Vitreous Path
Description
The Vitreous Path allows a necromancer to control and influence the energies pertaining to death, what wraiths call Oblivion. Rare in the extreme, this path manipulates entropy and decay, forces that even most necromancers are uncomfortable harnessing. This path, a development of the Nagaraja bloodline (who sometimes call the power “Nihilistics”), sees only the most limited use even among skilled necromancers. Still, its powers make a formidable complement to other necromantic crafts, and those obsessed with mastery over death and souls — such as the Harbingers of Skulls — would certainly risk much to uncover this path’s secrets. Like most necromancers, Nagaraja learn the Sepulchre Path before any others. The Vitreous Path is usually their second focus of study, which at one time reflected the amount of time they spent in the Underworld.
Eyes of the Dead - Level 1
The necromancer employing the Eyes of the Dead can literally see through the eyes of any wraiths around her, allowing her to use the wraiths’ Deathsight. Of course, if there are no wraiths present, the power is useless. On the upside, at least for the necromancers, a few of the Restless may almost always be found wandering around. To an experienced manipulator of ghostly energies, the auras of surrounding beings give off telltale hints as to their health and may indicate their emotions or desires; the necromancer can see the energies of death and passion flowing through everyone, just as wraiths can.
System: The player rolls Perception + Occult at a difficulty of 6 in order to use the senses of the ghosts around her. This effect is often disorienting, especially in areas where many wraiths are present, and at the Storyteller's discretion, can cause the necromancer to suffer up to a +4 difficulty when attempting to perceive things not in the Underworld. While employing the Eyes of the Dead, the necromancer may not always understand what he is seeing (when in doubt, use Intelligence + Occult to recognize the patterns of death in auras). Properly used, this power lets a necromancer determine whether someone is injured, diseased or dying and, also, whether the individual labors under any sorts of curses or baleful magic. This ability lasts for one scene, though the necromancer may choose to prematurely draw his perceptions back to his own body (thereby ending the power).
Hour of Death - Level 2
Much like Eyes of the Dead, this power allows the necromancer to see with the perceptions of the Restless Dead. The difference is that this power grants the necromancer himself Deathsight instead of borrowing the perceptions of a wraith, and this vision gives much greater details. By looking at the entropic markings on a person’s body, the necromancer can gain rough knowledge of how far that person is from death, how soon that person is likely to die and even what the cause of her death is likely to be. Conversely, the patterns of auras also tell when a person is agitated or excited and allow the death magician to gauge someone’s feelings towards another individual when the two first meet. Many necromancers actually use this talent to be at the right place and time to capture a newly departing soul.
System: The player rolls Wits + Occult at a difficulty of 7. The more successes scored, the more the character can tell about the target’s fate. One success means the character can guess how long the target has to live to within a few weeks. Three successes means the character can estimate how long the target has to live and what the probable source of demise will be, as the entropic markings clearly show the wounds that will someday exist on that person. Five successes means the character can actually see where and when the event will occur by interpreting the black markings on the target’s soul. While this power lasts for one scene, it can be used to read the fate of only one target at a time.
Soul Judgment - Level 3
Wraiths seem to possess a Beast, much like vampires, though their “Shadows” are often less brutish. By using Soul Judgment, the necromancer determines whether the wraith is currently influenced by his darker passions. That knowledge can be very useful, as many necromancers prefer to barter with apparitions rather than merely trying to force the wraiths into subservience. Knowing the aspect of a wraith with which the death magician is dealing means knowing whether or not to discuss matters of importance with the wraith at that time. Many necromancers take this affair one level further, dealing with the Shadow and the normal wraith in separate matters and never letting on to either just what the other half is doing.
System: Since the wraith’s higher self usually has no idea of what its Shadow is doing (although the converse is not true), the necromancer can conceal his dealings by working with the wraith’s dark nature. This power also allows the necromancer to determine whether the ghost is normally dominated by his higher self or his Shadow; wraiths routinely dominated by their Beasts are known as Spectres and are exceedingly dangerous.
Breath of Thanatos - Level 4
The Breath of Thanatos allows the necromancer to draw out entropic energy and focus it upon an area or person. Often, the death magician literally takes a deep breath and then forcefully exhales a fog of mephitic energy. This cloud of virulence is completely invisible to anyone without the ability to see the passing of entropy (as with lower levels of this power). The energy of this cloud is like a beacon for Spectres, and they are drawn to the entropic force like moths to flame. There is no obligation on the part of Spectres to behave themselves, and the necromancer had best have a plan for what to do with them once they’ve arrived — which is why most Vitreous Path necromancers also learn other paths.
Once the energy is pulled from the necromancer's body, she can either disperse it over a large area as a lure for Spectres or use the mist for somewhat more sinister purposes. Channeled into an object or person, the death-mist inflicts the subject with an unwholesome, negative aspect, and may actually cause injury. Furthermore, the focused energies are tainted and eerie, and though generally invisible, they tend to cause people and animals to feel discomfort around the victim.
System: The player spends one blood point and rolls
Willpower (difficulty 8). Only one success is needed to
draw out the Breath of Thanatos. If dispersed to summon Spectres, the energies cover roughly one-quarter
of a mile (400 meters) in radius, centered around the
necromancer. The range increases by an additional
one-quarter mile or 400 meters for every additional
blood point expended.
Spectres summoned with this power will ignore the summoning necromancer for the duration of the power unless provoked, but may well go out of their way to wreak havoc on anyone else in the vicinity. The necromancer can then use other Necromancy powers (such as those in the Sepulchre Path) to manipulate and affect these Spectres. Ghosts so targeted may then interact with the necromancer as normal, although the other Spectres in the area will continue to ignore both the vampire and the targeted ghost. This energy disperses after a scene, after which the Spectres leave to find new prey. Mechanics for Spectres can be found on p. 385.
Soul Feasting - Level 5
Just as the necromancer can draw Oblivion from within, she may also pull external entropic energies into herself as a source of power. Soul Feasting allows the caster to either draw on the ambient death energies around her or to actively feed on a wraith, stealing the wraith’s substance and mystically transforming that energy into a rude sustenance.
System: The player spends one Willpower to allow the vampire to feed on the negative energies of the dead. If the character is drawing the energies from the atmosphere, she must be in a place where death has occurred within the hour or in a place where death is common, such as a cemetery, a morgue or the scene of a recent murder. Generally, the necromancer can draw anywhere from one to four points of entropy from such a location. In cases when the necromancer feeds on a wraith, the vampire must actually attack the wraith as if feeding normally. Wraiths have up to 10 "blood points" that may be taken from them, and they become less and less substantial as their spirit essence drains away. The character is vunerable to any attack the wraith might make. While feeding, the vampire is essentially in a half state, existing in both the living lands and the Underworld simutaneously. The wraith so attacked is considered immobilized and cannot run or escape unless it can defeat the vampire. This soul energy can be used to activate Disciplines, but may not be used in place of actual blood for the purposes of feeding or healing.
