By Kenneth Madsen (94944@udd.aalborgspsem.dk)
This Path was originally devised by the True Brujah Methuselah Braavahl, who acted as deity in the Frozen North of Old. Much of what he did was later turned into tales of the Ases Gods. The Viking-Priests also had their version of this Path, although they did not have the option of calling Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge which leads to Valhalla. The Vikings were well versed in the ways of Blood and Rage, and the Vampire Lords had an easy time walking amongst the Kine then.
The prisoner is bled for a certain amount of blood which is gathered in a earthenware bowl. Usually those using this Power regulary will have a scrying stone to use in the next stage, but any smooth non-absorbing surface will do. The character lets one hand describe patterns in the air above the surface, and pours the collected blood over his hands. While chanting the Words of Old, he activates his own power, and lets it power the prisoner's blood as it washes over his hand, and drips upon the intended surface. Here the blood will gradually flow together, and form Runes in the language of the Old Vikings. Depending on the characters abilities, he will be able to extract the information he desires.
System: The character drains 2 Blood Points worth of blood into an earthenware bowl. Using one of his own Blood Points to activate this Power and energize the stolen blood, he lets the contents of the bowl drip over his fingers while inscribing various patterns in the air. The blood begins to form Runes when it hits the surface, and when all of the blood has been used, a complete set of Runes can be seen on the surface. Then an Intelligence + Occult/Fortune Telling must be made against a difficulty of 8. The more successes, the more information will be revealed: name, Clan/Family/Lineage, Generation/Age, and Travel Destination (or immediate agenda in more modern days) are amongst the information revealed, and depending on the number of successes, the Storyteller decides what information to divulge. Note that it is only information the bloodlettered prisoner is aware of that is revealed, this Power does not give access to Omniscience.
Historical Notes: This Power was originally intended to learn the purpose of captured spies without having to engage in longterm torture, and also proved usefull if enemy spies/assassins died before any information could be pried from them.
System: The character drains some of his Vitae into the skull of which the Brew is to be drunk: ne point of Vitae for every person who is to be affected with the Red Rage of the Berserker. Once the appropriate amount of Vitae has been drained into the skull, the character expends one Blood Point to start the process which will turn the Vitae into the Red Brew, and begins to chant the Old Norse Words which forms the basis of the transmutation. Holding the skullcup with both hands, he must focus all of his will to transmute the red fluid. Make a Willpower Roll against a Difficulty of 8. The number of successes will give the number of minutes in which the Brew will induce Berserker Rage before the character who drinks it returns to normal.
The drinker will receive an extra attack/action, +2 points worth of Strength, +2 points worth of Stamina and the ability to ignore a number of Health Box Penalties equal to his Stamina. This effect lasts solely for a number of minutes equal to the number of successes the caster had on his Willpower Roll. Once the effect wears off, the drinker will get a number of penalty dice to all his Dice Pool equal to the number of successes rolled while making the Brew. The period of time is likewise equal in hours to the initial successes.
Should a character wish to drink more than one portion of the Brew, he is very likely to die! Each extra point of Brew drunk will add an extra attack as well as +1 point to both Strength and Stamina. However, when the effect wears off, the drinker must roll his halved Stamina with an additional number of dice subtracted equal to the extra points worth of Brew he has drunken, against a Difficulty of 10. If less than 3 complete successes are attained, the drinker dies from the massive amount of adrenaline which has been pumped through his veins, as well as from the superhuman efforts his body has been forced to perform. Cainites will merely go in Torpor, but the effects may very well be the same when all is said and done. Should a mortal survive this, he must take yet another Stamina Roll against a Difficulty of 8 when he awakes. With less than three complete successes, his brain will have taken permanent damage from the ordeal, and he loses a permanent point of Intelligence. As the Beast of Cainites are closer to the surface and far more fierce than that of the Children of Seth, the Cainites who survive may (at the Storyteller's discretion) develop a craving for the Red Brew and the incredible Rage it produces. Cainites devote a fair amount of time battling their Beast and keeping its leash short, fearing that it might take over should it be given too much freedom. But imagine what happens when the Beast is given the sensation the Red Brew induces. Perhaps the Magickal properties of the Brew will make it stronger, and the Cainite is thus in for the fight of his life, as the Beast attempts to turn him into a Brew-addict. And what happens if the Beast is denied the Brew? Ahhh, now here is a protential over which to spin a story . . .
Note that because of the mystic rituals used to transmute the Vitae into the Red Brew, the Vitae loses some of its normal properties: those drinking it will not become Blood Bond no matter how much they drink! The Vitae cannot be used to refill one's Blood Pool -- once the Red Brew is drank, it transforms into the pure energy which fuels the Berserker Rage. This energy vanishes gradually as the Berserker Rage runs its course! The Red Brew cannot be used in Blood Rituals nor Magick which are designed to give the Thaumaturgist control over, or knowledge of, the donor. Why this is so, is as of yet unanswered, but rest assured that the Magi of House Tremere are doing some very focused research into the matter.
System: The character uses 2 points worth of his own Vitae to inscribe the Runes upon the intended weapon. The character makes a small slash at a finger, and while he wills the Vitae to flow, he quietly hums the Runic Chant which the Dwarven Highsmiths of Old are said to have learned the creator of this Path. While he chants, the Runes will come to his mind and when they have been inscribed upon the weapon, they will disappear again. In order to be able to inscribe the Runes, the weapon must have a relatively flat surface of at least 3x10 cms (1.18x3.94 inches). If such a surface is not available, the Runes simply cannot be inscribed. If inscribed upon a firearm, the next blow struck with the weapon will be a Bane Blow, whereas the bullets will still function as normal.
Once the Runes have been completed, the weapon will virtually vibrate with suppressed power, and it is said that the weapon will turn upon its wielder if it does not taste blood soon afterwards. The next attack made by the weapon will be with a +2 bonus and it will be aggravated! A number of dice equal to the Willpower of the Inscriber is rolled against a Difficulty of 8. This roll is made to determine whether or not the mundane metal will be able to hold the power of the Runes; if the Roll fails, the Runes lose their energy and vaporize from the weapon! If the Roll is botched, the weapon shatters into hundreds of fragments, as the mundane metal breaks under the power of the Runes of Blood and Steel. If the Roll succeeds, the wielder of the weapon may make yet another strike, after which a new Roll must be made, and so on.
System: In effect, this is a long-range version of the Red Brew. The character starts singing the Old Norse Battle Song, uses 2 Blood Points, and Rolls Singing + Stamina against a Difficulty of 8. Hereafter the song is in effect. Each turn, the character must spend another 2 Blood Points to keep the power in his voice (no Roll is needed), and is not himself affected by the song.
Those willing to enter the Berserker Rage will receive an extra attack/action, +2 points worth of Strength, +2 points worth of Stamina and the ability to ignore a number of Health Box Penalties equal to their Stamina. This effect lasts as long as the singer continues his battle song and the individual in Berserker Rage remains within range of hearing. Once the effect wears off, the berserker will get a number of penalty dice to all his Dice Pool equal to half the number of successes which were rolled when the Blood Song of War was started. The period of time is equal in hours to the initial number of successes rolled.
System: The character need only whisper the True Name of Bifrost to make it appear. However, he has to pronounce it correctly, and must make a Intelligence + Linguistics Roll against a Difficulty of 10, and attain a complete success! True Names represent Great Power, and to wield it, one need only be able to pronounce it correctly -- that is the magick of True Names! Normally the rainbow bridge will only lead to Asgaard, but if the character knows the exact location of another Umbral Realm he may perhaps be able to make Bifrost obey his will, and take him there instead. In such a case, the character rolls his Intelligence + Willpower against a Difficulty of 10, and must come up with 5 successes! If he fails the ruling entity of Asgaard will be made aware that an attempt has been made at forcing Bifrost from its proper destination, which usually makes Him dissolve the rainbow bridge, and leave the offending character in the Deep Umbra... Even if the character arrives at Asgaard, he still has to pass Heimdal the Watcher, and convince him that he should be allowed access to Asgaard. If Heimdal is not satisfied with the character's motivations, he will cast him into the Umbra!