Way of Sorrow
Description: From Kruchina, a goddess of mourning depicted as a perpetually weeping woman, to Likho Odnoglazoye, the emaciated one-eyed hag who represented privation and suffering, the pantheons of Eastern Europe brim with deities overseeing starvation, misery, misfortune, bitterness and death. Whether the gods hear their names or the spirits merely attend their mention, a koldun who understands the obscure Way of Sorrow can invoke the most dismal powers of the divine. This way pays no heed to gods of revelry or plenty, only those whose attentions promise tragedy.
Like the Way of Fire, the Way of Sorrow is governed by the koldm's Manipulation, but the difficulty for each of the powers is the victim's permanent Willpower rather than the usual 4 + the level of the power. In addition, a victim may spend a point of Willpower to overcome a particular effect of this way but is still vulnerable to subsequent uses of the Discipline.
A final note: Dealing with forgotten gods requires propriety, especially those who govern such bleak concerns. If invoked incorrectly, the Way of Sorrow turns on the koldun. On a botch, the Fiend suffers the effects of his own power as if she had scored five successes.
1) The Frustrations of Nestrecha:
Named for the goddess of grief and failure, this power allows the koldun to rob an opponent of his resolve. The koldun's stare saps the target's will to struggle. Although the victim is overcome with a resigned pessimism or feelings of defeat, he can still take action to resist the koldun, including combat, but only in a half-hearted or fearful way. He musters none of his usual passion or determination.
System: The koldun's player spends a Willpower point. Roll the koldun's Manipulation + Koldunism (difficulty equal to the victim's Willpower). For one turn per success, her target's player can't spend Willpower points to activate Disciplines or gain automatic successes. In storytelling terms, the victim might also lack strong motivations or convictions for the power's duration ("What difference does it make?" or "I just don't care anymore"). For this power to be effective, the koldun must make eye contact with her victim.
2) The Insults of Krivda:
Any Fiend worthy of the name can spit out a telling insult. But with this power, Krivda — a goddess of hatred and bitterness — ensures that the remark offends, enraging the recipient. In the Tzimisce - Tremere conflicts of nights long past, koldun carried Krivda on their tongues, inciting their Usurper opponents to frenzy. They preferred to deal with angry fangs instead of calculated Thaumaturgy. This is a dangerous power to use, but it can unbalance a physically weak opponent who has access to powerful Disciplines or it could be used to embarrass a Cainite by causing him to frenzy in public.
System: After her player spends a Willpower point, the koldun insults the target in the most offensive and humiliating way she can conceive. The koldun's player rolls Manipulation + Koldunism (difficulty equal to the victim's Willpower). If the roll is successful, the target flies into an uncontrollable rage and assaults the koldun. If the target is a vampire, he must immediately roll to resist frenzy (difficulty 5 + the number of successes on die activation roll).
3) The Weeping of Kruchina:
The glare of a koldun can make someone so miserable that they do nothing but cry. This power does more than spill a few tears — it causes hysterical bawling, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Some depressing notion overcomes the victim. Vampires might mourn their lost humanitas or the passing of lovers who died long ago. Sometimes the source is more nebulous — koldun believe that it imparts the collected sorrow of their demesnes' sickened soil.
System: The koldun's player spends a Willpower point and rolls the kolduris Manipulation + Koldunism (difficulty equal to the victim's Willpower). For one turn per success, the target is overwhelmed by intense misery and cries uncontrollably. Actions that require concentration are impossible for the power's duration. Cainites lose a blood point each turn as copious amounts of vitae stream from their eyes.
4) The Misfortune of Chernogolov:
With a declaration that a person is doomed or destined to fail, the koldun summons the attention of Chemogolov — the silver-mustached god of misfortune — to her victim. Under Chemogolov's unlucky gaze, he is hindered in everything he does. If he fails, he does so spectacularly.
System: The koldun's player spends a Willpower point and rolls the koldun's Manipulation + Koldunism (difficulty
equal to the victim's Willpower). For one turn per success, the target automatically loses two successes on every roll he attempts. Botches experienced under the effects of the Misfortune of Chemogolov should be especially disastrous.
5) The Starvation of Marena:
By invoking the wife of Kupala, the koldun summons the cold and starvation that is the domain of Marena. A frosty gale blasts the victim and leaves him emaciated as if he had just survived the coldest of winters. The frostbitten and starving victim clings to (un)life, usually in no condition to contradict the koldun. The cold symbolizes of the passage of time in harsh conditions.
System: The koldun's player spends a Willpower point and rolls her Manipulation + Koldunism (difficulty equal to the target's Willpower) . For each success, the victim takes two levels of bashing damage that can be soaked normally. In addition to this damage, vampires lose one blood point for each of the koldun's successes — healthy prey was scarce in the Eastern European winter.
