Sorcery Traditions

Not all blood magic is Tremere Thaumaturgy. Several ancient sorcery traditions developed independently, each with its own cultural framework, activation mechanics, and unique paths. These systems function mechanically as Discipline trees — each tradition is a separate Discipline, learned and advanced independently from Thaumaturgy.

Standard activation roll (unless noted otherwise): Willpower vs. difficulty (power level + 3, max 9).

Akhu (Egyptian Divine Magic)

Practiced by the Followers of Set and related lineages. Akhu is framed as channeling divine power through the Egyptian pantheon. Three paths plus an extensive ritual system.

Path of Divine Hand (Sympathetic Magic)

Work through wax/clay models and True Names to affect targets at range.

Path of Duat (Hypnotic Underworld Curse)

All powers require a carved black onyx talisman smeared with caster’s blood. Target must see the talisman for base difficulty; otherwise +1 difficulty. No blood cost. Effect lasts while the caster concentrates.

Path of Ushabt (Animated Figurines)

Animate wax or clay figurines mixed with 1 BP of caster’s vitae. Intelligence + Crafts to create; realism 1–5 corresponds to power level (1 = obviously fake, 5 = indistinguishable from life). Each figurine lasts one lunar month before degrading unless renewed.

Dur-An-Ki (Mesopotamian Blood Sorcery)

Practiced by Middle Eastern Kindred, particularly certain Assamites and independent lineages. Three distinct paths focused on disease, misfortune, and music.

Covenant of Nergal (Disease Magic)

Inflict or cure supernatural plagues. Fortitude does not protect normally — each dot of Fortitude adds only +1 die against Wrath/Ill Wind specifically. Physical Attributes reduced to 0 = Incapacitated (vampires enter torpor if Stamina hits 0).

Path of the Evil Eye (Misfortune Curse)

Bestow supernatural bad luck. Powers do not stack; higher supersedes lower. Targets can remove with True Faith ritual (Wits + Occult, diff 8, counters successes).

Music of the Spheres (Harmonic Presence)

Requires Performance 3. All targets must hear the music for at least 1 minute for concealed use. Affected: 1 / 2 / 6 / 20 / all in earshot per success (lowest Willpower affected first). Does not transmit via recording, phone, or broadcast.

Sadhana (Indian Blood Sorcery)

Practiced by the Nagaraja and certain Ravnos lineages. Three paths with unique cost structures.

Path of Blood Nectar (Power Transfer)

Extract a Discipline power as a potion that can be drunk by another. 1 minute concentration per level; costs 1 BP per level of power transferred. Potion loses potency within 1 minute outside the body.

• The drinker uses the power at the caster’s level for one scene
• No Ability knowledge is transferred — only the raw Discipline effect
• Only one active at a time; second potion cancels the first (or ties cancel both)

Path of Karma (Destiny Sight)

All powers cost 1 BP.

Path of Praapti (Teleportation)

Caster must see the destination or know it extremely well. Botch on a blind teleport causes interpenetration: 1 Aggravated per “1” rolled; 3+ may trap the caster in solid matter. Fortitude soaks.

Familiarity modifiers: Intimate knowledge (own haven) −1 difficulty; unfamiliar location +2 difficulty. Each success reduces landing error by 10%.

Wanga (Afro-Caribbean Blood Magic)

Practiced by Kindred practitioners of Voudoun, Santería, Palo Mayombe, Candomblé, and related traditions. Wanga has unique systemic rules not shared by other traditions.

Special Rules

Faith requirement: Practitioners must hold genuine belief in their Afro-Caribbean tradition. Non-believers suffer +1 difficulty on all Wanga rolls and an automatic phantom die that rolls a 1.

Group rituals: With two or more times the ritual level in true-believer participants, ritual difficulty is −1.

Component consumption: Failed rolls consume ritual components. Botches indicate orisha displeasure and may produce the opposite of the intended effect.

Invocation required: Every path power and ritual requires invoking the appropriate spirit (Legba, Chango, Agarou Tonerre, etc.) before use.

The Flow of Ashé (Non-Blood Activation)

Wanga practitioners draw power from components rather than blood. Each power creates a “phantom blood point” that functions like BP for Discipline activation but is drawn from the consumed component. Only one phantom point may be active at a time.

Orisha’s Fortune (Luck Manipulation)

All powers require physically shedding blood (ritual blade slash). 1 BP cost. May target anyone in line of sight. Willpower vs. power level + 3.

Voice of the Wild (Animal Influence)

Components consumed during casting. Willpower vs. power level + 3. If Animalism and Wanga conflict, Animalism wins.

Wanga Rituals

Level 2 — Craft Gris-Gris

Fill a bag with herbs, mineral powders, finger bone of an infant, nine pinches of grave dirt, an item taken from the target, and 2 BP of caster’s blood. Bury the bag within a few feet of the target’s home or haven.

Effect: Target suffers −1 to all dice pools from a constant throbbing headache. Against mortals: permanent unless the bag is found and removed. Against Kindred: lasts 1 night per success, ends early if bag is removed. In the hands of another wangateur with a higher Wanga rating, the bag functions as a sympathetic link to its creator equal to a point of the creator’s blood.

Level 5 — Shackles of Blood

Brew a potion using 3 BP of caster’s blood, natural ingredients, and the heart of a recently deceased mortal of the opposite gender from the target. Stir for 3 hours, strain through unbleached cotton, feed the finished mixture to the target.

Effect: Creates a temporary false blood bond lasting 1 night per success. If caster blood-bonds the target for real during that time, the bond functions normally. Potent trick: if the potion is fed to a mortal, any vampire who feeds from that mortal within the next 24 hours is affected as if he drank it directly — enabling a wangateur to gain power over a vampire who doesn’t know she exists.

Akhu Rituals (Setite Sorcery)

Level 3 — Scorpion Sending

Craft a scorpion from wax incorporating material from the target’s body. Write Set’s name on the scorpion; recite the story of the poisoning of Horus (omitting the recovery). Leave in an area the target will pass through; the scorpion animates and attacks.

Effect: Scorpion has normal stats for its size. Successful bite poisons the target: 1 Lethal damage every 15 minutes. Resist: Stamina roll (diff 7) once every 15 minutes; success ends the damage. Affects mortals and supernaturals alike. Small and difficult to notice (Perception + Alertness, diff 7).

Level 4 — Dismemberment of Osiris

Ritually dismember the male leader or spokesperson of a target group/organization and remove/discard his phallus. (Female-led organizations cannot be targeted by this ritual.)

Effect: Over the next 6 months, the group suffers an external organizational setback. Each success = roughly a 10% cumulative reduction in size and resources (Storyteller discretion).

Dur-An-Ki Rituals

Level 1 — Horoscope

Using Babylonian astrology, study the stars with knowledge of the target’s birth name, birth location, birth date, and (for vampires) Embrace date.

Effect: Each success reveals one secret about the target: Nature, primary aptitudes (Traits rated 3+), Flaws, or major life/unlife tragedies. Alternatively, use the horoscope in conjunction with an effigy for sympathetic magic — successes reduce the difficulty penalty imposed by weak connections (by up to the caster’s Dur-An-Ki rating, minimum 0).

Level 2 — Infusion of Kalif

Soak 20 oz of hashish in 1 BP over three nights (yields 1 oz of kalif per success). Quality increases by +1 per dot of Generation of the vampire whose blood was used (not necessarily the sorcerer). Place 1 oz in a hookah with ritually prepared rosewater; smoke for at least 30 minutes.

Effect: Roll Stamina + Fortitude (diff 6, dice penalty equal to kalif quality). A number of successes greater than zero but equal to or less than the character’s Dur-An-Ki rating induces the proper ecstatic state — for the rest of the scene, all Dur-An-Ki path and ritual rolls are at reduced difficulty equal to half the kalif quality. Fail or botch: pleasantly incapacitated but no mechanical benefit. Succeed too well (more successes than Dur-An-Ki rating): too sober; must smoke another half hour.

Level 3 — Bull of Heaven

Caster simultaneously drinks from an animal while feeding it blood (1 BP for animals smaller than a human; 3 BP for larger animals up to bull size; cannot be used on larger animals).

Effect: Animal immediately becomes a ghoul with 1 dot of Potence + 1 dot of either Fortitude or any non-sapience Discipline the ashipu possesses. For the remainder of the night, caster can reflexively direct the animal and see through its senses while retaining awareness of her own surroundings.

Level 4 — Directing Ahriman’s Lance

Fashion a sympathetic talisman small enough to swallow using the target’s connection. Swallow it, wait 1 hour, then surgically remove it (minimum 2 unsoakable Lethal damage). Other sorcerers may assist.

Effect: Until the next inauspicious night, any Kindred who holds the talisman has all rolls that bring them closer to killing the target benefit from a difficulty reduction equal to the ritual’s successes. When used alongside a Horoscope, the talisman functions for a number of nights equal to the Horoscope’s successes; otherwise it is limited to a single assassination attempt by the bearer. If Horoscope was not cast, only the specific assassin who extracted the talisman benefits.

Level 5 — Seeing With the Sky’s Eyes

Enter an ecstatic trance. Concentrate on an effigy of the target that incorporates at least a recent photograph (cannot be achieved from name alone).

Effect: Each success allows the caster to ask one question about the target’s current location and activities.

Sadhana Rituals

Level 1 — Armor of Diamond Serenity

Call upon Shiva to purge mortal passions and grant enlightenment.

Effect: For the rest of the night, the sadhu is immune to frenzy of all types, reduces the difficulty of all Willpower rolls by −2, and treats her permanent Willpower as 2 higher when it serves as a target number. However, while active, the sadhu cannot spend blood to increase Physical Attributes.

Koldunic Sorcery

Practiced almost exclusively by Old Clan Tzimisce. Draws upon primal elementalism and the spirit of the Carpathian land-entity Kupala. Koldun outside Eastern Europe suffer +1 difficulty on all Koldunic rolls.

Activation roll: Willpower, difficulty (3 + Path rating), 1 BP required. Ritual roll: Intelligence + Occult, difficulty (3 + ritual level).

The Way of the Spirit

The koldun diffuses perception across an increasingly large area, tracking intruders, feeding vessels, or chosen subjects. Also defeats Obfuscate within the area and allows targeting of distant subjects with other Koldunic paths.

Duration: Successes in scenes. If activated before sunrise, extends through daylight without negative effects (normal day penalties for other actions still apply).

The Way of Sorrows

Curses invoking pre-Christian Slavic deities. Cannot be used at range through sympathy; can target through Way of the Spirit or Scry. All require the koldun to perceive the target.

Koldunic Rituals

Reawakening the Dead Water (Level 1) — Drop 1 BP into a pool of water; drink 1 BP worth from the same source. If successful (1+ success), koldun regains 1 spent Willpower point. Cannot exceed normal maximum. Once per night.

Invoke the Lesser Sign of Power (Level 2) — Concentrate for 1 turn; make the Lesser Sign of Power with hands. If successful, koldun’s eyes glow with authority. For 1 hour per success, all Intimidation and Leadership rolls against mortals gain −2 difficulty (requires eye contact).

Cowing the Servant (Level 3) — Mix a sheep’s brain with soil from the koldun’s domain and 1 BP. Force the blood-bound servant (ghoul, revenant, or similar) to eat the mixture. For 1 week per success, difficulty of all rolls to manipulate that servant is reduced by −1.

Ties That Bind (Level 4) — Spill 4 BP onto claimed earth, then ritually devour a handful of the blood-soaked soil. For 1 night per success, all Koldunic Sorcery roll difficulties are reduced by −1. Cannot be performed more than once per week.

The Inmost Tug (Level 5) — By speaking a single word in the thrall’s presence, the koldun can alter the emotional quality of any blood bond he holds. Normal love/devotion can be replaced with debased lust, terrified obedience, fraternal devotion, or any other emotional context. Duration: 1 scene per success.

Dur-An-Ki Paths (Additional)

The Hunter’s Winds

Developed by Assamite sorcerers. Augments stealth and presence-in-shadow. Key difference from Obfuscate: Auspex does not automatically pierce it — observers must roll normally without the automatic pierce.

Activation: Willpower roll, diff (3 + level). 1 BP.

Blood Sorcery: Foundational Principles

From Rites of the Blood Chapter 7 — applies to all blood magic systems.

Principle of Blood: Blood magic is completely dependent on Kindred vitae. Non-vampires cannot practice it in any form. Ghouls may learn the simplest paths/rituals after years of study. Every path power requires at least 1 BP.

Principle of Will: Activation rolls for all blood magic path powers are Willpower rolls (difficulty = 3 + path rating). Belief in underlying religion is irrelevant — will and blood are sufficient. Botched rolls target the caster herself (psychological/physiological defects) rather than producing wild effects.

Principle of Knowledge: Blood magic cannot be learned intuitively. Active study required. Primary path informs all other paths; no secondary path rating can exceed primary path rating until primary is at 5.

Principle of Identity: Most path powers require the caster to direct her attention to herself or to someone/something within her field of view. Live TV broadcasts are insufficient. Some powers require physical contact.

Sympathetic Magic: Principle of Contagion

Things once connected retain a link. For rituals targeting distant subjects:

No modifier combination can raise difficulty above 9 or below 4. If modifiers would push above 9, the ritual cannot function with that connection.

Sympathetic Magic: Principle of Sympathy

“Like produces like.” Craft an effigy representing the target (Intelligence + Crafts, diff 8). Each success reduces the Contagion difficulty penalty by 1 (maximum reduction = caster’s highest blood magic path rating; cannot reduce below 0).

Sorcery Botch Effects by Tradition

Auspicious Elements by Tradition

Ritual Experience Costs (Optional Rule)

Adapting a foreign ritual requires success total of ritual level × 10 (subtract total blood magic path dots, minimum half normal). Storyteller may require additional rolls (social, research, Contacts/Mentor rating) before approving XP purchase.