Path of Sloth

By Carl Patane (kilroy@stackers.org)

Introduction

To be distributed to Tremere Regents by order of their local Pontifex

The time of thin blood is upon us, my brethren. Reports abound of neonates who cannot sire childer, whose blood can barely sustain themselves. The Assamites have broken free from the prison to which we had sentenced them and the Malkavians fall one by one to their madness. Whether or not the Antediluvians truly walk the nights again, I cannot say, but we cannot afford to be complacent and rest upon our laurels.

The most convincing and frightening evidence that the end times are nigh comes from within our own Clan. As I'm sure you're all aware, the pride and strength of our blood, Thaumaturgy, has become increasingly difficult to utilize. Around the globe standard rituals are becoming useless and more and more often our power is failing us when we need it most.

Some of our members who shall remain nameless have begun to panic. They run around frantically ranting and raving about how we're all lost, how our past has caught up with us and this is Caine's judgement or Saulot's revenge.

But I digress. I have not written all of you so as to complain about the weaker elements of our Clan, quite the opposite in fact. I have written to assuage whatever worries or fears may be lurking by providing a sign of hope and Tremere versatility.

Nicodemus deLaurent, a master of many paths and a thaumaturgical theorist, has been carefully studying the changes of Thaumaturgy from its inception during the Dark Ages of Europe to its current form in the modern era.

Nicodemus, while an avid study and practitioner of Thaumaturgy, knows that the best tool should remain hidden to the eyes of others. Using his power only in private or as a last resort has taught him not to rely on it as a crutch. This, along with his vast knowledge of Thaumaturgy, its history, and the theories behind it have allowed him to tackle this current challenge with a cool insight.

Driven by the belief that Thaumaturgy was, is, and always will be a force to be reckoned with, he has looked beyond the recent difficulties and towards the future. With old enemies garnering new powers and the widespread belief that Gehenna is nipping at our heels, now more than ever the Tremere need to be calm, focused, and most important, confident in our powers.

Thus I am proud to announce the first new path to come out of these most tumultuous times and be accepted for widespread use. It is both Nicodemus' hope, as the creator of this path, and my own, that this new path shall assist and protect our members through the challenges that lie ahead and be the first to usher in a bright future of thaumaturgical advancements.

With the blessings of the Council of Seven I give you the Path of Sloth.

Description

Based on Nicodemus' studies of energy, both scientific and metaphysical, this path focuses on the effects of decreased energy upon objects both natural and artificial. As to whether the effects of the path come from decreasing the target's own energy, redirecting the target's energy to somewhere else, or the act of some kind of "null energy" buffer zone is an object of much debate among thaumaturgists. At present only Nicodemus himself and the High Council are privy to the secrets behind what fuels Path of Sloth.

As this path is still young, it is in the best interests of the Clan to document any new findings and side-effects and have them sent immediately to the Council in Vienna.

Documented side-effects have been of little to no threat. The thaumaturgist may find it more difficult to awaken during daylight hours, but the Council in their infinite wisdom feels that this is a small price to pay for having access to an heretofore unknown and versatile path. Of course, Nicodemus is working tirelessly to rectify this minor inconvenience.

Storyteller Notes on side-effects: Upon learning the first level of Path of Sloth, the thaumaturgist automatically gains the Flaw Deep Sleeper. Should the character already have this Flaw, the Flaw Lazy is added. A character with the Merit Light Sleeper simply loses it. Any other side-effects are by Storyteller discretion but should stay within the theme of the path.

System: Each time the character invokes one of the powers of the path, the thaumaturge's player must spend a blood point and make a Willpower roll against a difficulty of the power's level +3. Only one success is required to evoke a path's effect unless otherwise stated. Failure on this roll indicates that the blood magic fails, while a botch signifies that the character loses a permanent Willpower point. All victims must be within line of sight of the thaumaturgist during conjuration. The power's effects are not cumulative, meaning that casting them more than once a scene on an already affected individual will serve no purpose.

* Apathy's Warm Embrace

This power focuses on decreasing the driving force, the energy that fills us, inspires us, and moves us to achieve new heights as well as defend what is important to us. When that is removed, all that's left is a lifeless husk that is uncaring, indifferent, and devoid of any real emotion. Thankfully, the victim is now more willing to follow suggestions since she has no immediate wants or needs of her own.

System: The victim becomes highly apathetic. Whether or not this change is apparent to others depends on the victim's self-control and ability to act interested in her surroundings. Regardless, she will find it very difficult to care about anything. Each success lowers the difficulty of Dominate rolls against the victim by 1 (to a min. of 2). Conversely, each success raises the difficulty of Presence rolls against the victim by 1 (to a max of 10) due to her emotionless state. This power lasts for one scene. Any physical attack upon the victim instantly negates the power's effect.

** Bane of the Weary Mind

As the functions of the target's mind slow down, her thinking becomes clouded, simulating the sensation that she needs to give her mind a rest for a while, perhaps because of stress or too much work. Reaction time decreases and it becomes difficult for the victim to focus. The victim becomes less aware of her surroundings and, should a threat arise, sloppy in combat.

System: The victim begins to feel worn out and overworked, maybe even irritable, and finds it difficult to stay focused. To others she will appear uninterested or otherwise distracted. Each success raises the difficulty of any roll involving Mental Attributes for the victim by 1 (to a max of 10). This power lasts for one scene.

*** Defy Inertia's Pull

With this power the thaumaturgist can force her will upon objects in motion. An invisible barrier surrounds the blood mage, eating away at the kinetic energy of independent objects. For various reasons this power cannot affect objects with a source of will behind them; meaning that while this power has no affect on an angry Brujah's fist nor the broadsword with which he seeks to decapitate you, it makes the wave of bullets his friend is firing upon you practically harmless. It has been said that the more tenacious members among us have managed to survive attempts to harm them with a thrown car by using this power.

System: Each success allows the caster to add 2 to her Stamina for the purposes of soaking ranged attacks (bullets, daggers, arrows, cars, etc.). Should the amount of successes gained on the soak roll equal or exceed the damage successes of the object then the object has been sucked dry of kinetic energy and falls harmlessly at the feet of the warlock. This power lasts for one scene.

**** Lethargy's Lure

Primarily used in defense, this power does to the body what the second-level power Bane does to the mind. The victim's body begins to feel worn and exhausted, as if she's been doing strenuous exercise for days on end, making her unable to perform at maximum efficiency. Any attempt at physical activity makes her feel as if she's pushing her body well beyond her limits. The subject becomes weak, slow, and tired, the lull of rest constantly in the back of her mind.

System: The subject loses two dots of Strength, moves at 1/2 speed, and has +2 difficulty to hit (Brawl/Martial Arts and Melee only). This power lasts for one scene.

***** Dirac's Ocean

The path's most disturbing power, Dirac's Ocean removes all energy from the victim's body causing her to enter a torpor-like state. The victim remains motionless with her eyes now an ominous, reflective black, which remain constantly open, staring, and unresponsive to stimuli. Those who have returned babble on, barely coherent, about a place they refer to as the Ocean, the Abyss, and the Dark, among other, less intelligible names.

What knowledge has been gained from the ramblings of those that have come out of the coma alludes to the victim's consciousness being trapped in a sort of limbo, constantly aware yet deprived of any senses for comfort. They simply float, lost, frightened, with nothing to touch to feel grounded, no specific direction to discern meaning, and no concept of time to know how long this torture has been endured, nor to guess as to when it will, if ever, come to an end. Rumors circulate that one of the initial experiments never came out of the Ocean, the name preferred by Nicodemus. On the seventh day the thaumaturgist entered his lab only to find a pool of reflective, black ichor where the subject had previously lain.

System: A very fickle power, the time it needs to take effect varies depending upon the aptitude of the caster. However, when it does strike it is not the least bit gradual, causing the victim to suddenly fall into a torpor-like state. Her eyes instantly glaze over black and her body simply falls over wherever she may be at the time. The victim is no longer aware of the world around her body, her consciousness trapped in a void of sensory deprivation. For the specifics as to how long it takes the power to take affect and how long it lasts check the chart below for results.

The victim loses one temporary Willpower point for every day spent in this torpor-like state, referred to as the Ocean. Once all Willpower is lost, the victim's body will start to take one Health Level of damage per day, non-soakable; the body slowly dissolves into black ichor from the inside out from the total lack of energy. Should the victim lose all Health Levels in this manner the body then completely dissolves into a puddle of black ichor, with the victim meeting Final Death. Should the victim awaken, treat any damage sustained this way as lethal damage.

Once awake the victim must roll permanent Willpower (difficulty of the amount of days spent in the Ocean x2; max of 10) to see if they acquire a derangement. Success means they've survived the endeavor with little to no mental scarring. Failure means they acquire a temporary derangement (Storyteller's choice) that lasts the amount of days spent in the Ocean x2. Botch means they gain a permanent derangement (Storyteller's choice).

The victim will unconsciously resist the unnatural force working upon her; thus the target's player may roll Willpower (diff. 8) to resist. Each success on this roll cancels out one of the caster’s successes. Should this roll's successes meet or exceed the caster's successes, then the target can safely steer clear of the Ocean unaware of how close they came to the edge of the Abyss.

Successes	Time before entering Ocean	Time before exiting Ocean
1	4 days	1 day
2	3 days	2 days
3	2 days	3 days
4	1 day	4 days
5	Instantly	5 days
6	Instantly	1 week
7	Instantly	10 days
8	Instantly	2 weeks
9	Instantly	3 weeks
10	Instantly	1 month