Path of the Corpse
Introduction: The following path of Necromancy was inspired by the three historical paths of the Mortis Discipline as originally developed by the Cappadocian Clan. These derivations are based upon a rather nebulous understanding of the original paths, as I was never taught by a Cappadocian vampire; rather I reconstructed what I could recall from Lazarus's memories of these powers. Unfortunately, memories left over after a diablerie are not a very direct guide and so I was forced to fill in the gaps with what lore I could find. In some ways, this path is inferior to the original paths; but it has a number of advantages, in that these powers are those that were most memorable and thus, I hope, the most important. The older Mortis discipline was based on the study of physical death, decay and aging; it is a rather incomplete study of death, but the Cappadocian Clan was always focused on the physical elements of death, which is why they ultimately created the Giovanni bloodline.
This is now the substitute for the Path of Mortis.
1) Faces of Death
This power allows the Cainite or the subject of her choice to take on the semblance of death. The flesh grows pale and cold, blue traceries of veins appear, the lips go blue and bruising develops around the eyes, while the pulse and respiration become undetectable. This power may be used to "play dead" and look the part, or to curse another with the appearance of the walking dead.
System: The vampire must touch her target for this power to take effect. If the Necromancer assumes this form, she merely spends a blood point. If attempting to use this power on another, the character's player spends a blood point and makes a Manipulation + Occult roll (difficulty 4). The effects of this power last until the next dawn or dusk, when the cursed individual slowly regains her normal state over the course of an hour. Vampires may spend a number of blood points equal to the necromancer’s successes to reverse the effects of Faces of Death. Interaction with the living are difficult while suffering this curse, a plus one difficulty to social rolls and the subject may not simulate affectations of the living while under this power’s effects.
2) Senescent Form
This power allows the vampire to accelerate the aging and decrepitude processes in his intended victim or if the necromancer elects to use the power on himself, he may appear to age. The subject suffers the effects of old age: brittle bones, dry and thin skin and various rheumatic pains among others. Some victims have even acquired certain ailments normally experienced by the elderly, including bone diseases and arthritis.
System: The vampire must touch his intended victim. The player then rolls Manipulation + Medicine (difficulty 5) and spends two points of blood. If the caster botches, he becomes subject to the negative effects of this power, and he must reduce one physical attribute by one rating for each botch for the remainder of the power‘s duration.
If the caster fails the roll, then he wastes two points of blood, but may attempt to use the power again next turn.
In the case of a successful invocation of this power, the target appears to age a decade for each success. More than the appearance of old age, each success neutralizes one physical attribute rating for the duration of this power. The caster decides which attributes to neutralize, but no attribute can be rated less than one.
The caster may elect to be the subject of this power and in that case, he must still expend a point of his blood and make the dice roll. If the caster is the subject of this power, he appears to age according to the success of the roll, but he suffers no attribute reductions and may chose to limit his successes in order to appear a specific age.
The duration of this power is one scene. Vampires and ghouls affected in this manner may still spend blood points to increase their physical attributes. Mortals who undertake stressful activity while affected by the Senescent Form run the risk of heart failure. For each round the mortal continues strenuous activity, the player must make a Stamina roll (difficulty 6). If the roll fails, the mortal suffers a heart attack.
3) The Dark Gift
This power allows the necromancer to awaken himself or another vampire from torpor before the time dictated by their path of enlightenment rating.
System: The power works the same whether the necromancer is awakening himself or another from the dark sleep of torpor. The necromancer expends a willpower point and makes an extended path of enlightenment roll - difficulty 6, instead of the customary 8; if aiding another in awakening from torpor the necromancer substitutes his own path of enlightenment roll for that of the entorpored kindred.
As per awakening from torpor (Pg.216 & 204, the Masquerade), each success is a turn during which the entorpored vampire can act, five successes means the entorpored vampire has awakened fully from torpor.
Failure simply means that the necromancer has wasted Willpower, but may not attempt to awaken the entorpored kindred until he has raised his own path of enlightenment. A botch ensures that the entorpored vampire cannot be awakened before his path of enlightenment would allow. If the vampire wishes to awaken another cainite in torpor, she must touch that vampire. If the vampire so raised entered torpor because of a lack of blood, she awakens with one blood point in her veins; such is the miracle of the dark gift.
4) The False Death
The necromancer’s understanding of death has become such that at this stage of mastery, he may now inflict the ’False Death’ on himself or another.
If affecting himself, the necromancer may temporarily cheat the Curse of Caine, albeit briefly, by becoming temporarily dead. While invoking this power, the character suffers none of the traditional banes against vampires. He is not burned by sunlight, holy water does not harm him, and he does not rise from the dead each night. He has literally become a corpse.
Should the caster wish to use this power on another, then he may curse another with the false death; though he must touch that person. Mortals have few defenses against this fell power, but the other breeds of awakened beings have the capacity to shrug off the effects of this cursed power. Whether mortal or awakened, the effects of this power are temporary.
System: For the necromancer to become subject the 'false death' requires the expenditure of three (3) points of blood and a roll of Manipulation + Occult at a difficulty of seven (7).
If the necromancer should botch, he immediately enters into the false death and remains in that state for one day, plus one additional day per botch rolled. If he fails the roll, then he wastes three points of blood, but may attempt to use this power again next turn.
If the necromancer successfully uses this dark power against a mortal, unless that mortal has true faith or some other numina, then that mortal succumbs to the effects of this cursed power for the allotted time as described below. The expenditure of a temporary willpower on the part of a mortal can stave off the effects of this power for one turn.
Mortals cursed with the false death do not age while under its effect, nor do they require air to breath, food to eat or water to drink. Their body does not decay while under the effects of this power, but they display all the hallmarks of the deceased. They can be accidentally destroyed, if they are subject to an autopsy or worse, they could be unwittingly buried alive, only to awaken at the expiration of this cursed power.
The successful use of this power against a supernatural being insures that it will enter the false death for its allotted time according to the chart below. But supernatural beings are inherently resistant to the effects of this cursed power.
The spirits of the dead, having no corporal form are immune to this power’s effects, even if they should take on a physical form through their own dark powers.
As animate corpses, vampires are resistant to the effects of this power through the auspices of the Curse of Caine. Should the necromancer wish to affect another vampire, then he must expend one (1) willpower in addition to the usual three (3) points of blood and touch the victim. Even then, the scions of Caine may roll their Willpower trait at a difficulty of six (7) to resist the effects and each success is subtracted from the necromancer’s total successes. If the Cainite does succumb to the cursed effects of this power, he or she may stave off its full effects for a scene with the expenditure of a temporary point of willpower and may continue to expend temporary willpower until his or her pool is exhausted. In the case of those vampires who voluntarily submit to the effects of this power, they are affected according to the rules as stated above, excepting the resistance rolls and willpower expenditures.
Other supernatural beings may have unique defenses, but barring that, they may utilize their superior willpower in the same way that a vampire does and the necromancer must treat them as if they were a vampire for the purposes of expenditures and system rules.
While the vampire is under the influence of the false death, he may obviously take no actions, nor may he use any disciplines, even "automatic" ones like Fortitude. The vampire subject to the false death does not consume blood nightly, he retains the same amount of blood as he did when he entered the cursed state, which may prove damning should anyone cut him open in the interim.
A character that has been staked through the heart is still paralyzed when he returns to vampiric consciousness. This effects of this power are temporary and governed by the caster‘s successes.
Successes = Time Afflicted
One success = 1 Scene
Two successes = 1 Night
Three successes = 1 Week
Four successes = 1 Season
Five successes = 1 Year
5) Hand of the Thirty-Six
Named after the thirty-six demons of disease that plagued the ancient world; this power causes a victim to contract a virulent plague. This illness causes death within 24 hours for mortals and sends vampires to torpor within the same period of time. Victims of plague exhibit terrible plague symptoms: sunken eyes, blackened limbs, bloody sweat and excretions, swollen nodes and weeping lesions, and can communicate the mundane version of this disease to all they touch. If the necromancer wishes to bedevil an entire village, he may afflict the victim in such a way that the vector of the plague is airborne rather than through the medium of touch.
System: The necromancer touches her victim, and the player must expend four (4) blood points, which must come in contact with the victim to communicate the plague.
If the necromancer wants to afflict a scion of Caine with plague, then he must expend a temporary point of willpower to do so, the same is true if the necromancer wishes the plague to become airborne.
Cainite victims can spread the mundane version of the plague to their ghouls and minions through touch, but not through breath, which is inimical to the undead. The blood of an afflicted cainite is extremely infectious and afflicts ghouls who drink it or those who touch it as if they themselves were the original victims of this dark power.
The airborne version of this plague can spread as a mundane contagion a number of times in succession equal to the necromancer’s successes on the activation roll.
The player also rolls Manipulation + Medicine (difficulty 8). Success indicates that the vampire has afflicted his victim with plague, who dies or succumbs to torpor at the end of 24 hours.
