Nigrimancy
Introduction: Abandoning any focus on the flesh, the path of nigrimancy concerns itself solely with the spirits of the dead. Though its teachings loosely derive from practices of mortal sorcery, the path is as far removed from such magic as Thaumaturgy from living Hermetic arts. AS all Disciplines, nigrimancy is ultimately an expression of the Curse of Caine. Vampires embody the shroud that severs life from death and so exist forever suspended between the two. The Giovanni well understand that blood is the life, and the blood of Caine holds terrible power to summon and enslave the dead. All Giovanni Cappadocians must take nigrimancy as their primary path if they knew the art in life. Otherwise they may choose their starting path normally. Non-Giovanni Cappadocians may not select nigrimancy as their starting path without a remarkable explanation.
Modern Commentary: This ancient art was first formalized by the Giovanni branch of the Clan of Cappadocian. Many variants, minor and major, exist, though most fall along these lines. Unless a good reason exists, other published versions of this path that do roughly the same thing should be folded into nigrimancy, at least in system, though not necessarily in style. The system for compulsion in level 3, imprisonment (level 4) are the best for such things published so far, and should probably be adapted to the thaumaturgic Path Spirit Manipulation
1) Witness of Death
Before it is possible to control the dead, one must perceive them. This power does just that, attuning a vampire's unliving senses to the presence of the incorporeal. Under its effects, a Cainite sees ghosts as translucent phantoms gliding among the living and hears their whispers and moans. She feels the spectral cold of their touch and smells their musty hint of decay. Yet one can not mistake the dead for the living, as they remain immaterial phantoms without true substance, dimmer and less real than creatures of flesh and blood. When a vampire uses this power, her eyes flicker with pale blue fire that only the dead can see. Ghosts resent being spied upon, and more powerful shades may use their own powers to inflict their displeasure on the incautious.
System: The player spends one blood point and rolls Perception + Occult (difficulty 5). Success allows the vampire to perceive ghosts as described for the rest of the scene. Failure has no special effect apart from wasting blood; a botch means the vampire can see only the dead for the scene. All else appears as shapeless dim shadows. while the vampire's other senses remain attuned to the living, he is all but blind in this state, and suffers a +3 difficulty to most vision-based Perception rolls and attacks. Ghosts notice the glowing eyes of a vampire using this power only with a successful Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 7.)
2) Summon Soul
From perception to conjuration, a vampire who advances his knowledge of nigrimancy may call a ghost to his presence. The Cainite need only speak the name of the shade he wishes to summon and invoke the power of his blood. The spirit then vanishes from its present location and appears before the vampire in a vortex of shadows. The Cainite may perceive this one ghost as though employing Witness of Death, even without using that power. Although the spirit is under no compulsion to answer questions or obey commands, the vampire may employ bribery, threats or simple eloquence to obtain information or favors.
System: The player spends one blood point and rolls Manipulation + Occult (difficulty 7 or the ghost's Willpower, whichever is higher). The vampire must know the name of the ghost or have a piece of the ghost's corpse on hand. If the vampire has both, decrease the difficulty of the summons by one. Provided that the target has died and become a ghost, success means the shade appears before the Cainite as described above. Not everyone becomes a ghost - it requires a strong will to persevere in the face of death, and souls that have found peace pass on to their eternal rewards. Moreover, it is possible for the dead to suffer spiritual dissolution and destruction after they become ghosts. The Storyteller should consider all these factors when deciding whether a particular ghost exists for a vampire to summon. Vampires know if their summons should have succeeded by a feeling of sudden, terrifying descent as they reach too far into the great Beyond, so this power can be used to determine whether a soul has endured beyond death. While a failure means the vampire wastes blood, a botch calls a spirit other than the one sought - usually a malevolent ghost known a a spectre. Such a fiend torments the one who summoned it with every wicked power at its disposal. Once a ghost is summoned, it may not deliberately move out of sight of the vampire, though it can take any other actions including direct attack. The vampire's player may spend a Willpower point to dismiss the ghost at any time (unless he rolled a botch). Otherwise, shadows engulf the spirit once more and return it to its original location at the end of the scene.
3) Compel the Shade
With this power, a vampire may reach out with the power of his blood to command a ghost directly... Such control is nearly absolute, though the ghost need only follow the letter of its orders rather than their intent. Although ghosts resent enslavement, they seldom seek direct revenge. After all, a vampire who bound them once could do so again, and few spirits wish to suffer another bout of servitude. Still, some shades are angry or powerful enough to pursue retribution, so vampires with this power are advised to exercise caution.
System: The vampire locates and approaches the intended ghost or calls it to his presence with Summon Soul. As with the previous power, he must have a part of the ghost's corpse or its name and gains the same difficulty reduction for having both. His player then spends one blood point and rolls Manipulation + Occult in a resisted roll against the ghost's Willpower (difficulty 6 for both rolls). If the vampire wins, the number of net successes determines the degree of control he has over the ghost as described below. Moreover, the vampire's control keeps ghosts that have been called with Summon Soul from returning to their original locations at the end of the scene. If the ghost wins, the vampire loses a number of Willpower points equal to the ghost's net successes. On a tie, the roll becomes an extended contest that continues each turn until one side wins. If the vampire botches at any point, the ghost is thereafter immune to any use of the vampire's nigrimancy... If the ghost botches, it must obey as if the vampire's player had rolled five net successes.
One Success: The ghost must perform one simple task for the vampire that does not place it in certain danger. It must attend to this task immediately, although it can delay the compulsion and pursue its own business at a cost of one Willpower point per scene. the ghost may not attack the vampire until this task is complete. It is possible to issue the task of answering one question, in which case the ghost must answer truthfully and to the best of its knowledge.
Two Successes: The vampire may issue two orders or ask two questions as outlined for one success. Alternatively, the vampire may demand a simple task with a real possibility of danger, as long as the danger is not certain. The ghost may delay this compulsion with Willpower.
Three Successes: The vampire may issue three orders as outlined for one success. Alternatively, he may demand the ghost fulfill one difficult and dangerous task or a simple assignment that has an extended duration of up to one month. The ghost may delay such orders with Willpower.
Four Successes: The vampire may issue four orders as outlined for one success or assign two tasks as for two successes. Alternatively, the vampire may command the ghost to perform one complex assignment that puts the ghost at extreme risk or perform any number of nonthreatening tasks as the vampire's slave for up to one month. It is possible for ghosts to delay singular tasks, but not if they are ordered to serve for a month.
Five Successes: The vampire may issue multiple orders that have a sum complexity or danger of five successes worth. Instead, the vampire may order the ghost to perform any one action that it is capable of executing within one month. Such a task can place the ghost in immediate peril of destruction, or even force it to betray and assault loved ones. It is not possible for ghosts to delay a singular task of this magnitude with Willpower - they must obey.
4) Fetter the Dead
With this power, a vampire may imprison a ghost within an object or bind it to haunt a specific location for a time. Such a location may be any size, centered on a spot of the vampire's choosing. Some vampires use the threat of this dreaded power to elicit service from the dead without ever employing Compel the Shade. other vampires use this power as a reward, since a ghost imprisoned within a corpse may speak through the cadaver's lips or possibly reanimate the entire body to carry out some unfinished task among the living.
System: The player spends one blood point while at the location for the haunting or touching the intended prison. She then has the ghost brought to her by whatever means, though Summon Soul is quickest and most reliable. Her player then rolls Manipulation + Occult (difficulty is the target's Willpower if it resists; otherwise it is 4). The difficulty rises by one if the vampire wishes to place the ghost in an object or two if the object is a corpse (maximum difficulty 9). The difficulty decreases by one if the Cainite has part of the spirit's corpse in addition to knowing its name (minimum difficulty 3). Each success binds the ghost within the location or object for one night, during which the spirit is physically incapable of leaving its prison. This duration extends to one week if the player spends a Willpower point or one year for a point of permanent Willpower.
Ghosts placed within a reasonably intact cadaver may attempt to animate their prisons for a time. This requires a point of Willpower and a Willpower roll. The difficulty is 7 to exert voice alone, 9 to animate the entire body. Each success permits one night of the appropriate level of animation. Once this period ends or the ghost's term of imprisonment runs out, the corpse falls silent and still. The statistics for bodies reanimated in this fashion are left to Storytellers to decide, based on the power of the ghost and how badly the corpse has decayed. By default, such beings are akin to Athanatoi with Mental Attributes, Charisma, Manipulation, Willpower and Abilities of the inhabiting ghost (Dark Ages" Vampire p. 312). It is possible to use Fetter the Dead to place a spirit within a corpse and then compel it to rise and serve as walking dead through Compel the Shade, though bodies inhabited by ghosts cannot rise under the influence of the Cadaverous Animation path.
5) Usurer's Scales
With the final power of nigrimancy, a vampire may replenish a ghost’s spiritual essence with the power of his blood or devour that essence to feed his preternatural will. Ghosts fear such power as they fear little else, for a vampire who drinks their soul dry casts them into ultimate oblivion.
System: The vampire must be capable of perceiving his target by some means, typically by invoking Witness of Death. He then concentrates and silently reaches out with his power. His player spends one blood point and rolls Manipulation + Occult. If the vampire wishes to transfer essence to the ghost, the difficulty is 5 and each success permits the vampire to donate one point of blood or Willpower to replenish the ghost’s own Essence on a one-for-one basis. If the vampire wishes to devour a ghost, the difficulty is the ghost’s Willpower. Each success steals one point of Essence and adds it to the vampire’s Willpower pool. Any Willpower gained in excess of the vampire’s permanent rating dissipates to no effect. It is not possible to gain blood from a ghost’s ephemeral substance. Ghosts reduced to zero Essence by this power suffer immediate dissolution and fall shrieking into oblivion. Note that a botch has the reverse effect, stealing or giving one point of Essence for every 1 rolled. Whenever a vampire uses either form of Usurer’s Scales, the transferred energies appear as a cloud of red light that flows from the mouth of the donor to the mouth of the recipient. This light is unmistakable and impossible to hide, though it is visible only to ghosts and beings that can see them.
