Magic
From Circle Of The Crone
The Circle of the Crone thrives on its use of the blood magic called Cruac. Here is the place to add questions and answers to the Cruac FAQ, share custom or common rites and devotion as well as other information.
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Cruac Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the basis for the Humanity restriction for Cruac?
A: "Because Cruac is an old dark form of magic. It is ancient blood rites, often conducted with sacrifices, willing or otherwise. An experienced practicioner of Cruac must be comfortable with the though of using another's blood for their own personal gain. Generally if you're using high levels of Cruac, the humanity restriction isn't a problem for you anyway."
Canon Rites
Level One
PANGS OF PROSERPINA
The sorcerer causes feelings of intense hunger in a subject, who must be within sight. The afflicted subject feels the desire to eat or feed. Activation involves a contested draw against the subject’s Composure + Blood Potency, and resistance is reflexive. If the performer gets the most successes, the victim avails himself of any sustenance available. A mortal even eats raw meat, though he doesn’t resort to such dire acts as cannibalism or drinking blood. Kindred might attack nearby vessels or even fellow vampires if their hunger is severe enough to make them frenzy. Even after he eats or feeds, a subject’s rapacity does not subside until the effects of the ritual pass. (Vampires affected by this ritual are considered “starving” for the purposes of resisting frenzy; see p. 255.)
RIGOR MORTIS
With the power of this ritual, a vampire may temporarily interrupt the reanimating effect of vampiric Vitae, impairing a Kindred’s movements as the stiffening of muscles common to dead bodies takes hold. The number of successes garnered on the Crúac draw determines the number of points by which the victim’s next Physical test pool is penalized. This applies only to test pools for actions, and does not affect Physical resistances. Rigor Mortis is useless against mortals, ghouls, Lupines, mages and most other beings, since they don’t depend on the power of vampiric Vitae to animate their bodies. A vampire may only be affected by the effects of one Rigor Mortis ritual at any given time. The draw to activate this power is penalized by the subject’s Composure.
BALANCING THE FOUR HUMORS (Nomads pg 93)
The Kindred are largely immune to the dangers of temperature, pressure and other conditions that would kill or cripple mortals. A vampire can still be affected by the most extreme conditions, though, such as arctic cold. This minor ritual maintains a balance within a vampire’s Vitae, never allowing it to become too hot, cold, compressed or otherwise hampered by the external world. Under the ritual’s Protection, the vampire suffers no dice-pool penalties due to climactic conditions or extremes. This benefit does not extend to conditions that would actually cause injury or damage, such as sunlight. Nor does it eliminate wound penalties. The ritual’s effect lasts until the next sunrise.
BLOOD WITNESS (Coteries pg84)
With the presence and power of her own Vitae, a ritualist can observe what happens in the vicinity of blood she leaves behind during the performance of this ritual. The performer must spend the standard one Vitae to complete the ritual, plus another Vitae (or possibly more) to bear witness at the site to be watched. The Vitae left behind must come from the performer, whether it’s vomited up, spilled from the wrists or via some other means. The blood may be dribbled on the floor, soaked into a rug, painted onto a wall or otherwise applied as the performer sees fit. However the blood left behind, it remains as detectable as any ordinary blood. If it’s scrubbed away, the power of the ritual is broken.
For one full night per Vitae spent, the Character invoking the ritual gains the ability to witness events at the location as though she were present and standing in whatever spot she had marked with her Vitae. If the character creates a trail of blood around a room, for example, she may later observe the room from any point on that “circuit.” Because the seer isn’t actually present at the location, she may even observe events that occur during the day—the images come to her in an achingly vivid dream while she sleeps. Some Acolytes use this ritual just to gain a glimpse of their own gardens in the sunshine. Seers are still subject to the Rotschreck, however as the Beast panics in the light of the sun. Observers who succumb to the fear frenzy do not actually lose control of themselves, but do lose their connection to the Vitae they’ve used in this ritual. While the seer is watching through her blood connection, she is unable to see or hear through her own body.
The boundaries of this power are limited. Only one arcane connection can be employed by a single character at one time, even if multiple Vitae are spent on that connection. Multiple Vitae can be used to widen the area of observance, at one Vitae per room included. Vitae may be deposited in a vehicle, so the observer becomes a clairvoyant passenger. If the distance between the character and the Vitae exceeds 10 times the sorcerer’s Blood Potency in miles, the mystic connection breaks.
The observer’s perception is limited through the mystical connection, but not by physical barriers the character can see around. IF a rug is laid down over the blood she leaves behind, she sees as if she stood on that rug. If a door is closed between her Vitae and another room, she doesn’t gain any power to see through it, but may hear sounds that come through it. Her powers of perception depend on her supernatural prowess. The number of successes on the Crúac roll becomes the number of successes she scores on all attempted actions to perceive the world through her arcane connection (such as Wits + Composure or Wits + a certain Skill; see page 476 of the Minds Eye Theater: World of Darkness rulebook for details). The testimony of the blood witness is affected by environmental impediments like darkness and smoke just as ordinary vision is affected. No other Disciplines may be used through the blood connection, so a character may not employ Heightened Senses, for example.
Level Two
CHEVAL
This ritual allows the performer to “ride the senses” of his subject. The subject must be within direct sight when the ritual is performed, but the subject can stray from the caster to any distance thereafter. At any time he wishes for the duration of the effect, the performer may see or hear through the eyes or ears of his subject. No other senses can be substituted — if the subject is blind or deaf or both, all “riding” yields is blackness and/or silence. A subject so “ridden” is unaware that his senses also report to another. While riding another’s senses, the ritualist is only dimly aware of her own body, which falls into on a trance-like state. She is unaware of minor environmental stimuli affecting her own body (such as an insect crawling across her skin or drops of water falling on her head), but more aggressive actions perpetrated against her body such as moving it more than a few inches or attacking it immediately draw her consciousness back to it. This ritual remains in effect for one night per success on the invocation draw, though the caster may end the ritual at any time. The performer can therefore indulge in a subject’s senses and return to her own body as often as she likes throughout the rite’s duration. Generally speaking, the ritualist may leave behind a note indicating where her body is and directing would-be assailants to seek her out, and then follow the target of the ritual while adopting an out-of-game pose to indicate that she is not actually there. The draw to activate this power is penalized by the subject’s Composure.
THE HYDRA’S VITAE
By invoking this ritual, the performer protects himself from would-be diablerists and from those who would otherwise feast upon his blood. This ritual transforms the sorcerer’s Vitae into a kind of poison. Kindred who drink it suffer one point of lethal damage for every Vitae consumed; mortals who imbibe suffer two points of lethal damage for each Vitae. When a Kindred consumes a quantity of venomous Vitae, she earns no nourishment from it. Vitae altered by this ritual is poisonous only so long as it’s in the performer’s body (or until the next sunrise). If the Vitae leaves, it becomes as any other Vitae spilled from a Kindred’s body. Thus, it cannot be used to create poisoned weapons, and if one consumes the Vitae from a container after it leaves the body, it is simply normal, non-poisonous Vitae.
THE HELIOLATER'S WARNING (Nomads pg 93)
Nothing is more dangerous to a vampire roaming the world than the burning kiss of sunlight. A temporary haven is never truly safe, not when a single hole in a wall can let in the sun, or an invading witch hunter can tear away a protective curtain. While this ritual cannot guarantee any kind of safety, it can give a vampire an extra moment of grace when disaster strikes, perhaps allowing her a chance to scramble to safety. Her Vitae becomes preternaturally sensitive to changes in surrounding light levels, and pounds quickly through her veins should she be forced to wake during the day. The successes achieved on the invocation roll are added to any Wits roll made to wake during the day, as long as the circumstances involve exposure to sunlight. A ghoul sneaking into the vampire’s haven and stealing documents doesn’t trigger the benefit, but if the ghoul then attempts to let in the light, the bonus is added to your Wits pool (+ Auspex dots, if any). The bonus dice are also added to the Humanity roll to determine how long the vampire can remain active upon waking. The effects of the ritual last until the next sunset, even if the caster is forced to wake several times during the day.
BARRIER OF BLOOD (Coteries pg 84)
This defensive ritual is used to mark an Acolyte’s territory and prevent entry by unwanted Kindred. To perform this ritual, the character draws lines of his Vitae across doorways, underneath windows or anywhere else she wishes to ward. One Vitae is necessary for each portal to be protected, in addition to the Vitae spent to complete the ritual itself. Multiple Barriers may be created with a single activation roll, provided all barriers protect a single room or space and are linked by solid walls. The character can also define areas to be protected by painting circles or other shapes on the floor using Vitae. For this purpose, one Vitae is sufficient to create standing room for two average-sized people. The Vitae to be used can be donated by any willing or unwilling vampires.
Vampires with Blood Potency less than that of the Vitae used in the Creation of the Sanguine perimeter cannot voluntarily cross without making a Resolve +Composure roll and scoring more successes than were scored on the initial roll to create the barrier. Regardless, any kindred crossing the barrier suffers bashing damage equal to the successes scored on the Crúac roll, minus his Defense.
The performer of the ritual must touch any kindred permitted to pass the barrier before the barrier has been completely drawn. Kindred with permission ignore all effects of the Barrier of Blood, as does the sorcerer who cast it. The Barrier of Blood lasts for 24 hours.
Level Three
DEFLECTION OF WOODEN DOOM
The performer invokes a mystic protection against attempts to impale her heart with a stake. If the ritual succeeds, any attempt to stake the vampire fails for the duration of the spell. Stakes used in this manner rot or disintegrate as wielders attempt to use them against the performer, leaving no useful pieces behind. An attempt to stake the Kindred in question must be made for this ritual to take effect. (It does not simply rot all stakes and would-be stakes in her presence.) This power cannot be invoked to protect others; it works only on the sorcerer herself. This ritual fades at sundown of the subsequent night, though it may be invoked again immediately thereafter.
TOUCH OF THE MORRIGAN
The caster performs this ritual (Manipulation + Occult + Crúac is drawn) and channels his righteous ire into a tangible force. If the performance draw is successful, the user’s mere touch becomes deadly. The sorcerer must then touch a subject with his open palm. (See “Touching an Opponent,” p.217 of the Mind’s Eye Theatre rulebook.) Contact inflicts an amount of lethal damage equal to the number of successes gained on the activation draw. (The power cannot be delivered through a punch or other unarmed close-combat attack.) This harm can be delivered only once per performance of the ritual, and this rite lasts for one hour for every success drawn. If that period of time passes without a touch being made, the power fades. The mark made by contact is physically manifest in accordance with its severity. A Touch of the Morrigan that inflicts one point of damage looks like a minor scar or livid bruise, while one that delivers five points of damage leaves the subject almost entirely blackened and charred looking. The visible injury fades as the damage is healed. This power affects only vampires, ghouls and other supernatural creatures. It seems that Kindred cannot inflict their viciousness on mortals in this manner. At the Storyteller’s discretion, victims of particularly powerful uses of this rite may acquire penalties to relevant appearance-related draws until the damage is healed or be forced to adopt appropriate makeup or description tags to simulate their ravaged looks.
SONG OF THE BLOOD (Nomads pg 93)
On the road, a vampire risks not just danger but anonymity- if she dies at the hands of her enemies, far from her allies and blood “family,” no one may ever know her fate or be able to take revenge. This ritual mitigates some of that danger; it strengthens the ties of the blood between childe and sire, grandchilde and grandsire, allowing the Acolyte’s extended brood to sense her in moments of crisis, no matter how far removed she may be. Once the ritual is performed, the vampire’s “relatives” can sense her using blood sympathy (see page 230 of MET: the Requiem) no matter where she might be, rather than just within 50 miles. The effects of this ritual last until the next sunrise.
FLOWER OF DEMETER (Coteries pg 85)
Knowledge of this ritual has been passed down from the most ancient vampires, according to those Acolytes who use and teach this horticultural rite. With it, a character grows a unique species of red lily said to have been brought back from Hades by Persephone. This flower grows only in mortal blood- which must be supplied in total at the start of the ritual- but is traditionally grown from a human corpse. To raise a Flower of Demeter, the sorcerer’s player must make a successful invocation roll once per week until the three successes necessary to satisfy the roll have been accumulated. (In this case, the extended action happens over the course of a week or weeks, not turns as is normally specified by Crúac rituals.) Over this time, the stalk of the plant grows slowly taller and taller from the ground or corpse that supplies its blood, up to a height of about six feet. Once the three successes have been garnered, the Vitae of the Acolyte brings the flowers to bloom. One bud on the stalk blooms per dot of the character’s Blood Potency, less one per week it took to cultivate the stalk, with a minimum of one.
The plant itself is inspiring to Kindred in an intangible, mystical way for as long as at least a single blossom remains on its stalk. All Craft and Expression rolls made in the presence of the flower gain two extra dice. This inspirational power is said to be the echo of Demeter’s springtime joy.
A vampire who swallows a Flower of Demeter experiences the blush of life until the next sunrise, with no expenditure of her own Vitae. She is capable of keeping down food, keeping up sexual activity and mimicking respiration and blood flow almost without thought. When the sunrise comes, however, the vampire undergoes an awful purge, vomiting up all food and drink consumed and experiencing tremendous but harmless anguish described by those who’ve experienced it as a “mourning of the flesh.”
An Acolyte cannot raise a new Flower of Demeter until her current specimen has been fully deflowered or allowed to die. The plant suffers all the anathema of the Kindred, and is destroyed in seconds by fire or sunlight. Blossoms clipped from the plant lose all mystical properties as the next sunrise, when they flake away in sheets of ash like burnt paper.
Level Four
BLOOD PRICE
The sorcerer mystically claims one third of the Vitae that a subject imbibes. The subject must be within sight when this ritual is performed. Every time the subject feeds, a third of the Vitae he consumes is denied him and transfers invisibly to the sorcerer, regardless of either vampire’s location. (In other words, every third point of Vitae consumed is passed to the caster.) This Vitae is always “neutral,” which is to say that the feeding Kindred does not subject the sorcerer to a Vinculum in this manner, and neither does feeding from a third-party vampire apply any blood bonds to the sorcerer (though it certainly does to the feeding vampire). The effects of this ritual expire after one feeding or the next sunrise, whichever comes first. A contested draw is made to activate this power, pitting the sorcerer’s Manipulation + Occult + Crúac versus the subject’s Composure + Blood Potency, and this resistance is reflexive. If the most successes are drawn for the caster, the subject has no idea where some of the Vitae he consumes disappears to, yet he knows that he goes slightly undernourished.
WILLFUL VITAE
The performer makes herself immune to the Vinculum and blood addiction when another Kindred’s Vitae is consumed. After this ritual is performed, if another vampire’s blood is imbibed in the same night, no step is taken toward a Vinculum with the provider of the blood, and no addiction to blood forms for the character. Of course, the blood donor has no idea that the recipient is immune. The ritual cannot be performed on another vampire, only on the caster’s self. The ritual does not countermand or alleviate any existing Vinculum to which the caster is already subject.
BLEEDING THE TARANTULA (Nomads pg 93)
This bizarre ritual creates a guardian that watches over a vampire as he sleeps- an undead, spidery homunculus with fangs dripping bloody venom. To perform the ritual, the Acolyte must surrender a portion of her Vitae to create her guardian’s physical form. The ritual creates a large, crimson spider resembling a tarantula that guards her haven as she rests for the day. The creature has the following traits.
Attributes: Intelligence 0, Wits 1, Resolve 1, Strength 1, Dexterity 4, Stamina 1, Presence 0, Manipulation 0, Composure 1
Skills: Athletics 2, Stealth (Hiding in Plain Sight) 4, Survival 1
Willpower: 2 Initiative: 5 Defense: 4 Speed: 8 (species factor 3) Size: 1 Health: 2
Weapons/Attacks: Type: Bite Damage: 1(L) and Poison Dice Pool: Success of the invocation roll
The blood-spider’s unnaturally powerful fangs also contain preternatural venom, a corrupted Vitae that affects mortals and Kindred alike. Against Mortals, it makes attacks with a number of dice equal to the invocation roll’s success (usually four, given that this is a **** ritual, but extra successes on the activation roll do count), inflicting lethal damage. In other words, don’t roll the spider’s Strength + Brawl—use a dice pool of the successes achieved upon activation. Attacks staged against Kindred are resolved in the same way, except each success rolled taints one Vitae in the Victim, Making that Vitae useless (remove it from the Vitae pool; it nauseates the Kindred but not to the degree of impeding any dice pools).
The blood-spider is absolutely loyal to its master, and enjoys a form of blood sympathy with her. If the blood-spider is injured or destroyed, the Acolyte senses it automatically. No Wits roll is required to check if the character can detect trouble while she sleeps, but a Humanity roll is still required to awaken. The spider cannot be frightened off or repelled by mundane forces or threats, and the ritual’s invocation successes are added to its Resistance traits against Disciplines or magical powers that might drive it off or take control of it. It stays animated and on guard until sunset, at which point it breaks down into a puddle of clotted and rotting blood.
Level Five
BLOOD BLIGHT
This potent ritual taints the blood of its target, whether mortal or vampire. Draw Manipulation + Occult + Crúac in a contested action against the target’s Stamina + Blood Potency (resistance is reflexive). If the draw for the caster gets the most successes, that number of successes is inflicted as lethal damage to a mortal target. A vampire target immediately loses the equivalent of Vitae in his system and could be subject to frenzy as a result. Indeed, a vampiric victim might be forced into torpor. The caster must be able to see the intended victim when the ritual is performed.
FEEDING THE CRONE
When the performer calls upon the power of the Crone herself (by whatever name is used), and a Vitae is spent, the vampire’s mouth transforms into a maw of wicked, gnashing teeth. The vampire need not perform a grapple attack in order to bite a victim; the attack is made directly. The number of successes achieved on the ritual’s activation draw is added as a bonus to attack draws, and aggravated damage is inflicted. In addition, these teeth are so vicious that feeding cannot occur when they are borne; too much blood is wasted in the gory slaughter to get any real nourishment. Feeding the Crone remains in effect until another Vitae is spent to revoke the change, or until sunrise. In addition, appropriate makeup or a highly visible description tag should be worn to alert others to the use of this ritual, as it cannot be concealed from even casual inspection. Feeding the Crone cannot be used in combination with any Fighting Styles and the character does not receive bonuses from any weapons held as this is a brawling attack.
CURSE OF AHASVERUS (Nomads pg 93)
In the hands of blood sorcerers, this curse is a personal and dangerous blight, for it can turn a respected member of a domain into an outcast, forced to flee for his unlife. While under the effects of this ritual (which lasts a single night), a vampire’s Beast is ascendant and uncontrollable. The Predator’s Taint flares every time a vampire encounters him, even one he has known for centuries. In cases where the subject uses powers such as Mask of Tranquility or Aspect of the Predator, compare the Blood Potency of the vampire using the power to the Blood Potency of the vampire enacting this ritual. If the ritual performer has the higher trait, the subject’s Mask of Tranquility or Aspect of the Predator has no effect. If the subject’s Blood Potency is equal to or higher than the ritual performer’s, Mask of Tranquility or Aspect of the Predator works normally. The vampire targeted by this ritual must be visible to the invoker. A contested roll is made to activate this power, pitting the sorcerer’s Manipulation +Occult+ Crúac verses the subject’s Composure +Blood Potency, and this resistance is reflexive.
Custom Rites
Canon Devotions
ARCANE SIGHT (AUSPEX ••, CRUAC •)
Those who know this Devotion have learned how to expand their mystical sight by incorporating rudiments of blood magic. Kindred with this power can use their Auspex to scrutinize the auras of objects, as well as people, and may glean information from the eddies of power that whorl through the world.
Cost: 1 Vitae per scene
Test Pool: Wits + Occult + Auspex
Action: Instant
Rather than sensing patterns of emotions as with Aura Perception, the user sees the ebb and flow of magical power. A Kindred possessing this Devotion can learn a variety of information, including the following: whether an object (or person) has any magic of its own or is currently under enchantment; whether the magic comes from the object or creature directly or from an external source; the nature of the magic (beneficial, harmful, illusory); even detailed information as to the type and level of magic employed. Scrutinized individuals who are capable of any sort of magic (vampiric or otherwise) always glow with sparkling crackles of energy. Although this Devotion does identify sources of magic or items possessed of enchantments, it does not reveal magic effects in action (such as a magical fireball or an illusion). Each success on the activation draw yields one piece of information from the list above about the magic in question. If use of this Devotion becomes reasonably common, the Storytelling staff may even place task cards labeled “Arcane Sight” on important items or locations, which can only be attempted by characters with this Devotion.
This power costs 10 experience points to learn.
