlds at once. The user can see wraiths, as well as any other items or buildings in the Underworld. However, this may lead to unpleasant consequences if wraiths suddenly realise a vampire is looking at them. (Perception + Alertness, diff 7. If successful, it lasts for a night)

2 - Lifeless Tongues: Grants the user the effects of Shroudsight and allows the user to effortlessly speak with ghosts without spending blood or causing the wraith spend any effort. (Costs a Willpower point. Perception + Occult, diff 6.)

3 - Dead Hand: Allows the user to exist both in the Underworld and in the living world. The user can interact with and effect both worlds and can even choose which laws of physics apply to the user. Through this, the user can climb a building in the Underworld, whereas there is nothing but thin air in the real world. However, this comes with the side-effect of making the user solid matter to any wraiths while he is using this ability, making it a dangerous power to use. (Costs a Willpower point. Wits + Occult, diff 7. The effect will last a night, or until the vampire dismisses it. The user must spend 1 bloodpoint for every night the user wishes for it to remain active after its initial activation.)

4 - Ex Nihilo: The user may enter the Underworld fully. The user essentially becomes an extra-solid wraith, with all due benefits like becomming uncorporeal and walking through walls. However, with this comes a grave price, for if the user is destroyed in the Underworld he/she will be gone forever, being even beyond the reach of other necromancers. (This is a tremendous ritual so treat it as such. First, the user must draw a door of chalk on any flat surface. (doors may be drawn ahead of time for the very purpose of this ritual) Then the user must spend 2 Willpower points and 2 bloodpoints, and make a Stamina + Occult roll at diff 8 to attempt to open the door. If he succeeds, the door will open and the user may enter the Underworld. In the Underworld the user retains the same number of health points he/she had when she entered, but can only be damaged by things that deal aggravated damage on other ghosts. (weapons forged from other ghosts, certain ghostly powers etc) The user may also pass through any solid objects at the cost of 1 health level, and become incorporeal for a number of turns equal to the user's Stamina rating. However, the user will be subject to all perils of the Underworld, and as such must take great care. Lastly, to return to the living world the user need only concentrate, spending a Willpower point and rolling Stamina + Occult at diff 6. However, if the user is too deeply immersed in the Underworld, he/she may need to find a location more connected to the world of the living to return. If the user strays too far into the Underworld, he/she may not even be able to return at all...)

5 - Shroud Mastery: Allows the user to change the strength of the boundaries between the living world and the Underworld. By doing this, the user can make it extremely easy for wraiths to interact with the physical world, or make it nearly impossible. (User spends 2 Willpower points and declares if he/she wishes to strengthen or lower the "Shroud" (the border to speak) in an area. The user makes a Willpower roll at diff 9, and each success will either increase or decrease the difficulty of all nearby wraith's actions, raising it to a maximum difficulty of 10 or a minimum difficulty of 3. Afterwards, the Shroud will return to normal at the speed of 1 difficulty point per hour.)

 

The Cenotaph Path

A much rarer path among the Giovanni, this path was used to track down suitable sites for corpse collection or track down death cults across the mediterranean. It is a much rarer path then the other 3 which are mastered by the Giovanni, and serves primarily to enhance the other powers of the Necromancer. This path was created by the Ghiberti family among the Giovanni, former slave traders of Africa, and few outside that family know this path.

powers:

1 - A Touch of Death: Ghosts have always been tools to the Giovanni, and using this power the user may detect if objects have recently come into contact with such entities. (If the user finds an object that he/she believes has recently come into contact with a ghost, the user may touch it and roll Perception + Occult at diff 6. Success indicates the user gains a degree of knowledge on wether or not the ghost has exerted some influence on the object in question (see chart below). On failure, the user recieves no impression, while a botch will give faulty information. If the user touches a person or object that is currently being possessed by a ghost, the user may choose to exert his/her Sepulchre powers on that ghost as though the user knew that ghost's name.
Success effect chart:
1 Success: The user detects the use of ghostly powers used on the item in question within the last turn
2 Successes: The user detects the user of ghostly powers used on the item in question within the last 3 turns
3 Successes: The user detects wether an object has been touched by a ghost or has been subject to the powers of a ghost within the last hour.
4 Successes: The user detects wether an object has been touched by a ghost or has been subject to the powers of a ghost within the last day.
5 Successes: The user detects wether a ghost has passed near the object, touched the object or used ghostly powers on the object within the last week.
2 - Reveal the Catene: This power allows the user to identify "Catene's", objects that tie a spirit to the physical world. This power is ofcourse, greatly apreciated by those that make use of the Sepulchre Path, as such objects can be used to summon and bind the ghost in question. (The user must hold and examine the object in question for 3 turns, by running his/her fingers over it, turning it over in his/her hands or just giving it a very critical eye. The user may also do this with people believed to be a Catene to a ghost, though this requires the same treatment as above mentioned item. The user then spends a bloodpoint and rolls Perception + Occult at diff 7. If successful, the user identifies an object to be a Catene to a ghost or wraith, (Or if it isn't, the user identifies that it is not a Catene) if the user scores 3 or more successes the user also learns the identity of one of the spitits bound to that object, and wether or not the object is bound to several spirits. If the user already knows the identity of any of the spirits that are bound to that object, the user immediately learns their connection to the item. If the user wishes to learn the identity of spirits bound to the object other then the ones he/she has just learned or already knows, the user must apply this power once for every spirit that is bound to that object if he/she wishes to learn all their identities. If the user botches, the user cannot use this power successfully on that object ever again.)
3 - Tread Upon the Grave: Spirits tend to gather in places where the shadowlands come close to the physical world (this is called the Shroud, places where the shadowlands come close to the physical world means that the Shroud in that area is strong, and vica versa), and using this power the user can detect the strength of the Shroud in an area, as to determine wether the area would be a good place to ensnare ghosts or wether the area's Shroud has been manipulated artificially. (The user must be in the area for which he/she wishes to determine the strength of the Shroud. The user then declares to the Storyteller that he/she wishes to use this power and makes a Willpower roll at diff 8. Success reveals the Shroud rating of the area, (simplified, wether the area is very close to the shadowlands, about averagely close or very far away) while 3 or more successes reveal wether the Shroud in the local area has been tampered with artificially, like for example through the use of the Ash Path. If the user fails there are no negative effects, but this power can only be used on an area once per scene, so the user must either move to another area or wait until a later time to try again. If the user botches, the user is stunned for a full turn and loses a Temporary Willpowerpoint as he/she is overcome by shivers and a overwhelming sense of despair from the shadowlands.)

 

Harbingers of Skulls Path:

 

The Mortuus Path

 

Centuries spend hanging on the boundaries between death and undeath have give the Harbingers many strange powers, this Path is the result of those powers.

 

1 - Reaper's Shroud: The subject gains the semblance of death, causing the skin to stretch tight, the flesh to turn pale and sallow and joints seize as the body grows rigid. (If the user uses this power on him/herself, the user need only spend a bloodpoint. If used on a different target, the user must spend a blood point, touch the target and roll Stamina + Occult at a diff of the target's Stamina + 3. Anyone under the effects of this power loses 2 points from Dexterity and Appearence, down to a minimum of 1 for either Attribute. This power lasts untill the next dawn of dusk, afterwhich the target slowly regains his/her normal state over the course of an hour. Vampires under the influence of this power may spend 2 bloodpoints to reverse it's effects.)

2 - Blight: By accelerating the aging proces in victims, the user can afllicts the ailments of the elderly on the target. The victim's skin grows dry and thin, bones become brittle and the victim may even aquire certain diseases the elderly suffer from, such as bone diseases or artritis. (The user spends a Willpower point and rolls Manipulation + Medicine at the diff of a victim's Willpower. The user must touch his intended victim to use this power. Victims under the effect of this power lose 3 points from all Physical Attributes, down to a minimum of 1. Vampires and Ghouls can spend bloodpoints to raise their attributes back up. Mortals under the effect of Blight that are engaged in stressful situations must roll Stamina at diff 6 each round they are engaging in stressful activity, if they fail this roll the mortal victim gets a heart attack.)

3 - Resume the Coil: Gives the user the ability to manually awaken him/herself from torpor, and even allows the user to do the same to others. (The user spends 2 Willpower points and rolls Willpower at diff 10 minus the target's Humanity or Path rating. The vampire can use this on him/herself and on touched targets. If a target went into torpor due to blood starvation, the target awakens with only a single bloodpoint in his/her system.)

4 - True Death: The user may cheat the curse of Caine briefly by becoming truly dead. The user suffers from no banes of the vampiric condition, albeit also has none of the benefits. (There is no cost to activate this power, but the user must spend 2 bloodpoints to leave the corpse-state, which may prove damning to those cainites who enter this state with only a trace of blood in their system, or somehow lose blood in the corpse-state. The vampire may choose how long to remain in the corpse state, there is no maximum duration. While in the corpse state, the vampire takes no damage from sunlight, holy water and does not need to spend a blood point each to wake him/herself each night. However, the vampire in the corpse-state may not take any action, if the vampire is staked the vampire will be paralyzed upon wakening and the vampire recieves none of the benefits of disciplines, not even automatic ones such as Fortitude or Potence.)

5 - Mercy for Seth: Named after the children of set, the mortals, this power inflicts a terrible disease on the victim. This disease is highly virulent, and will outright kill mortals and even put vampires into torpor. (Costs a Willpower point, user rolls Stamina + Occult at a diff of the victim's Willpower. The user then spends a bloodpoint, and this bloodpoint must physically come into contact with the target through touch. If succesful, the victim is infected with the plague, who will in 24 hours either die if mortal or go into torpor if cainite. A victim of this power will exibit symptons of disease not unlike the great plagues of the past, such as the Black Plague or the Red Death. This includes blackened limbs, sunken eyes, bloody sweat and other excretions, etc.)

 

 

Nagaraja Path:

 

The Vitreous Path

 

The Nagaraja hold many secrets, and their most closely guarded secret is the Vitreous Path, which grants them unrivalled power over wraiths and spirits.

 

1 - Eyes of the Dead: Enables the user to see through the eyes of nearby wraiths.

2 - Hour of Death: Gives the user Deathsight, which allows the user to determine when a victim will die.

3 - Soul Judgement: Determines the nature of a ghost, be it malicious or friendly.

4 - Breath of Thanatos: The user casts a fog over an area, which draws spectres to it like moths to a flame, though the fog is invisible to any without Deathsight or other supernatural seeing abilities.. Anyone in the fog will be damaged by it, usually in the form of decay or illness. Additionally, the fog will taint anyone inside of it with a supernatural taint for the next 24 hours.

5 - Soul Feasting: Allows the user to feed of the death energies of the local area or even of the energy of a wraith in the same way as one would drink blood. Though these bloodpoints add to the user's bloodpool, they can only be used for disciplines and if this ability is used on a wraith, the wraith can fight back as though the user was in the shadowlands (afterlife).