By Dave Losito (khana@box1.tin.it)
After six month of gaming with a Hollow One-Ghoul character, I decided to put write down of the some rules we were using. With these, anyone who wishes to play such a role can follow a known path based on my own experience and some advice and hints. The idea of a Mage-Ghoul character was born very long ago, when first practicing with Mage: The Ascension, but it took me a while to make the decision and ask my Storyteller to actually do it. Since then, I've play-tested the character in my weekly sessions. judging it from the player's view. After the sessions, I think about all the things I've done from a Storyteller point of view.
This compendium is just the last of all my writings about it; it started out like a simple sheet of reminds about what I should or should not do with my Vitae and how my character should react to various situations with a partially Beast-infested blood. I made the first set of rules from scratch, with the only the limited information about ghouls in Vampire: The Masquerade for reference. Though there really wasn't any information about whether my character's magick would suffer with vampiric blood in his system, I decided it should. I developed penalties and losses of powers a mage would experience if he took Vitae (e.g., the loss of control of one Sphere). When White Wolf released Ghouls: Fatal Addiction and I found that officially, a Mage, being mortal, can be Ghouled normally, without any problem with his Avatar or Magick. I rewrote my compendium to respect that official line and thus this work comes out as it is now. I don't think this could be the summa of rules about Mage-Ghouls, but it suits my chronicle and it can be a basis for anyone to start from and set down their own rules. The best rules for your games are the ones you make.
Psychology is the Mage-Ghoul's most important aspect. I know it is tempting to have both Magick and Disciplines, but this is not why I decided to role-play a blood-addicted junkie. It is so interesting to develop your character to a point no one has ever tried, to see how real you may shape it. To do this is to make it the most Gothic-punk ever: a Mage-Ghoul, indeed.
My vision of Ascension influenced my choice in a Mage-Ghoul character: being three in one -- Wyld, Weaver and Wyrm -- the Trinity on Earth, being Mage, Garou and Vampire in one person only. My character (Tristan) is a Visionary with a Deviant Demeanor, so I chose the most deviant way to realize my Vision. Being a Questing essence, I took this as the first step on the quest for a ritual that will lead me to the realization of Tremere House's project to be a Living Awakened Vampire. I didn't care so much about the powers a Mage-Ghoul may actually have. Even if they are useful and can save your ass in bad situations, I wanted to focus my mind on my Character's desires and dreams. To best role-play such a character is not easy, but it is the most remunerative of all I played, for what concerns the human aspect, the psychological, emotional and realistic side of it.
To make Tristan the most human, I made it the most inhuman I could.
"More human than human."
It was a very dark night in Chicago: Tristan walked out from the haunted house that was serving as Chantry for the Children of Lilith, along with his new friend. She was so beautiful -- so pale -- and seemed so vulnerable. Even if he knew what creature was leading him to her lair that night, the aura of tranquillity and her non-human beauty were having their charming effect upon the young Mage. They entered her car and she drove to a part of the city Tristan had never seen. The trip lasted for little more than five minutes, but the Hollow One was really lost; he couldn't follow the road back to the Chantry.
Elena parked the car in a small garden, and Tristan couldn't help but notice the strange feeling of the place. The few, sick -- almost dead -- dark roses were scattered all around without a true meaning, without a true aesthetic vision. "Yes, I know I should take care of these plants, but . . . ." Her voice was so sweet, so tempting, but not a trace of emotion or humanity was left into her words; all gone along with any trace of accent her tongue should have.
"My uncle was used to gardening, but it is a talent I never had".
They entered the house, a huge, old Victorian cottage as neglected as the garden. Crumbling bricks were exposed to the night and many of the windows were shattered. Plants, which had been green many years ago, were withered, howling their silent screams of untold horrors to a sky that didn't show a bit of interest.
The girl led Tristan to the door. He noticed the bronze plate, carved in oldish style, bearing the name "Elena G." The door opened slowly, while the dark-blonde Italian beauty laid her back against it, smiling to the Mage a promise he knew she couldn't keep. She reached out he arms and hugged him tight, kissing him in the way -- she was sure to remember -- humans do in such a situation. He was held by two strips of ice-cold flesh, a freezing tongue slightly crossed his lips and he could feel the sharpened teeth her lust wasn't able to restrain.
"Is it this I am searching?" Tristan thought. A voice from the past, the future, the here and now, the ever-been, answered Tristan: "This is the time to reach a new status of belonging. This is the time to climb the stair to Ascension. Go ahead, be what you dream to."
He didn't love her. Despite her unquestionable beauty, he couldn't even say he was feeling any kind of attraction for this walking corpse. But she had something he had been searching for so many years: her Vitae, her Blood.
The Mage and the Vampire went upstairs, into her bedroom. No windows opened to the garden, no light cut the darkness: a total blackness embraced everything.
Tristan and Elena laid on a old sofa, touching and caressing each other; the Vampire feeling the sweet, precious, warm fluid running through the Mage's veins; the Mage feeling a strange need of surrendering himself to the girl. Suddenly Elena stopped.
"What . . . ?" Tristan's voice was a whisper.
Her smile revealed two white, sharpened fangs: "You know what I want," she said in a husky voice, struggling against the Beast rising in her soul. Tristan closed his eyes, and let her lips kiss his neck, feeling her teeth like daggers pushing in. He could only manage a weak, "Hhmm" as a reply." But the deal was made, and she had to stop before every drop of life was sucked out of the Mage's body. Tristan couldn't sense anything except a soft, calm feeling of resting; then a sudden, hot rush of a strange fluid ran into his mouth. He woke up and could feel the power of the vampiric blood changing something inside him. The burst was fast and intense, then everything had gone as quickly as it came, stealing his breath. Elena was there smiling, her body warm as if she were alive. And she was ready to party.
For all the day after, Tristan stayed in bed, wandering if ever it was right to do what he did. A strange feeling was slowly emerging from his confused mind; was it love he was feeling for Elena? Was this desire his body was burning for comparable to the deep emotion of a heart fallen in love for someone? There was something deeper in him, a strange need.
He remembered he already felt something like this: it was when they made him try Hero. Luckily he was able to refuse a second shot and he never went under it.
He was in her bedroom still, in her bed, while she was laying beside him waiting for the sun to set down. He always thought Vampires slept in their coffins, or at least in a death-like pose. Elena was just laying there on her bed, with her head on his shoulder, naked and beautiful as she was the night before. Only one thing made it sure she wasn't alive: the icy coldness of her skin. He could remember everything of the night before; every single kiss, every single bite and every single touch. He wasn't regretting anything, he had what he wanted.
The day passed quickly, Tristan half sleeping, half thinking, and just when the sun set down behind the house line, Elena woke up. She didn't even open her very light blue eyes, but instinctively reached out her arms to Tristan and hugged him tight, biting him again on his neck. Oh, what a sweet sensation to be drained away of all this weight, of all this fucking life . . .
Elena rose from her breakfast, licking her lips still wet of Tristan's blood, her face that of a completely satisfied lover. She sighed in pleasure of the taste of the red juice, just as a mortal sighs after a night of love, and she opened her eyes.
She smiled at him.
Then she kissed him on his mouth, her tongue persistently seeking to infiltrate his lips. He couldn't help but accept this kiss. Suddenly, that burst of fire ran again down his throat when she bit her own tongue and filled his mouth with her Vitae.
Tristan drank. He drank with pleasure, he drank not only willingly, but enjoying the juice of Hell running down. The world was red.
He drank, and drank again, until Elena punched him in the belly and was able to withdraw from his desire. She never thought he wanted it so bad. "Stop!" she yelled at him in anger and fear.
Tristan was not listening, not even hearing her. His hands gripped the bed-sheet so tight it ripped; he was breathing hard, each moment faster and faster while the vampiric Blood osmotically drenched all of him: his veins, his flesh, his heart and his brain. His last breath was a restrained expression of pleasure.
He slept all night long, the third he spent in her house. Probably his friends were searching for him. He would have to ring them and tell them he was all right. Later, maybe.
Elena came back home, and he was so excited he could do nothing else but pace, rubbing his hands and arms impatiently. The door opened and an unemotional Elena entered the room, where a wholeheartedly happy Tristan welcomed her with his best smile.
"Things are a little bad" she whispered.
"What do you mean?" the Mage asked, suddenly worried for his love's warring.
"My Uncle said you have to go. We can't see each other any more." Her face was a stone that hit Tristan hard and deep.
"I thought you . . ." the Mage didn't finish.
"Love you? No, Tristan, there was no love at all. I am dead, I cannot feel love."
A tear welled from his left eye, melting a bit of his make-up, and she could see the Eye of Ra on his face crying.
Tristan started talking, loud and fast: "We made a pact, Elena, but it is not for its terms I am still here! I could just take what I want and be gone faster than I came, but I am still here! Why do you think I am? Why do you think I didn't just drink your blood dry and put you out in the garden to wait for the morning?"
If Elena were Awakened and she were able to see the emanations of Mind Magick, she could notice the strong energy erupting unconsciously from Tristan's head, running straight to her brain, searing into her frozen emotions the need for him. She covered her face with her hands and cried out loud in despair, then ran at him. They laid there on the carpet for all the night, spilling each others blood while making love.
There is no codified behavior for these mages: some flee from their Cabals, some continue with their former lives, and others tie themselves to their Sires and become agents of the Clan. Some say that those few Mage-Ghouls who walk the Tellurian are trying to unify and form a new Tradition. Others claim that a strong Secret Cabal, formed by these strange characters, is molding both magickal and undead society for their own purposes.
Nobody knows exactly.
It is rumored that some are trying to discover the ancient rite, sought by the Houses Tremere and Tytalus, that would allow a Mage to assume the power of a true vampire. They wish to find a way save the Avatar from being corrupted by the Embrace. Clearer rumors suggest that these Mage-Ghouls are trying to resurrect the Cappadocians, destroyed by Clan Giovanni during the Renaissance. In fact, many believe Cappadocius was a Living Awakened Vampire who achieved God-like powers after he collected knowledge from the Book of Nod and other Christian, Gnostic and Esoteric writings.
Certainly, these Mage-Ghouls tend not to reveal their natures, because the news would spread very quickly among both societies, spawning enemy parties among both Mages and Vampires. Celestial Chorus dislikes Mage-Ghouls and constantly try to convince them to cut their links with the Walking Dead (this doesn't require the character to be Hunted, have Hatred by anyone or an Enemy, but his status arises jealousy and adversity). On the other part, the ghoul society known as the Unmastered will search for these Mage-Ghouls and ask for them to enter their group, and help the group survive in the World of Darkness. The Unmastered ask the Mages to teach them Magick. However, it is thought ghouls cannot Awaken. The only possible exception may be former wizards who were ghouled, though this is unlikely.
The Blood
Upon ingesting vampiric Vitae, a Mage becomes addicted to his Sire's Blood, and the strong Blood Bond makes him a pawn in the Clan's plans for the Jyhad. The price for immortality is high, but still some mages would pay it. Few mages know enough about Kindred Lore to know that they can drink from different Vampires to avoid the Bond. Many do not even know about any Blood Bond.
At the Storyteller's discretion, a Mage-Ghoul may find a way to avoid Clan weaknesses and Derangements via True Magick. A Nosferatu Mage-Ghoul may use Life magick to heal his disfigurement, but this will surely incur the anger of his Domitor. Likely, a Malkavian Mage-Ghoul may use Mind magick to restore his sanity, but his Domitor will soon surely find him boring.
A Mage-Ghoul can use his Blood Pool as Tass, on a 1 by 1 point basis. The Mage may not use Tass or Quintessence to power up Disciplines, they only work with Blood. A Mage-Ghoul may drink only Vampiric Blood to use his Disciplines, as mortal blood is of no use for Ghouls.
The role of a Mage-Ghoul is very dramatic. The Mage now feels the need for Vitae as the most powerful drug. He is a junkie. Physical addiction is harder to deal with than the mystic Blood Bound, and usually a Mage, as the mortal he is, cannot totally withdraw the need of Vitae. Life magick can help, but this will surely end in a total clean, and therefore a total loss of ghoul powers. The Storyteller should make it really hard to withdraw from Vitae addiction; maybe it could be the theme of a whole chronicle.
Depending upon role-play and Storyteller decision, a Mage-Ghoul may add 1 to 5 points in the Allies Background, considering his Sire's Generation. If the player wishes to play a Vassal Ghoul, the storyteller may give him the Domitor Background instead. Vampires usually care for their Magickal servitors (this can be even a bad situation, as other Ghouls may be jealous).
The Bond
Proud as mages usually are, few will ever admit they are controlled by anybody, claiming their love for their Sires is pure and deep. Sooner or later the Mage will see through trick, and a Mage-Ghoul frenzying is not something nice to face even for an Elder Vampire. Vampires do not know enough about True Magick to see that a simple Mind 1 effect can completely block their Dominate Discipline.
However, some Vampires see the usefulness of a Mage among their servitors, and deal with them in the better way they can. A Mage-Ghoul is someone who can understand two different aspects of the World of Darkness, a situation that put the character in both an advantage and disadvantage: know your enemy (whichever he should be), but fear the enemy who knows you know him.
A Mage-Ghoul, realizing the presence of the Blood Bond, can use Mind magick to diminish its effects. The spell may be a Mind 1 effect that enables the Mage to go multi-tasking, leaving the Bonded part to care for something else. Alternately, a Mind 3 effect enables the Mage to re-write his Mind while a Mind 4 effect could enclose the Bound mind in a brain-cell and destroy it. However, as long as the Mage doesn't know about the Bond, he cannot do anything and his Mind will be at the command of his Sire. Even a duplicate of the Mage's mind (Mind 4 effect) will be Bound to the Domitor.
The Magick
I suggest giving the Mage-Ghoul 2 points of permanent Paradox that will be counted against any flaw or Backlash the Mage suffers (and Quiet), but cannot be discharged. I don't have any particular explanation for this, just that such a character is going to become really powerful, and we need a balance for our games.
A True Mage cannot teach Thaumaturgy, Necromancy or Hedge Magic through the Magick of the Spheres, nor any other Discipline that can mimic True Magick. Neither can a Mage-Ghoul find it easier to learn a Discipline that doubles an effect he already knows by True Magick.
A clever player will soon realize how Disciplines can be used as Coincidences for Magick. Even if a Mage doesn't have skill in a particular Discipline, if his character knows about that power, he may spend 1 Blood Point to fuel a Magickal effects to act the same way. This Blood Point will not alter the Difficulty target number, as it is spent on the Coincidence itself. If he wishes to decrease the Difficulty by one he has to spend another point of his Blood Pool. While using Disciplines as coincidences, only the Blood can be used for Quintessence needs. Normal Tass cannot empower Disciplines, as so using it for such an effect will turn the spell in Vulgar Magick. Example: Vicissitude can be mimicked by a Life effect (from 3 to 5, depending upon the effect), a Domination can be done with Mind Magick and Necromancy is fully covered by the Sphere of Spirit. If our Mage-Ghoul wants to Dominate a Sleeper, he has to spend one Blood Point and roll on Arete (Mind 5) at Diff 8. If he wants to drop the difficulty to 7 or less, he has to spend at least one other Blood Point; if he uses normal Quintessence to make his spell easier, the effect will be considered Vulgar. He may not even use his Focus.
The Beast
Mage-Ghouls frenzy as normal ghouls, but the Beast in them can use their Magickal abilities; this is caused probably by the fact that the Beast enters in the Mage's Avatar, connecting itself to the spirit in an indestructible way. The Magick a frenzying Ghoul may perform is only the most vulgar and direct (the Beast does not think, the Beast acts). For example, he couldn't enact a complex spell that sends a Vampire to where there is still sunlight. Similarly, he couldn't call upon defensive shields or disorienting Mind effects. On the other hand, he could summon lightning to kill his opponent in the fastest possible way.
The Death
If a Mage-Ghoul dies and there is still at least 1 Blood Point of Vitae in his system, he will be Embraced. It should be important to keep record of the different type of Blood (Clan) a Mage-Ghoul drinks, as he will become a Vampire of the Clan of which he has more Blood in at the moment of death. A Mage-Ghoul, once Embraced, loses all of his former powers and become a True Vampire. He cannot perform True Magick anymore. He will also suffer from any weakness and derangement his bloodline carries. A Mage-Ghoul embraced does not automatically knows how to use Thaumaturgy.
Akashic Brotherhood: It is best to accept oneself and aim for perfection through exercise and self-understanding, not to submit ones mind and body to something from the outside. Such a being is is ecorrupted and not even worth being called a man. Be careful of what you wish for, because you may get it. The future of a Ghoul is death, whether or not you become a vampire.
Celestial Chorus: That they worship like gods those who are so tainted...! They have been duped by their masters' deceptions and lost their tune in the Universal Chord. As they turn their backs on redemption, they become lost, without any light to drive them.
Cult of Ecstasy: Personally, I never tried it, but a friend of mine tells me it is better than anything. It doesn't attract me so much. If just half of what they say is true, it ain't so desirable to be a Ghoul. But a taste never killed, this I can tell you for sure. I tried anything and I am still here: what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Maybe one day I will try it too.
Dreamspeakers: They dream of just one thing: the Blood of their Masters. Dreaming always the same thing is a nightmare by itself, to do so as deeply as they, a horror. It gives me the shivers. Shall Gaia protect their spirits.
Euthanatos: It is a broad step to a deeper understanding of Death in its manifestation on Earth, but it blocks the natural turn of the Dharma wheel. For some of us, it is a difficult choice.
Order of Hermes: I am not of the Tremere and don't care about these things. Magick can do more and better; eternal life can be reached through the Art, without throwing one's independence in the fire. Personally, I shall never do it, but if someone wants to become a Ghoul, it's his business. I can't judge or blame him.
Sons of Ether: Why do you come and disturb me just when I am directing the general tests of my new Over-ionized-sigma-particells-ultra-projector? However, it reminds me of Progenitors experiments . . . .
Verbena: Blood is the life to be sure and it brings Magick and Power too. Just not in that way. To be a Ghoul is not a natural state of existence, therefore it's wrong. We don't even know our bodies' potential yet -- why should we want to experiment with something so dangerous and unnatural? A Vampire is Life's Antithesis and none of us will ever accept to be a slave to Death in return for strength. It's Euthanatos' stuff.
Virtual Adept: Well, I don't know. I never thought about it. Listen, I am going to try it in the simulator, then I tell you how it is.
Hollow One: Is it really possible?!? Really, can I be a Ghoul? Where? How? When?
Iteration X: To ascend you must be one with the Machine, not a corpse.
New World Order: Ghouls? Vampires? Do you know anything about the existence of such creatures? Where did you meet them the first time? And when? Do you meet this scum on a daily basis?
Progenitors: Oh . . . Ghouls . . . . I am not assigned to that project. You should ask to Inspector Lianovic about it. He is experimenting with that enzyme, at the moment.
The Syndicate: Ghouls make good spies among those Kindred, but damned if we can convince one of those Mafioso Giovanni to betray his family!
(Time 3, Life 3, Matter 3 or 2)
This ritual was codified by a Euthanatos Mage (Ann McDean) who was deeply in love with her Sire. She wanted to protect him from any danger during his periods of Torpor, so she created the Amber Protection: a cocoon of amber that would protect any Vampire during his Sleep. It cuts him off from the real world, allowing him to regenerate faster. The spell needs plenty of amber or resin for molding into a cocoon around the Vampire's coffin. Then a strong Life spell of regeneration and healing is cast into the cocoon (Life 3, Matter 2) to aid the Vampire's rejuvenation.
System: Once the Vampire enters Torpor, the Mage must cast on him the Regenerating Spell (Life 3, Matter 2: successes heal the vampire as normal), and then start working upon the amber cocoon. An extended roll is needed to gather enough successes to mould the resin (Matter 2) and 6 successes are needed, if the Mage is using pure fossil Amber. Matter 3 and 8 successes are needed to work on simple resin.
The next step is to seal the cocoon and speed up time inside of it (Time 3, Matter 2: successes after the 2nd speed time up as per normal). The Vampire may use the successes of the regenerating spell to heal himself, and the successes scored on the time spell will reduce is Torpor time.
The Amber shell is virtually unbreakable (100 Health Levels).
The rote is highly vulgar.
Amber Cell
(Time 3 or 5, Matter 3 or 2)
Similar to the Amber Protection ritual, this spell forces a Vampire into an everlasting Torpor, or simply increases the time his Torpor will last. The preparation of the cocoon is the same as the Protection spell. The difference is that the Time spell is a Slow or Stop Time effect.
It is used to freeze a Vampire into Amber for long time periods; it was developed by the same Euthanatos Mage that invented Protection, but with the intention to block her love's enemies.
System: The same as Amber Protection. The vampire is frozen into the cell and cannot recover, nor heal, nor rejuvenate during the duration of the effect. Once the time spell expires, the vampire's Torpor proceeds as normal, but the Amber cocoon must be broken if the Leech wants to break free.
Another roll of Matter 3, Prime 3 makes the cocoon impenetrable by any Discipline.
Some Elder vampires who have Mages in their service use this ritual along with Force Torpor as great punishment for those who try to commit diablerie against them. Many vampires go mad after centuries spent into the cocoon.
This ritual is absolutely vulgar.
Deceiving Aura
(Mind 2) or (Mind 2, Entropy 2)
This is a funny trick to play in presence of vampires. Simply, a Mage can choose his own Aura projection before a Vampire can scan it.
This will surely put the Mage in advantage, as the Dead will see what he wants them to see.
System: The first version of the rote enables the Mage to choose a predefined Aura emanation and cloak his own with this chosen pattern. Roll Arete and compare the successes scored with the duration table for Magickal effects. The spell will last as per normal rules; the Mage can cease the effect whenever he likes.
Adding a bit of Entropy to the rote will result in an even funnier effect. The Mage's Aura emanation will shift and change continuously, passing through all the known Aura projections. This can be fun, but will surely attract suspicion.
The first version of the Rote is coincidental, the second is Vulgar.
If the Player botches the roll on this effect, the Paradox backlash will result in a Diabolist Aura for the entire scene or more, depending on how many Paradox points are discharged (use Magickal Effects Duration Chart and count Paradox points as successes).
The Drop of Independence
(Life 4, Prime 3)
This spell, created by Sasha Lianovic, a Progenitor Ghoul of the 19
Sasha diligently researched this rote, trying to make it easy and improve its chance of success. He found that vampiric blood did not correspond to any of the known types. However, when mixed with human blood, it generated a wholly new blood type (Type V) that can be transfused between anyone, regardless of blood type or Rh factor. If transfused to another body, it will turn into the blood type of the recipient; if a small or large quantity of different blood type is transfused into it, it overwhelms it and changes it the same as itself. Sasha eventually genetically altered his DNA to produce this type of Blood.
This rote was stolen by an Orphan when he escaped from Sasha's laboratory, who had been confined for experiments. He adapted the rote to a lesser scientific paradigm and then spread the news to friends and other Mage-Ghouls. In this new version, the Blood of a Vampire must be injected into a Mage-Ghoul's vein.
The body will take sustenance from the Mage's tainted blood, codifying the Vitae as natural. It doesn't work upon "normal" Mages: only Mage-Ghouls may try this transformation.
It is known that Sasha's sons and daughters had a strange type of blood nobody had ever seen.
System: The Mage-Ghoul has to inject into his own veins some vampiric blood and then roll on the effect at least 5 successes to change his blood into the V type. Then, the Mage must pass a Stamina roll (Survival and/or Fortitude may be added) and score 2 successes at Diff 7. This enables him to resist one day of terrible pain, while his body changes. During the rest of the day (or during the subsequent 10 hours, if an hour time basis is needed for the story) the Mage-Ghoul cannot do anything except suffer. The change is permanent, and allows the Mage to fix his Blood Pool into his system, and produce Vitae as Revenants (one point per day, and they cannot ghoul anybody, nor does their blood embrace). Rules for Blood Pool capacity are the same given in Ghoul: Fatal Addiction, but now the Mage doesn't need to drink Vitae to maintain his own Blood Pool. Even if he doesn't drink Vitae for a week, he won't lose a Blood pool point.
Obviously, it is best to perform this rote while your Blood Pool is at its maximum (10 points), as it will fix your actual Blood Pool. The power of this self-generated pseudo-Vitae is the same of an ingested Vampiric Blood of the generation the Vampire donor belongs to. Refer to the Maximum Discipline Level Chart for normal ingested Vitae. Different from Revenants, this self-generated Vitae will never increase its powers with the passing of time.
A Mage with this rote active may still drink from his Domitor or other Vampires, and the ingested Vitae will have its normal powers.
The rote is coincidental.
The Mage's Blood can be transfused into anyone if needed without medical problems though no powers are passed. He can also receive any other type of blood by transfusion without losing any Ghoul power. Also, the mage's children will have the vampiric blood type, making them natural Ghouls (Revenants).
The Mage is not automatically free from his Sire's Blood Bond and he will suffer the symptoms described in Ghoul: Fatal Addiction for withdrawal if he ceases to take his "juice". it will not change a Mage-Ghoul in a Mage-Revenant, either. It only fixes his Blood Pool and powers and will allow him to produce his own weak Vitae.
Fill Up Blood Pool
(Life 3, Prime 2)
This rote helps the Mage to filll his Blood Pool to the limit, without seriously harming his Sire. It was developed by Tristan Lewis Carrol, Hollow One.
While the Mage-Ghoul is being fed by his Sire, the Mage, consciously or not, acts on the Vitae to replicate it. It works only with Vitae ingested while feeding.
System: The Mage must lick the blood dropping from his Sire's wound and then activate in any way his Prime and Life Spheres. For every success scored on an Arete roll (Diff 6), he can add 1 Blood Point to his Pool, allowing the Mage to fill his pool with just 1 blood point drank from his Sire, if the effect works.
The mage may make an extended roll, but there is not always the time to do it...
This Rote is coincidental, as nobody actually can know how much blood a Ghoul is ingesting or how much he had left in his system.
The Mage must drink at least 1 Blood Point from his Domitor.
The High Ritual of Partial Embracing
(Life 4, Prime 4, Spirit 4)
No one has ever seen this Ritual done. The few Mages who tried it either died in awful pain or were lucky enough to become True Vampires. It is the first recorded attempt to codify a ritual to mix Vitae with a Mage's blood and create a Living Awakened Vampire. This is the only evidence that someone is going on with Tremere House's studies.
Nobody knows exactly who created this ritual. During a meeting of Mage-Ghouls, someone no one remembers came out with the spell. It should work in this way (extracted from the paper): " . . . Thou shalt go to thy Sire and drink her Blood, so that thy body will be filled of her Vitae. Then thou wilt wound thyself near Death, and wait for her Vitae the power to start. Thou will surely suffer the pain of Hell, because thou art not used to the embrace. Then thou wilt cure thyself as the embrace commences. Channel the energy of her Vitae away from your Avatar! Cast her Prime far from thy soul! Thou must work on thy body so her Blood cannot shape it. Struggle to remain human! If thou art strong and pure and willing, her Blood will be thine forever, and thou wilt be human and vampire. If thou art weak and tainted and corrupt, her curse will be yours forever!"
As previously, nobody succeeded with this ritual. Yet. Rumors suggest the Progenitors spread this formula to induce Traditionalists and Orphans to actually kill themselves.
System: After the Mage drinks as much Vitae as he can, he must spend at least 2 hours in solitary meditation. After that he will wound himself (or someone else will) to near death (Inc.). Now the Ghoul will roll Stamina + Fortitude (Diff 7); if he scores at least 3 successes he may keep on with the Ritual, spending 5 Blood Points. If he scores 2 successes, he will not die, but he will be unconscious and will be forced to cease the ritual. If he scores 1 or no successes, the Vitae in his body will Embrace him. If he botches, he will die the Final Death.
If he can keep on with the ritual, now he has to roll a Life 2 effect to heal himself. He needs to score successes for the number of Blood Points he has in his body. If he scores more successes, he will heal himself faster than the Vitae overwhelming his system. He will cure his wounds and just remain a Ghoul. If he scores less successes he will be turned into a Vampire by the strong Vitae. If he botches, the pain is too great to stand, and his body dies the Final Death. Willpower may be used to reach the desired result (1 point). Blood Points may be used to Heal, but if the Mage ends up without Blood in his Blood Pool, he will have no more Vitae to finish the ritual.
If everything is going right (Lucky man, ain't you?), the Mage needs to keep his Avatar away from the power of the Embrace. He will force the Spirit of the Vampiric Blood to stay into his body, Binding it to his will. Roll on Spirit 4, and score (10 - Avatar rating) successes: the stronger the Avatar, the more the chance to succeed. This roll may be an extended roll, but it may take only a number of rolls equal to the Mage's Avatar rating. If he fails, the Vitae takes his Avatar apart, and he is turned into a True Vampire. If he botches, his Avatar's scream of pain is so intense, his body will be torn to pieces.
The next step is to absorb all the energy of the Vitae within his own body. This is the easiest part of the ritual, but still it has some danger. Roll Life 3, Prime 4 to channel the Quintessence of the Vampiric Blood into the Mage's Body. The Mage must score at least three successes; the roll may be sustained. If the Mage botches he will be turned into a Vampire.
The final roll is a kind of alter self -- lesser shape changing -- by which the Mage fights against the degeneration of his internal organs and tries to remain fully human. He must score 4 successes on a Life 4 effect.
If everything goes, the Mage-Ghoul is now a Mage-Lich; he will be a Living Vampire of one generation younger than his Vitae source.
Now comes the most important roll of the entire ritual: the Willpower roll. A Mage needs to check to see if his mind and will are strong enough to stand the change, or submit to the Beast. Roll a Willpower (Diff 6) and score 3 successes plus 1 per any dot in Dominate the Vampire you took blood from has.
If you succeed, you can keep control of your character. If you fail, the Beast overtakes the Mage and he becomes a PNG, always searching for blood to drink, strongly attracted by Elder's blood.
Vampiric Generation does matter; the stronger the Vitae the harder to perform the ritual: 8th Generation or younger, normal Diff; 7th Generation, +1 Diff; 6th Generation, +2 Diff; 5th Generation, +3 Diff; 4th Generation, +4 Diff. This penalty is applied to all the rolls involving the ritual. Older vampires' Vitae is too strong and will turn a Mage into Vampire just after the first initialization wound.
Familiars can help the Mage performing this ritual if he doesn't have control of one of the Sphere involved.
A Lich follows the same rules for Ghouls. However, he may use his blood pool according to his generation, may commit Diablerie, and learn any Discipline and as though he were a Caitiff. His bite and claws damage is aggravated. He doesn't need anymore Vampiric Blood to sustain his status (he creates his own at a rate of 1 per day), he can create his own Ghoul servants and Neonate offspring as well. A Lich's Neonate is a normal Vampire (it means Dead) of one generation younger than the Lich.
A Lich has fangs and claws like Vampires, but his body is extremely warm -- as if he were in a permanent fever -- and totally functional. He may eat, go around in daylight and have sex normally. A Lich will not inherit Clan Derangements or Flaws or Monstrosity (Nosferatu Blood will just steal 1 App dot): a Lich is as singular as he only can be. He will pass on his progeny any Derangement he has and a clever Storyteller may decide for a bloodline Flaw the Lich offspring will inherit.
No need to say this ritual is highly Vulgar; better you have a Sanctum if you want to try it.
Read the next chapter for more information about Lich characters.
The Shout of God (a.k.a. Force Torpor)
(Mind 3) or (Mind 3, Time 3)
This rote is the last resource for a Mage dealing with Vampires. Not every Mage-Ghoul knows this spell, as it is kept secret from the most, so no vampire will ever be aware of its existence. The spell was developed by a Celestial Chorus Vampire Hunter, Brother Jakus, eventually slain in a Certamen by Ann McDean, while he was trying to kill her beloved Sire. She saw Brother Jakus casting that spell upon her love and so learnt it.
The spellcaster shouts "Banish the Evil from Earth," and sends a strong mental impulse to the Vampire, forcing him into Torpor. With an added Time effect, the Mage can interact with the duration of this Torpor, making it last longer.
Brother Jakus used a Sanctified Cross as focus for this rote, but it is not clear if it is needed or not. The rote seems to work even without holy symbols at hand.
System: Roll Mind 3 and score as many successes as the Willpower score of the undead. The vampire cannot resist this spell, unless he has Dominate. Then he can roll his Willpower (Diff 9), subtracting his successes from the Mage's.
The rote is coincidental, as anyone knows that exorcisms and faith may kill a vampire. A Holy Symbol in the caster's hand enforces the rote's coincidentiality.
A True Faith roll can be added to the rote's successes.
Adding a Time effect will ensure the Mage can freeze in Torpor a vampire for the Time he wishes. Without Time magick, the Torpor will last normally.
Keep the Beast at Bay
(Life 2, Mind 1) or (Mind 4, Life 2)
An Orphan from France named Geneve Rochelle invented the rote, so she could always be sure the Beast wouldn't get to the surface. Eventually, she was killed in a fight and the Vitae still contained by her body changed her into a True Vampire and she lost her Magick forever. Luckily for other Mage-Ghouls she was able to teach this rote to someone else before she met her fate.
The Spell enables the Mage to spot the Beast rising and immediately activate a Multi-tasking effect, to be able to keep control of her body. A more powerful version of the rote enables the Mage to close the Beast into a Mind cell, as long as it struggles to get to the surface.
System: Sensing the Beast coming out, the Mage takes control of his Blood and directs the rage to a part of his mind he isn't actually using. The Beast unleashes its strength onto that part of the mind, but the Mage can still act as normal. The successes subtract 1 from the Self Control roll Diff.
This version of the spell is coincidental.
The stronger version of the Spell closes the Beast into a brand new mind (hopefully) until it discharges all its rage. If 2 successes are scored, the Beast is blocked. It is proven that a constant and over-use of this rote leads to a Multi-Personality Disorder, and the Beast becomes a Dark-side personality of the Mage.
This stronger version is vulgar.
She was there because she was one of the Kindred who knew most about Vampire legends, and Lord Hanover wanted her as History teacher for its secret sect. She was well-known for her calm and skill in dealing with younger hot heads.
Her sight was firm before her as she looked back in her memory far away back in time. She started her tale.
"He has the power.
"He IS the Power.
"A Lich is someone so powerful that actually he may be only a legend.
"Rumors among the Kindred speak of someone who has the power of Caine, but is not dead; someone who knows all the ways of the Blood, but has not to fear the Sun; someone who has at his command the core of reality.
"There is a legend among Vampires that states the founder of long dead Clan of the Cappadocians, Cappadocius, was such a creature: the Lich.
"The name of this creature is feared by most, as it is said he will bring the end of the Cainites; as it is said he will be the First and Founder of a Clan so powerful all other Kindred will perish or be slave.
"He will come on a golden flying ship, shining like the Sun in a summer noon, destroying the night, ripping the shadows, cleaning out the darkness from the world and from the souls, wonderful and untouchable.
"He will transcend death, and his children will transcend it too; his offspring will be immortal in the true meaning, and his presence in the world and his power will give humanity the chance to win its war against death, and to the Kindred the chance to become like Gods.
"Most of the Elders and Methuselahs of both the Camarilla and the Sabbath refuse to believe in such a myth, and they label it as heretical and blasphemous.
"The Book of Nod doesn't talk about the existence of such a creature, but we know the Book of Nod is not complete, and after the Final Death of Cappadocius, an entire section of it disappeared -- probably just the section dealing with the myth of the Lich.
"We all have gathered here, you all have been chosen, to form a group of study and research that hopefully will lead us to the reconstruction or the rediscovery of that part of the Book of Nod. We will go through all the libraries of our Clan collecting any rumor, legend, story and anything about this matter."
A Neonate raised an arm and he was given the chance to talk: "Are you saying we are going to search for such a creature?"
The Elder smiled and answered simply: "We are".
Japheth owns that missing part of the Book of Nod, and he developed a Thaumaturgical ritual to perform upon humans and give them the power of a true Vampire.
I will not explain this ritual, as the players and Storytellers who will read and use this compendium of mine are primarily Mage: The Ascension gamers.
Working together with a Mage friend (the name of whom is absolutely not important), Japheth developed a Magickal ritual that can have the same effect as his. The main difference is that to work rightly, this ritual must be performed on a Mage, and, specifically on one who is familiar to the presence of Vitae in his system. Thus, this ritual works only on Mage-Ghouls and then only has a small chance of succeeding.
The spell is "The High Ritual of Partial Embracing" detailed in the Rote and Rituals section of this Compendium, and it is kept secretly and jealousy hidden by Lord Gustav Hanover bani Tremere, a German Elder of Clan Tremere; a legend and myth by himself.
Hanover and Japheth are searching for someone worthy enough to perform the ritual, and their choices are based both on behavior and Magickal power.
It seems they've found someone.
They decided that this chosen one will be the next owner and protector of the ritual, and he will the only one who can decide who is going to perform it. They know this will set the basis for the creation of a new Vampire Clan, exactly the mythical Clan the legend of the Lich talks about.
He is both a Mage and a Vampire.
A Lich is alive (otherwise he couldn't use Magick) and he doesn't suffer from sunlight. A stake in his heart will not send him into Torpor, but will probably will kill him (if he didn't set up a spell to prevent any wooden staff to touch him). He functions as a living human being, so he can eat, drink, have sex, sleep whenever he likes and so on.
Like a Mage-Ghoul, a Lich can use his own Blood as Tass. He can also use his Disciplines to justify coincidental Magick. He is a vampire too, and can drink blood from any creature and can commit Diablerie. He can use his blood to create his own Ghouls and Progeny, though his offspring will be dead vampires, if embraced normally. He may also use his Vitae like a vampire of his same generation.
However, a Lich has many singular characteristics that make him unique in the world. A Lich's skin is always warm as if he has fever, and his blood literally burns. A normal Vampire drinking from a Lich will suffer one aggravated damage as per fire for every blood point drained. The worst particularity of a Lich is his Aura: no matter if he ever commits Diablerie or not, his Projection will always be that of a Diabolist.
The most advantageous aspect of a Lich is that he does not consume blood to stay alive; instead he produces his own Vitae at the rate of 1 per day, like Revenants. This will calm his hunger and so the Beast will be easier to control. However, the lust for the Kiss is something really hard to resist, and a Lich has to drink blood from others sometimes, or he will frenzy like a normal vampire in the presence of blood sources if too much time has passed since the last feeding. A good way to avoid this is to live alone as a hermit: as long as the Lich has no temptation, his self-produced Vitae is enough to stand his need of blood. For games mechanics: a Lich needs to drink blood at least once every week; however he can drink just one blood point, as he actually does not need to replenish his Blood Pool to stay alive. Normal rules for frenzy are applied to a Lich when he drinks blood.
A Lich's psychology is a little complex. It is vampiric in some aspects, but Ghoulish in other. A Lich is still alive and so are all of his desires. He is hot tempered, always ready to get mad about anything that is not going as he planned; and whenever he gets mad, the Beast is there. Highly emotional, and a Lich can shift abruptly from intense anger to profound sadness, from the highest happiness to the most desperate disappointment. A Lich is a human brought to his excess by the Beast.
To actually generate another Mage-Vampire, a Lich has to perform upon his child the same ritual he performed on himself. The would-be-Lich must first be ghouled, and then, if found worth of Lichdom, be taught the ritual. The Lich will assist his Son during the process and will give him his Vitae to perform it.
The newly generated Lich will be of one generation younger than his Domitor.
Now the newborn Lich knows the Ritual and he may generate his own offspring, but, as long as his Domitor does not free him from the Bond, the neonate cannot generate childer or ghouls.
The older Lich is the only keeper and protector of the Ritual and he may decide to remove from his neonate's brain the formulae and the memory of the ritual; this is totally up to the Player or Storyteller who plays the Lich.
Lord Hanover and Japheth constantly monitor the Lich and his progeny, and they feel free to terminate any who don't seem worthy of Cappadocius's inheritance.
Try to give at least a weakness to the new bloodline, exaggerating a bad aspect of the Lich's personality, or passing down a flaw the character has. Improvisation is useful. The Diabolist Aura is not enough in my opinion to be used as a weakness for these god-like characters.
Remember all newborn Liches already have two points of permanent Paradox earned when they become Ghouls, which are not lost upon the Partial Embrace.
Traits that are likely to be passed on to progeny or ghouls include permanent derangements, physical disfigurements (e.g., Monstrous, Stink), social flaws (e.g., Speech Impediment) and mental flaws. These weaknesses might also influence Magick: a Sphere inept lich may pass on this trait. Feel free to give to the newborn any weaknesses you like, as they must be balanced with your game. Acquired flaws do not grant freebie points.
I suggest, if you want to choose just few a flaws to be passed as weaknesses, to select Supernatural ones first, then Mental, then Physical and Social last.
Due to the absolute singularity of such a character, I suggest for anyone to have just one Lich in your chronicle if it is a Playing Character, and a few more (two, three) if you use them as non-player characters.
The First and Founder should increase his Status Background by 2 points, and his Allies Background as well by 3 (Japheth and Lord Hanover). The character may be aware of the existence of Lord Hanover, but he will probably never meet Japheth, who helps his chosen one from his secret Haven. All the Neonates of the Lich will increase their Status rating by 1, and Allies by 2 (Lord Hanover).
If the First and Founder is a Playing Character, he may want to give the gift of Lichdom to other players. As a suggested rule, I think these would-be-Liches have to spend a lot of time as Mage-Ghouls and they have to prove themselves worth the Partial Embrace. The First and Founder should ask Lord Hanover if he may teach the High Ritual to his friends, and he will reply: "This decision is not mine." However, if the Lich generates a Neonate Lich without telling Hanover first, he will be considered a Traitor of the Pact and will be persecuted by Lord Hanover and Japheth to Final Death.
Lord Hanover and his group act by themselves: no other Tremere knows of this ritual, nor do they know of the alliance between Gustav and Japheth. Probably, Tremere clan will be the first to go hunting for the Lich, because they think that by Diablerizing him they will get his power to use True Magick.
It is a good thing to have a high score of Arcane if you want to play a Lich.
He is still alive, and he can reproduce in the normal human manner. If a male Lich makes a woman pregnant or a female lich becomes pregnant, the baby is born Lich as well. His genes will carry the power of the Blood and the secret of the Awakening. A child born from a Lich will Awaken in the week following the conception.
The down side of such a pregnancy is the blood loss of the mother: a Lich fetus needs blood to sustain his system, tenfold the blood needed by a normal fetus. This will kill a human mother just at the end of the pregnancy, Embracing her if she's (un)lucky. There's a good chance she won't survive that long, but if the fetus drains its mother before it can be born, it will die as well.
If the Lich is the mother, the pregnancy will proceed normally to the end, but she needs a great amount of blood to bring her child to through the birth. During these nine months, the Lich-mother will consume two Blood Points a day to maintain the fetus. Her self-produced Vitae is no longer enough for her and she needs to drink blood frequently, like normal vampires (summing the one point self-produced, the mother will lose a total of 1 blood point a day from her Blood Pool).
Once the baby-Lich has born, he will be of one generation younger than his parent. If both parents are Liches, the new born will be of one generation younger than the mother, as it is her blood that Embraces the fetus. The baby-Lich will have all the three starting Discipline of the Lich at rank 1, Arete 2 and Life Sphere at 2. He will have any weakness and Derangements his Lich-parent has, along with the 2 point of permanent Paradox and the Diabolist Aura.
A newborn Lich doesn't produce its own Vitae. The baby needs to be fed blood until puberty. He needs to drink at least one blood point a day for the first six months, a blood point every two days for the next six months, and one blood every three days until he is twelve.
From then on, he just needs the usual blood point a week like other Liches. To survive to the age of 20, he must drink one blood point a week. His body does not yet produce its own Vitae, so he must take it from other sources. The child will suffer the Hunger as a normal Vampire, along with all the other basic desires of a normal teen-ager. This is the moment of a Lich's life (even if he cannot be named a Lich yet) when he frenzies the most, as any unquenched desire will raise the Beast. A kid-Lich cannot commit Diablerie yet.
From 20 years old on, he will be a full grown Lich and will follow all the normal rules, as his body now starts producing his own strong Vitae.
He also stops aging.
There is no scientific reason explaining why Liches can reproduce, though it may have something to do with the strong mystical forces that surround them. Probably the Awakened fetus instinctively knows how to grow inside his mother's womb and just uses her blood to sustain and help a Life effect that takes nine months to complete. The process of conception, gestation, and birth is the Coincidence.
Essence: Questing
Nature: Architect
Demeanor: Caregiver
Attributes: Str 2 Dex 3 Stm 3 Cha 2 Man 4 App 4 Per 3 Int 3 Wits 3
Talents: Alertness 3 Awareness 3 Brawl 2 Dodge 2 Intimidation 2 Subterfuge 3
Skills: Drive 3 Etiquette 3 Firearms 4 (guns) Stealth 3
Knowledge: Enigmas 2 Investigation 4 (search) Law 3 Linguistic 3 Medicine 3 Poison 2
Spheres: Correspondence 4 (Probing) Entropy 5 (Probability) Forces 3 Life 3 Matter 3 Mind 1 Prime 2 Spirit 3 Time 3
Arete: 7
Quintessence: 15
Paradox: 2 Permanent + 3 (5)
Willpower: 8
Humanity: 8
Courage: 3
Conscience: 4
Self-control: 4
Disciplines: Potence 1 Celerity 2 Fortitude 2
Blood Pool: 10
Backgrounds: Arcane 4 Avatar 4 Allies 2 Contacts 2 Resources 2 Sanctum 3 Library 4 Node 2
Merits & Flaws: Paradox (-2), Driving Goal (-3)
Image & story: Ann is a red-haired woman, looking to be around her late twenties (she was Ghouled at 28). She usually dresses in black or dark brown, with elegant and expensive dresses and clothes. She keeps her hair cut to her ears with stylish features. She was Ghouled by a Tremere in the year 1961, and has spent more than 25 years with him, as a lover, in Edinburg.
Eventually her Sire died for the Jyhad, and she found herself alone and free from any Bond. She decided to go around the world to find Mages like her and provide assistance and guide for those in need. She's still roaming Europe to search for other Mage-Ghouls.
Her true purpose however is to gather all the Mage-Ghouls into aCabal and found a new Tradition of Awakened Vampires. She succeeded in finding two Mage-Ghouls scattered across Europe, and she is trying to reach Tristan Lewis Carrol, the one who seems to be the most powerful Hollow One walking among the Tellurian.
Roleplaying Hints: Ann is very confident and proud. She's seen many years pass by and she's still here; she knows her way. Since the death of her sire, she has been lonely and longs for a man who will fill the emptiness in her heart.
She left her former Cabal when she decided to roam the world in search of other Mage-Ghouls, and she is drifting away from her contacts in the mystic society.
She still has some friends among her love's brethren, but she is no longer inside the politics of Clan Tremere.
She likes vampiric company, but she doesn't need it.
Her contacts are among the IRA.
Now she is so near Tristan, she is sure she will get him. Once they will be together, they will form a strong Cabal of Mage-Ghoul and will start to seek for the rituals that will lead them all to be Liches.
She has a Drop of Independence Rote active.
She has an enchanted gun (Arete 6) with a Correspondence 1 / Entropy 1 effect that adds to her aim, and bullets with a Forces 3 effect, that inflict aggravated damage, exploding on impact.
Foci: Correspondence: Narghilè;, Entropy: Her gun, Forces: Necklace with various pendants, shaped as Indian symbols for the various forces, Life: Voodoo Dolls, Matter: Runes, Time: The Bones (Native American Style)
Foci-free Spheres: Correspondence, Entropy, Forces, Life, Matter, Time.
Essence: Questing
Nature: Visionary
Demeanor: Deviant
Attributes: Str 3 Dex 5 (Aiming) Stm 4 (Pain resistant) Cha 2 Man 3 App 5 (Charming) Per 3 Int 4 (Creative) Wits 4 (Sharp)
Talents: Alertness 2 Athletics 2 Awareness 2 Brawl 2 Dodge 3 Poetic Expression 3 Instruction 2 Streetwise 2 Subterfuge 2
Skills: Drive 2 Etiquette 1 Firearms 2 Meditation 2 Melee 3 Stealth 3
Knowledge: Cosmology 2 Linguistic 3 (French - Egyptian - Italian) Humanities 2 Kindred Lore 4 (Giovanni) Occult 5 (Vampires) Poisons 2
Spheres: Correspondence 3 Entropy 3 Forces 2 Life 4 (Healing) Mind 5 (Control) Matter 2 Prime 3 Spirit 4 (Pierce Gauntlet)
Arete: 7
Quintessence: Almost infinite
Paradox: 2 Permanent
Willpower: 9
Humanity: 7
Courage: 3
Conscience: 4
Self-control: 3
Disciplines: Potence 2 Celerity 2 Fortitude 1
Blood Pool: 10
Backgrounds: Arcane 4 Avatar 5 Library 3 Status 3 Allies 5 (Andrée La Paix - Toreador, Ambra Giovanni) Node 2 Resources 1 Sanctum 4 Familiar 5
Merits & Flaws: Kinfolk (White Howlers) (+4), Hunted (Progenitors) (-4), Paradox (-2), Echoes (Blinking Images, -2), Driving Goal (-3), Overconfident (-1)
Image & story: Tristan appears to be a man in his mid-twenties. He has completely white hair that he loves to color with Life Magick differently each day, changing between blue, green, pink, or violet without an apparent reason. He loves to wear black clothes, usually leather. He has many piercings and the Eye Of Truth (the symbol of Egyptian Sun-God Ra) painted on his left eye.
Tristan is a cloning experiment of the Technocracy. He is Project LC-Tr1. He has brothers and sisters: Project LC-Tr2 Trevor Lewis Carrol (White Howler - Toreador Abomination), Project LC-Tr3 Tracey Lewis Carrol (Marauder), and Project LC-Te1 Tessa Lewis Carrol (Progenitor). Actually, Tristan was a failed experiment, and it was believed unable to Awaken.
Instead, Tristan awakened very young. He was 14 when he crossed the mirror and escaped from the asylum he was living in, in London. He read "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass", and just tried to pass into the "other world". For years, Tristan believed he was living in a parallel world he discovered beyond the mirror, where the natives (the Sleepers) were lesser beings and the others were from his own world (the Awakened). In his vision, the Technocracy was a Dimension-Police struggling to bring the Awakened back to their world. He went to Paris and was officially adopted by a Toreador Vampire called Andrée La Paix, who kept him under his protection for almost 5 years. Then the Vampire forced Tristan to go and seek his own path.
He's traveled a lot since then. He moved back to England, and lived in a castle near London with a Celestial Chorister and Alex Peets (Order of Hermes) for a few years. Eventually the Chantry fell under a Black Spiral attack. Still left without an explanation, he moved with his Cabal to Chicago. There, he met other Hollow Ones (Children of Lilith) and William Blake an enigmatic Virtual Adept. It was during a tormented coma-like sleep that lasted for 2 days that his Avatar came to him revealing the lie Tristan had created about the world and his passage through the mirror.
His Avatar started asking for a new way to Ascension: being one and three at the same time. Being Mage, Vampire and Garou. In pursuit of this new vision, he was Ghouled by Elena Giovanni a Neonate Vampire, when he was 24.
Tristan moved to Italy. Elena was slain by rival clans, and he went to Milano searching for her creator. Here he met Princess Ambra Giovanni, ruler of Clan Giovanni in Milano, and submits to her service for some years.
At age 32, Tristan discovered a powerful node and called all of his old friends to Milano. He, Alex Peets, William Blake and two other mages founded the Cabal of the Shadows at the Chantry of the Shining Stone, the House of Power, taking power from that never-ending source of Quintessence. It is said that the Node is a part of Stone Henge, left there by the explosion that destroyed Doissetep.
Nobody knows why Tristan is so powerful. In the truth about his Awakening, lays the secret of his power.
Roleplaying Hints: Tristan is powerful, and he knows it. He is proud of himself and he always thinks he is better than the rest of the world: "They don't understand me." He loves to be misunderstood when dealing with others, especially enemies, making his friends believe he wants to kill them all without a reason, just to point his finger and say everyone accuses him to be a monster.
His vision is that the only way to Ascension lays in the Trinity, so he must be the Trinity on Earth. His efforts to the pursuit of this vision often leads him to be against any Cabal decision, or to show no interest for other's problems. Actually he is searching for a ritual to become a living Vampire. The next step will be to melt his patterns of Life and Mind with his brother Trevor, and become the Three-In-One: Mage, Vampire and Garou.
Recently he summoned a Night Spirit to be his Familiar, and he put it into a Giant Tarantula; the Spirit promised knowledge, hints and help for Tristan's attempt to reach his goals. Tristan promised the Spirit lot of sorrow, pain and lies for the assistance.
Tristan goes around in Milano with Alfred, a former Black Spiral Dancer he re-programmed with Mind Magick after a battle. Alex Peets helped in purifying Alfred, who now is a White Howler; the Pet is always in Lupus, unless a fight is on, and he shifts in Crinos. Alfred is able to use only Lupus, Hispo and Crinos forms, as Tristan programmed he to do.
Alfred is Metis, Galliard. The Rote of Total Domination cast upon the Garou makes him an absolutely perfect and obedient pet for Tristan (Alfred has a Willpower of 1 when dealing with Tristan).
Tristan made a Better Body effect on himself and made it permanent, enhancing his physical abilities (+1 to Str, Dex and Stm - already counted in the profile), and an Improve Mind Rote, improving his Intelligence and Wits (+1 Int and Wits - already counted).
He has an enchanted gun (The Sting o' Death - Arete 6) with a Correspondence 1 Entropy 1 effect that helps him aiming the target in its most vulnerable part (Successes scored on the roll are added to the roll for hitting any target in the same scene). Andrée La Paix, which is still "my Father" for Tristan, gifted him with an enchanted sword (Blood Blade - Arete 6), who can drain blood from the body it slashes for recharging its Quintessence pool (Life 3, Prime 2, Matter 2), and makes aggravated damage upon any target (Life 3).
Tristan's familiar is a level 5 familiar, which eats 1 point of Paradox a day, and gives a bonus of one dot to his Arete (of 8 in Arete).
Foci: Correspondence: Reflecting surfaces, Entropy: Dust, Forces: Rings, Life: Blood, Mind: Eye of Ra, Matter: Clay, Prime: Piercings, Spirit: Candles
Foci-free Spheres: Correspondence, Entropy, Life, Mind, Prime, Spirit
Essence: Primordial
Nature: Child
Demeanor: Loner
Attributes: Str 2 Dex 3 Stm 2 Cha 2 Man 4 App 3 Per 4 Int 4 Wits 4
Talents: Awareness 4 Brawl 3 Dodge 4 Streetwise 4
Skills: Meditation 3 Music 2 Repair 2 Shatzu Massage 4 Stealth 4 Survival 4
Knowledge: Astrology 3 Cosmology 3 History 4 (Far East) Kindred Lore 2 Linguistic 2 (English - Cantonese Chinese) Occult 3 Religion 3
Spheres: Correspondence 2 Entropy 4 Forces 3 Life 3 Spirit 3
Arete: 5
Quintessence: 10
Paradox: 2 Permanent + 2 (4)
Willpower: 7
Humanity: 5
Courage: 5
Conscience: 2
Self Control: 3
Disciplines: Potence 2 Celerity 2
Blood Pool: 10
Backgrounds: Arcane 3 Avatar 4 Destiny 4 Status 2
Merits & Flaws: Blood Flaw Immunity (+3), Unbondable (+6), Paradox (-2), Hunted (Tremere) (-4), Dark Secret (-3)
Image & story: Jeremy is from Delhi, India and is the typical teen-ager you may find in the slum: long wavy black hair, dark eyes, chocolate skin, very tall, very thin and slender. He usually dresses in any kind of clothes he may find and like.
He was a teen-ager when they ghouled him; at age 18 he was in Dublin for study, and he entered the wrong pub. He didn't know it was a Tremere controlled pub, and two Neonates took him apart and made him the monster he is. His reaction was really bad, and he totally burnt to ashes the Blood-suckers.
Since then, he swore vengeance and he decided he would hunt down any vampire around; he eventually succeeded in giving the Final Death to an Ancilla, and this is why he is hunted down by the Clan.
He was in Dublin when Ann McDean met him, and they founded the Cabal of Mage-Ghouls and started out searching for other in their same situation. Now Jeremy lives with Ann and Gork (the third member of their Cabal) at their Chantry.
Roleplaying hints: Jeremy is a scared child. He needs people around to comfort him, but he does not admit it. He pretends to be strong and unemotional, but passions are what Jeremy is moved by.
He loves Ann. He fell in love with her the first time he saw her, and now he is jealous of this Tristan What-the-hell Carrol she wants to find so bad.
Gork is his best friend; Gork is an awakened and ghouled animal, but nobody knows what kind of animal exactly. It has assumed a shape that resembles a Velociraptor, but its arms are longer and human-like, he is covered by a light brown fur and its blue eyes betray a sharp mind and high intelligence.
Gork and Jeremy move always together, and where one of the pair is found, just near the other may be found too.
Jeremy hates to be what he is, a Ghoul, but he is getting used to it; he hates vampires for what they made him, especially Clan Tremere, the members of which he learnt to recognize so to lock his targets and hit deadly.
Jeremy studied religious philosophy just to know if there is redemption for his life; he sees he is slave to the Blood of the Dead and he feels he is before the Gates of Hell. In his opinion, his crusade against Vampires is a way to save his soul.
(Just for Storytellers: his Destiny is to be the one who will save Lord Hanover from his Clan mates after Tristan gets the High Ritual of Partial Embrace. His Dark Secret is that he is working for the Inquisition against Vampires.)