Path of Bioluminescence
By Ian Turner (12 October 1996)
Description
This path was mentioned in passing in a Sabbat book, but never developed. As with any Path, make a Willpower roll; the difficulty is the level of the Path being invoked +3.
* Corpse Candle
This conjures on ones self a ball of light of lantern or torch intensity. The caster can leave the ball adhering to his hand or set it to follow him at arms' length for as long as desired. He can also 'program' it to proceed at walking, jogging or running pace in a straight line away from himself as he desires.. Most casters simply keep it following at arms' length and then command it as necessary, as the caster can choose to concentrate at any time (counts as an action) and change its orders. It is difficult to use to effectively blind mobile targets as the caster can not control it fine enough for such attacks, although a caster with the ball on his palm can simply slap his illuminated hand over another persons face and cause her to blinded for as long as his hand remains plus one die turns thereafter (Make a Stamina + Fortitude roll, Difficulty 6, for each success reduce duration by 1 turn, down to zero). Extra successes on the initial Willpower roll can be spent to add hours of duration and/or to create additional balls. One success creates one ball lasting 1 hour. The balls can be red, green or amber and extinguish at the caster's will or upon his death.
** Circle of Light
This level allows the caster to clearly illumine a 10' radius with light of daylight intensity (although the light is usually silvery and looks nothing like sunlight). The light normally lasts 10 minutes and can come from the caster and move with him or can be focused upon an area or item (which costs one Blood Point and it is the spilt blood which glows) and be mobile only if the area or item is mobile. Extra successes on the initial Willpower roll allows the caster to double the radius or the duration, with cumulative effect, meaning that a caster with 5 successes can spend the extra 4 on radius and light up a 160' radius area for 10 minutes or on duration to light a 10' radius for 2 and 1/2 hours! Upon creation the caster can choose to tint the light red, green or amber (amber will force Rotschroek checks for Setites or Photophobes) or to make it dimmer, but he cannot change it, except to will it out of existence, thereafter.
*** Faux Fire
The caster can now mimic the Path, Lure of Flames, creating realistic-looking, but harmless, fires from his body. The Fire is normally cool and harmless (Difficulty to avoid Rotschroek is normally two less, although the caster can spend a Blood Point upon creation to make the fire feel hot and exposure to 'Hot' Faux Fire causes Rotschroek at only 1 less Difficulty). The flames start on the Thaumaturgist, although he can make them snake off of him (although they cannot jump more than arms' length and must usually snake along some sort of surface, even if that surface is water!) by concentration (acts as an action) and form into writings, engulf another or even shape into a small humanoid figure (such stunts require a Manipulation + Occult roll, Difficulty 6 for the engulfment, 7 for the humanoid and 8 for the writing). The fire normally lasts only a turn, but the caster can maintain it through concentration (no actions, move only Dexterity yards / turn). 'Hot' Faux Fire is actually only about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, but the initial shock is what matters in this case. Clever Thaumaturgists maintain 'hot' fire on themselves for a few minutes to 'warm up' before going to a social occasion or into a wintry night.
**** Piercing the Gloom
From his palms or face the caster can create a silvery searchlight intensity beacon of light, potentially blinding his foes and revealing things hidden in the night. To strike another in the face and temporarily blind her he must make a roll of Dexterity + Firearms (Difficulty 8 for a target with a roughly human-sized head, Difficulty 6 against those with Heightened Senses active on their eyes or the Setite Clan Weakness (or the similar Flaw)). The blindness will last for one die turns (minus one turn per success on a Stamina + Fortitude roll, Difficulty 6, with those vulnerable types mentioned above not getting to roll this 'soak' at all!) + the turn that the beam initially hit (the caster can maintain the beam on the face from turn to turn so long as he keeps his aim by succeeding in a new accuracy roll each turn to maintain the beam, the d10 turns do not begin until the beam leaves the victims face and he must reroll the 1d10 each turn to check for larger results (do not add the results, simply take the longest)). The beam normally lasts only 1 turn, but successes can be spent to add turns to the duration on a one-for-one basis. The beam normally clearly illuminates the undersides of clouds and allows figures to be seen (if not identified) at 120' or more. Repeated use against mortals can cause permanent visual impairment. Any foe blinded by this power can take only limited actions, most at +4 Difficulty, unless he has Blind-Fighting skill and / or other Heightened Senses to carry the slack for his useless eyes.
***** Phoebus' Arrows
This power acts much like the above power, but requires a Blood Point to activate and produces a searchlight-like beacon of pure sunlight. Most Kindred will enter Rotschroek (Difficulty 8 to avoid) and take one to three Aggravated Wounds (depending upon attire) at the touch of this beam (which can only hit one target / turn, barring the use of Celerity), and all present when it is conjured must make Rotschroek checks (Difficulty 7, with some minuses, depending on their Flaws or Clan Weaknesses), including the caster (although he has a Difficulty of 2 and must essentially Botch to fail). The number of successes determines the intensity of the sunlight (1 success, Difficulty 3 to soak, 2 successes = Difficulty 5 to soak, 3 successes = Difficulty 7 to soak, 4 successes = Difficulty 9 to soak and with 5 successes the difficulty to soak the sunlight's wounds is 10). Any extra successes can be spent to add turns to the rays' duration on a one for one basis. To hit another person with the ray requires a Dexterity + Firearms roll, Difficulty 7 on the turn it is created and Difficulty 6 on any subsequent turns (it is easier to aim when it is visible, acting as its own laser sight!). Note that non-Kindred can still be blinded by this ray as with Piercing the Gloom, above, although no special results are possible. As an added bonus, the rays also destroy most Obtenebration manifestations on contact.