By Jay Knioum (madafro@trip.net) for the Codex of Whispers
Otherwise, Mortis is described fully in the Codex of Whispers, with no changes except for two additional powers thought long-forgotten even when the Cappadocians still walked the Earth.
This power has been attributed to many events and phenomena, such as saints who do not decompose after death. More literary vampires have suggested that the Cappadocians were responsible for King Arthur's "death," using this power to insure his future awakening. Some few heretical Cainites had even theorized as to this powers' involvement in the "resurrection" of Christ. These rumors, however were never confirmed nor denied by the Cappadocians, right up to the night of the clan's extermination.
System: The vampire spends two Willpower points and touches the target creature, rolling Intelligence + Medicine, difficulty 8. Each success indicates the vampire may state a condition which will cause the enspelled person to revive. This can be any condition, as long as it is something that directly effects the enspelled creature, such as a kiss or the touch of sunlight. Alternately, a time limit may also be imposed, allowing the enspelled to revive after a certain period of time has elapsed.
Only one time limit may be imposed, but any number of other conditions may be named, limited only by the number of successes.
A failed roll only means the magick fails to work. A botch means the target creature dies outright (although this may not be obvious to the caster...who probably just thinks the power is working as it should).
This power has been declared anathema by the bulk of the Cappadocian clan in the time of V:tDA, and they take great steps both to root out and punish those who make use of it, and to hide its existence from the rest of the clans.
System: The vampire must gather the appropriate materials and somehow prevent them from decaying. This process takes anywhere from a few months to a few years, depending on the Cainite's resources, influences and allies. Once all the necessary parts have been gathered, the Cainite must assemble them. This requires that the Cainite possess no less than five levels of Medicine (using Dark Ages standards) to accomplish.
Finally, the Cainite is ready to perform the Ritual. An alter of sorts must be constructed, with the creation laying flat upon it. By whatever means necessary, the Cainite must see to it that the body is struck by lightning. Usually, the altar is equipped with lightning rods for this purpose, although the Cainites who pioneered this power had also stolen many secrets of Thaumaturgy from the Tremere...most notably Weather Control.
This lightning strike is the culmination of nonstop chanting which the Cainite must undertake, only stopping once the lighting has entered her creation's body. Finally, the Ritual requires the expenditure of four Willpower points, and the total construction and process requires eight Intelligence + Medicine rolls, difficulty 8. Each of these rolls corresponds with a different Mental, Physical, and Social Trait (the creature automatically has a 0 Appearance, so no roll is made there). The amount of successes gained indicates the level of the corresponding Trait. If no successes are scored on a roll, the creature will have a 0 rating in that Trait, also.
The creature thus created is free-willed, and is considered immortal. However, it does not need to feed on blood, and can subsist on regular food. The creature begins with no Skills, Talents or Knowledges, but may learn just about anything if its Intelligence allows. However, the creature does have one level of Potence and Fortitude, and it may increase these levels by use of experience points, if the Storyteller allows it. These "disciplines" are innate abilities, and the creature cannot learn other Disciplines unless it is ghouled. The construction of these creatures is not an exact science. Upon completion, each creature must be assigned five points worth of Flaws by the Storyteller. These will be Mental or Physical. However, the Storyteller may also assign five points worth of Merits, again Mental or Physical.
This creature may be ghouled, but not Embraced. More often than not, such creatures develop a searing hatred for their creators, and some even actively work against their "parents" unless steps are taken to control the creature. Only those Cappadocians obsessed with their studies to the point of insanity had ever made use of this power, and their unholy creations may yet walk the Earth tormented by their existence.