Level Three Rituals
Blood Allergy

Reminded of their lost mortality, of illness and unhappiness, Kindred suffering from an allergy of the blood cannot keep vitae within their bodies. Attempts to hold down any blood after ingesting this unlife-sustaining fluid will result in moments of severe nausea followed by episodes of vomit-induced heaves that only abate when all of the blood is expelled from the system. After spilling his blood onto the dead petals of a red rose, a magus may infect a target with this allergy.

System:

This ritual requires only 10 minutes of preparation before casting during which a thaumaturge must spend a blood point and mingle it with dead rose petals. a target suffering a blood allergy is affected for one night per success scored by the caster. Victims are unable to keep blood within their bodies, and, therefore, unable to do much that concerns their vampiric powers. Vampires will not expunge blood if they have three or less blood points remaining, and this power does not work on Kindred older than the caster. While the loss of blood is not enough to cause a Kindred to enter torpor, he will be on the threshold of hunger, and may need to roll for frenzy if he encounters blood.

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Cleansing Of The Flesh

Vampires must drink the blood of mortals in order to survive and, accompanying this bane is the risk of becoming addicted to mortal vices: illegal narcotics and alcohol. In some cases, Kindred lead their unlives as hosts to a number of sexually transmitted diseases, such as AIDS, The warlock casting this ritual must spend one full night in a bathtub filled with purified water, throughout the night, the thaumaturge must expunge all but the smallest drop of his blood from his body, a little at a time over the course of one night. As the blood is released from the body, all addiction and diseases the vampire formally housed will no longer burden him.

System:

The caster lies in a vessel of purified water and bleeds out all but one of his blood points, roughly two points an hour. All addictions to drugs and all diseases that are not supernatural in nature will no longer hinder the thaumaturge beginning at the night’s end, though he will likely be quite ravenous after performing the ritual. this ritual may be performed on another, who must open his own veins, with the Warlock chanting beside the tub.

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Craft Dream Catcher

By combining the knowledge of the Spirit Lands and this ritual magic, the caster is able to create a minor artifact that helps protect a sleeping person. Used mainly in Native American culture, the Dream Catcher has a powerful talisman to ward against hostile spirits. A Dream Catcher is a personal item, crafted for an individual and only working for that person. The caster takes bits of hair, blood and spittle from the owner, mixing them into the creation of the Dream Catcher.

System:

The Dream Catcher provides two protections to the owner. First, spirits trying to affect the character have an increased difficulty of two. Second, any of the Thaumaturgy powers of Oneiromancy may either add one or subtract one from the difficulty, based upon the desire of the owner. These benefits apply only when the character is in possession of the Dream Catcher.

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Major Creation

Normally the Path of Conjuring is restricted to items the size of the thaumaturge, both in size and weight. However, by the application of this ritual, the conjurer is able to create items that exceed this normal limit. Tremere magi can surprise enemies by creating a motorcycle "out of thin air" for an escape or anything else they can think up. This ritual requires the caster to sever his own thumb, which disappears during any conjuration. Many thaumaturges suspect that the thumb provides the additional mass for large conjured objects, even though the object may be several times the caster's size.

System:

After preparing this ritual, the number of successes on the activation roll determines the multiplier that the conjurer can exceed his normal weight and size limit. Example, if the conjurer's player earned three successes on the ritual roll, he could create something that was three times his size. Use of this ritual costs an additional 3 blood points, in addition to the normal costs of conjuring an item. What the thaumaturge creates is still limited by the Path of Conjuring power being activated. Additionally, severing one's own thumb requires a successful Willpower roll or the expenditure of a willpower point.

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Telecommunication

This modern magic allows the caster to influence what is displayed on a television set. The caster can create a picture to communicate with people near the set or create fictional stories for broadcast: "We interrupt our regular scheduled program..." Since the thaumaturge can view images from the set itself, this ritual also serves as an effective surveillance device.

System:

Any television the thaumaturge has touched within the last week is subject to the effects of this ritual. Each success allows the caster to view and communicate through the television for 5 minutes, during which time the thaumaturge drops into a meditative state. He can observe everything from the television and can regulate everything that appears on the set, whether he chooses to use broadcast signals or the fruits of his own imagination.

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A touch of Nightshade

This ritual allows the thaumaturge to poison a single victim by her slightest touch. The caster must anoint his hands with the bitter extract of nightshade before conducting this ritual.

System:

The victim rolls Stamina + Fortitude (dif. 8). With three or more successes, the target is unaffected. With two successes, the victim feels nauseous and queasy for three nights and increases his difficulties by one.

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Track Transgressor

Following the recent destruction of the Tremere antitribu, a sub sect of Clan Tremere has undertaken hunting what they call transgressors, non-clan Kindred who wield the secrets of Thaumaturgy. This crackdown on those violating the most sacred of Tremere laws has not been widespread, but this is expected to change soon with recent addition of this ritual. This ritual finds and tracks down these transgressors, presumably to be dealt with at the Tremere's discretion. The thaumaturge spills her own blood on the ground, which briefly reveals the footprints of the transgressor.

System:

The thaumaturge must conduct this ritual at a site where Thaumaturgy has been used within the past 24 hours. After casting this ritual, the Tremere is able to flawlessly track down the other magus for the rest of the night. This tracking follows the exact path that the magus took after leaving the area where the magic was used. This ritual may track down only Thaumaturgy and not Necromancy or other types of magic. The caster must spend at least one blood point to activate the ritual.

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Hell's Calling

This insidious power requires some personal possession of the subject's to be burned when the ritual is enacted. As the object burns, the subject is immediately overcome with a feeling of Rotschreck, regardless of where he is, what he's doing or even whether or not any flame is present. Clever anarchs have used this power to spite rivals, break the spirits of enemies and even humiliate princes by forcing them to act irrationally before the Kindred of their domains.

System:
Upon this ritual's completion, the subject is immediately gripped by Rotschreck, and he must check to see if he enters the fear frenzy as per page 220 of Vampire: The Masquerade (difficulty 6). This fear may be overcome by spending a willpower point, as well. If the character fails the Courage roll, he immediately flees the vicinity in terror, although terror of what eludes the character. For this reason, the Rotschreck doesn't last as long as the red fear normally does. When the character thinks to ask himself what he's afraid of, the effect ends. Usually, however, this is to late to prevent the shock and incredulity of any company the Kindred was keeping at the time.

It takes 30 minutes to perform this ritual.

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Incorporeal Passage

Use of this ritual allows the thaumaturge to make herself insubstantial. The caster becomes completely immaterial and thus is able to walk through walls, pass through closed doors, escape manacles, etc. The caster also becomes invulnerable to physical attacks for the duration of the ritual. The caster must follow a straight path through any physical objects, and may not draw back. Thus, a Kindred may walk through a solid wall, but may not walk down through the earth (as it would be
impossible to reach the other side before the ritual lapsed). This ritual requires that the caster carry a shard from a shattered mirror to hold her image as she moves insubstantially.

System:
This ritual lasts a number of hours equal to the number of successes scored on a Wits + Survival roll (difficulty 6). The thaumaturge may prematurely end the ritual (and, thus, her incorporeality) by turning the mirror shard away so that it no longer reflects her image.

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Pavis of Foul Presence

The Tremere joke privately that this is their "ritual for the Ventrue." Kindred who invoke the Presence Discipline on the subject of this ritual find the effects of their Discipline reversed, as if they had used the power on themselves. For example, a vampire using Presence to instill utter fear in a Kindred under the influence of this ritual feels the fear herself. This ritual is an unbroken secret among the Tremere, and the Warlocks maintain that its use is unknown outside their clan. The magical
component for this ritual is a length of blue silk, which must be worn around the neck of the person protected by the magic.

System:
This ritual lasts until the sunrise after it is enacted. Note that the Presence Discipline power must actually succeed before being reversed by the ritual.

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Flesh of Fiery Touch

This defensive ritual inflicts painful burns on anyone who deliberately touches the subject's skin. It requires the subject to swallow a small glowing ember, which does put off some thaumaturges with low pain thresholds. Some vain Tremere use this ritual purely for its subsidiary effect of darkening the subject's skin to a healthy sun-bronzed hue.

System:
Flesh of Fiery Touch takes two hours to cast (reduced by 10 minutes per success). It requires a small piece of wood, coal or other common fuel source, which ignites and is swallowed at the end of the ritual. The subject who swallows the red-hot ember receives a single aggravated health level of damage (difficulty 6 to soak with Fortitude). Until the next sunset, anyone who touches the subject's flesh receives a burn that inflicts a single aggravated health level of damage (again, difficulty 6 to soak
with Fortitude). The victim must voluntarily touch the subject; this damage is not inflicted if the victim is touched or accidentally comes in contact with the subject.

This ritual darkens the subject's skin to that which would be obtained by long-term exposure to the sun in a mortal. The tone is slightly unnatural and metallic, and is evidently artificial to any observer who succeeds in a Perception + Medicine roll (difficulty 8).

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Sanguine Assistant

Tremere often need laboratory assistants whom they can trust implicitly. As Tremere often trust no one whom they know and no one whom they do not, this ritual allows the intrepid thaumaturge to conjure a temporary servant. To cast the ritual, the vampire slices open his arm and bleeds into a specially prepared earthen bowl. The ritual sucks in and animates whatever random unimportant items the wizard happens to have lying around his workshop - glass beakers, dissection tools, pencils, crumpled papers, semiprecious stones - and binds the materials together into a small humanoid form animated by the power of the ritual and the blood.

Oddly enough, this ritual almost never takes in any tool that the thaumaturge finds himself needing during the assistant's lifespan, nor does it take the physical components of any other ritual nor any living thing. The servant has no personality to speak of at first, but gradually adopts the mannerisms and thought processes that the thaumaturge desires in an ideal servant. Sanguine Assistants are temporary creations, but some Tremere become fond of their tiny accomplices and create the same one whenever the need arises.

System:
The player spends five blood points and rolls. The servant created by the ritual stands a foot high and appears as a roughly humanoid shape composed of whatever the ritual sucked in for its own use. It lasts for one night per success rolled. At the end of the last night, the assistant crawls into the bowl used for its creation and falls apart. The assistant can be re-animated through another application of this ritual; if the thaumaturge so desires, it re-forms from the same materials with the same memories and personality.

A Sanguine Assistant has Strength and Stamina of 1 and Dexterity and Mental Attributes equal to those of the caster. It begins with no Social Attributes to speak of, but gains one dot per night in Charisma and Manipulation until its ratings are equal to those of the caster. It has all of the caster's Abilities at one dot lower than his own. A Sanguine Assistant is a naturally timid creature and flees if attacked, having only four health levels, though it will try to defend its master's life at the cost of its own. It has no Disciplines of its own, but has a full understanding of all of its master's Thaumaturgical knowledge and can instruct others if so commanded. A Sanguine Assistant is impervious to any mind-controlling Disciplines or magic, so completely is it bound to its creator's will.
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Shaft of Belated Quiescence

This ritual turns an ordinary stake of rowan wood into a particularly vicious weapon. When the stake penetrates a vampire's body, the tip breaks off and begins working its way through the victim's flesh to his heart. The trip may take several minutes or several nights, depending on where the stake struck. The stake eludes attempts to dig it out, burrowing farther into the victim's body to escape surgery. The only Kindred who are immune to this internal attack are those who have had their hearts removed by Setites.

System:
The ritual takes five hours to enact, minus 30 minutes per success. The stake must be carved of rowan wood, coated with three blood points of the caster's blood, and blackened in an oak-wood fire. When the ritual is complete, the stake is enchanted to act as described above.

An attack with a Shaft of Belated Quiescence is performed as with a normal stake: a Dexterity + Melee roll (difficulty 6, modified as per the normal combat rules, as the attack does not need to specifically target the heart - the stake takes care of that) with a lethal damage rating of Strength + 1. If at least one health level of damage is inflicted after the target rolls to soak, the tip of the stake breaks off and begins burrowing. If not, the stake may be used to make subsequent attacks until it strikes deep enough to activate.

Once the tip of the stake is in the victim's body, the Storyteller begins an extended roll of the caster's Thaumaturgy rating (difficulty 9), rolling once per hour of game time. Successes on this roll are added to the successes scored in the initial attack. This represents the tip's progress toward the victim's heart. A botch indicates that the tip has struck a bone and all accumulated successes are lost (including those from the initial attack roll). When the shaft accumulates a total of 15 successes, it reaches the victim's heart. This paralyzes Kindred and is instantly fatal to mortals and ghouls.

Attempts to surgically remove the tip of the shaft can be made with an extended Dexterity + Medicine roll (difficulty 7), rolled once per hour. The surgeon must accumulate a number of successes equal to those currently held by the shaft in order to remove the tip. Once surgery begins, however, the shaft begins actively evading the surgeon's probes, and its rolls are made once every 30 minutes for the duration of the surgery attempt. Each individual surgery roll that scores less than three successes inflicts an additional unsoakable level of lethal damage on the patient. Shaft of Belated Quiescence may be performed on other wooden impaling weapons, such as spears, arrows, practice swords and pool cues, provided that they are made of rowan wood. It may not, however, create a Bullet of Belated Quiescence - wooden bullets are not large enough to absorb the full amount of blood required for the ritual.

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Inherited Affinity (level 3 ritual)

Although it's possible to learn Thaumaturgy with long and difficult study, experienced Tremere can help a student to "Attune" his blood more closely to the twisted form of the Curse necessary for thaumaturgical practice. Students who are sluggish in mastering the basics of Thaumaturgy often suffer through this ritual once, which seems to "open the door," so to speak. Non-Tremere Kindred have a rougher time -- should they find a willing tutor, this ritual can help in learning Thaumaturgy, but it's stil a slow and painful process.

To awaken the Inherited Affinity, the caster must have uninterrupted access to the subject for an entire night. Typically the subject is chained toa wall, so as to avoid having her break loose and cause havoc. The caster feeds the subject a nauseating concoction of rendered fat, various erbs and powdered garnet all steeped in blood. Then the thaumatruge inserts six heated, gold-plated needles into various points of the subject's anatomy -- points of bodily power, generally, though the exact locations vary from caster to caster. Over the next three hours, the caster instructs the subject to infuse her body with the power of her vitae. The needles block off usual sources of blood circulation and alter the results (often quite painfully), complete with bloody splotches on the skin, profoundly distended veins and bleeding from various pores.

Once complete, the subject may practice the new vistas of Thaumatrugy. This, of course, requres that the subject ingest yet more vitae to replace that lost through the ritual. Many regents know how to use the Inherited Affinity and it's common to put a newly Embraced neonate through this process
to help awaken the power of blood magic. The subject must remember the feelings of the blood flow from the course of the rite; for most Tremere, this comes naturally after one application.

SYSTEM:
Surviving the Inherited Affinity ritual does not guarantee that a subject can learn Thaumaturgy, but it helps. The end result is up to the Storyteller -- if the Storyteller requires players to make various study rolls to unearth thaumaturgical knowledge or rituals, going through the Inherited Affinity ritual may lower the difficulty. The ritual itself takes three nights of time and requires the subject to suffer through five levels of lethal damage and to expend all but one blood point; it's most helpful if the subject then imbibes additional blood and contemplates the feelings it
invoked. Obviously, a Kindred is subject to the usual chances to frenzy from hunger and injury due to this ritual.

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Power of the Pyramid (level 3 Ritual)

Among the Tremere clan's most famous expolits are its great binding rituals over the entirety of the Tremere antitibu, and the majority of the Assamite clan. No lone thaumaturge could accomplish such a feat. Only by sharing strength can the Tremere achieve the necessary might to create or resist such forces.To combine thaumaturgical strength, Tremere Kindred can use a linking ritual. The Power of the Pyramid rite requires that each particupant know and invoke the ritual simultaneously, and require physical contact -- so a group of Tremere, formed in a circle with linked hands, all chanting the same words in unison, indicates that the clan prepares for a daunting task.

Once completed, the rite allows the Tremere involved to gather their mental strength together so that they can multiply their power. Perhaps because of its connotations, this ritual only works for Kindred of Tremere lineage. Other vampires might be able to learn it, but it would probably not do them much good. This ritual requires the caster to fast for 24 hours before performing it. Additionally, one of the thaumaturges participating in the group must wear a brooch or pin made from mortal bone, which must pierce his flesh (though it need not be visible to the rest of the group).

SYSTEM:
Each Kindred involved in Power of the Pyramid must know this ritual and successfully cast it simultaniously -- any failed castings simply exclude the individual from the circle but do not hinder other successes. Once complete, a single Tremere can break from the circle without nullifying the ritual, but if any others lose physical contact the ritual ends. So long as the ritual continues, all participants may freely share their willpower. Thus, one Tremere could break from the circle, perform another ritual and draw upon the Willpower of all the other kindred involved. Once a caster has broken from the circle, he cannot return and release someone else; that "Lynchpin" is the only one able to move freely.

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Rutor's Hands (level 3 ritual)

Gargoyles and homunculi remain relatively common in some Tremere chantries, but few Kindred know of Rutor's Hands, or would want to. A thaumaturge of sufficient will can pluck out his own eye and set it atop one of his own severed hands -- the ritual preserves them from disintegration -- and animate this thing as a scurrying, malevolent spy. The eye rests on the back of the hand and swivels about to watch its surroundings, while the hand scuttles like a desiccated spider. The construct obeys the will of its owner and can relay what it sees and hears (even though it has no ears) back to its master, as the thaumaturge desires.

SYSTEM:
The thaumaturge cuts off his hand and plucks out his eye at the conclusion of this ritual; this causes five levels of unsoakable aggravated damage. Once this damage is healed, the Tremere regenerates his hand and eye, though the ghastly homunculus may still prowl. Completing this ritual may also require a Willpower roll, at the Storyteller's discretion, simply to carry out the painful finale. The animate hand has one health level of its own and moves about with the equivalent of two dots in each Physical Attribute and in Perception, though it cannot fight. The caster mentally directs the thing's movement at will (so long as the thaumaturge remains conscious of course). The Hand must have one point of blood each week, or else it crumbles to dust. Likewise, if the hand is exposed to sunlight or fire, it vanishes with a squeel and leaves a greasy stentch.


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Transubstantiation of Seven (level three ritual)

Even many outsiders know that the Tremere hold a blood Loyalty to their clan, but the extent of this loyalty -- or th emeans by which it is accomplished -- remains a secret. Almost every Tremere holds a slight bond to the Council of Seven through their mixed blood. Of course, the Council cannot expect every newely Embraced neonate to come to Vienna to drink of their blood. Nor can they simply ship their blood around the world -- both solutions are far too impractical and dangerous, as any number of waiting Kindred would relish the thought of stealing such vitae or intercepting Tremere neonates and destroying them before they can become threats. To over come this problem, most regents know and use this ritual instead.

After the Embrace, a Tremere neonate typically goes through a formal oath-swearing. No magic compels that oath, but the presiding regent (or higher ranking Tremere) ends the formality with the Transubstantiation. The ritualist fills a large chalice with his own blood and intones the syllables of the ritual. The neonate, still grappling with the new phenomenon of blood-thirst, drinks the entire contents of the chalice. As the blood enters and spreads through her system, the rite mystically transforms it into the blood of the Seven. By this means, the Tremere place each neonate a step toward a full bond with the council, without the risk of having enemies steal the council's blood.

The Transubstantiation is considered a requirement for a fledgling to be recognized socially as a true member of the Tremere clan. For this reason, the vast majority of regents learn this ritual, which incidentally guarantees that most regents are at least reasonably competent with Thaumaturgy. Even in chantries where the regent lacks this power, Some Tremere instructed in t his rite must be present for any new Embrace, unless the hapless sire wishes to risk the ire of the clan.

Those who undergo the ritual, and indeed, many who have the ability to perform it, know little of its mechanical workings. Obviously, the transmuted blood is that of the Council of Seven -- but how vast are their stores that they can transfuse neonates at the whims of those conducting the ritual? Where does the neonate's blood go? Whispers of a hidden vault beneath Vienna with labeled, preserved vials of vitae from every Kindred who has ever undergone this ritual can't possibly be true,
can they?


SYSTEM:
The caster of the Transubstantiation must sacrifice a full quart of blood -- volume, not blood points, are required. The blood placed in the chalice remains unchanged until after it's imbibed and then spread throughout the subject's system, at which point it takes on the properties of the Council of Seven. This causes one step towards a blood bond to the whole council, but guarantees that the councilors' vitae cannot be stolen. Because the blood is already in the subject's system, it counts as his own vitae if it is later drained out.

In truth, there is no physical requirement that this rite be used on a new neonate. A rare few Tremere neonates escape the process, while conversely the rite could be used to generate a stronger bond in older Tremere or even in ghouls or Kindred of other clans. Kindred of the 14th or 15th generations, ghouls and revenants cannot use this rite -- their blood is not sufficiently strong enough to channel the councilors' power.


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