Post by Sethron on Jul 15, 2013 2:31:10 GMT -8
A discussion thread has been made by Chris and all the posts were moved there. Please discuss there.
(I am just making sure it is visible here so people don't think we sudden-deleted anything)
Draiocht
Draiocht is a magic of nature and the blood working together. The druids of the Gangrel line kept it hidden away for centuries after the Christian religion overtook much of their homeland and drove out the pagan ways. In many ways, teaching draiocht is teaching someone to find themselves within the balance of nature; whether that makes a gangrel a god of fate or a servant of the natural world is indeterminable until the way is grasped. A person teaches the ways of the magic first, and the manifestations are determined by the learner. Afterwards, only true understanding of one's own path can be shared with another.
System:
Draiocht is unique in how it is taught and learned. Like all blood magic, it requires some level of instruction and training to use correctly, and is thus subject to the normal "Blood Magic learning time" restriction. However, unlike other blood magics, your first and Primary Path of Draiocht blossoms from within you, not from your teacher. The teacher simply plants the seed - teaching you Draiocht as a Discipline, not a specific Path, and as you gain levels of the Draiocht discipline, your Primary path manifests itself.
Druids may only ever teach their Primary path of Draiocht to another practictioner, and teach the discipline itself to others, often creating a new Path in the process. It is not uncommon for the master to become the student and his new pupil to teach him his unique manifestation of the powers of Draiocht. The Path which becomes the Primary path for a new initiate is personal in nature, and is a unique representation of the sleeping potential of that individual. The list of Paths are assigned by the character's Nature, and the most common Path for a given Nature is listed first, though there are also two other options which are less common (but chosen by the player as befits their character's personality, and perhaps Demeanor).
Draoicht's unique structure has always promoted a community ot sharing and learning, but masters have also always been very selective to only teach the secret magics to those they trust implicitly, so that greed does not spill the power over to everyone and destroy the unique power of their art.
Paths
Path of the Earth's Gifts
Path of the Four Seasons
The Witch Path
Viriditas
Rego Mantem
Elemental Mastery (Thaum)
The Green Path (Thaum)
The Hearth Path (Thaum)
Movement of the Mind (Thaum)
Neptune's Might (Thaum)
Oneiromancy (Thaum)
Prey on the Soul's Fear (Thaum)
Path of Curses (Thaum)
Path of Mars (Thaum)
Path of the Shadow World (Sielanic Thaum)
Way of Passage (Thaum)
Weather Control (Thaum)
Rituals
Spectral Mask 1st (Dark Thaum)
Sign of the Moon 2nd (Dark Thaum)
Exorcise Fever 1st (Dur-An-Ki)
Bind the Heavens 2nd (Dur-An-Ki)
Enlightenment 1st (Koldunic Sorcery)
Hospitality 1st (Koldunic Sorcery)
Sentinels of the Haven 3rd (Koldunic Sorcery)
Refuge of the Thirsty Grave 4th (Koldunic Sorcery)
Nemesis of the Living Earth 5th (Koldunic Sorcery)
Shroud of Day 2nd (Nahuallotl)
Water Walking 1st (Sadhanna)
Bind the Accusing Tongue 1st (Thaum)
Communicate With Kindred Sire 1st (Thaum)
Defense of the Sacred Haven 1st (Thaum)
Deflection of Wooden Doom 1st (Thaum)
Domino of Life 1st (Thaum)
Incantation of the Shepherd 1st (Thaum)
Purify Blood 1st (Thaum)
Purity of Flesh 1st (Thaum)
Sense the Mystical 1st (Thaum)
Wake WIth Evening's Freshness 1st (Thaum)
Burning Blade 2nd (Thaum)
Donning the Mask of Shadows 2nd (Thaum)
Extinguish 2nd (Thaum)
Eyes of the Night Hawk 2nd (Thaum)
Impassible Trail 2nd (Thaum)
Recure of the Homeland 2nd (Thaum)
Steps of the Terrified 2nd (Thaum)
Ward Versus Ghouls 2nd (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Ghouls 2nd (Thaum)
A Touch of Nightshade 3rd (Thaum)
Awakening the Verdant Thorn 3rd (Thaum)
Bind the Familiar 3rd (Thaum)
Cleansing the Flesh 3rd (Thaum)
Draught of Earth's Blood 3rd (Thaum)
Friend of the Trees 3rd (Thaum)
Incorporeal Passage 3rd (Thaum)
Ward Versus Fae 3rd (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Fae 3rd (Thaum
Ward Versus Lupines 3rd (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Lupines 3rd (Thaum)
Bone of Lies 4th (Thaum)
Infirm Inert 4th (Thaum)
Puissant Shield 4th (Thaum)
Scry 4th (Thaum)
Shadowgate 4th (Thaum)
Soul of the Land 4th (Sielanic Thaum)
Ward Versus Kindred 4th (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Kindred 4th (Thaum)
Severed Hand 5th (Thaum)
Stone of True Form 5th (Thaum)
Stone Slumber 5th (Thaum)
Umbral Walk 5th (Thaum)
Ward Versus Demons 5th (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Demons 5th (Thaum)
Ward Versus Ghosts 5th (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Ghosts 5th (Thaum)
Ward Versus Spirits 5th (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Spirits 5th (Thaum)
Primary Path by Nature
1st = Typical Primary Path
2nd & 3rd = Other acceptable Primary Paths
Architect: Path of Earth's Gifts, The Hearth Path, Weather Control
Autocrat: Rego Mantem, Prey on Soul's Fear, Path of the Shadow World
Bon Vivant: The Green Path, Path of the Four Seasons, Movement of the Mind
Bravo: Prey on the Soul's Fear, Viriditas, Rego Mantem
Capitalist: Rego Mantem, Elemental Mastery, Path of the Four Seasons
Caregiver: Weather Control, The Green Path, Path of the Earth's Gifts
Celebrant: Path of the Four Seasons, The Witch Path, Green Path
Chameleon: The Witch Path, Rego Mantem, Elemental Mastery
Child: Path of Curses, Weather Control, Movement of the Mind
Competitor: Viriditas, Prey on Soul's Fear, Neptune's Might
Conformist: Path of the Four Seasons, The Witch Path, Weather Control
Conniver: Oneiromancy, Rego Mantem, Path of Curses
Creep Show: The Witch Path, Path of Curses, Path of Earth's Gifts
Curmudgeon: Path of the Four Seasons, Path of Curses, The Witch Path
Dabbler: Path of the Four Seasons, Green Path, Movement of the Mind
Defender: Path of Mars, Viriditas, and Elemental Mastery.
Deviant: The Witch Path, Path of the Shadow World, Prey on Soul's Fear
Director: Rego Mantem, Elemental Mastery, Path of the Shadow World
Enigma: The Witch Path, Oneiromancy, Elemental Mastery
Eye of the Storm: Neptune's Might, Path of Earth's Gifts, The Hearth Path
Fanatic: Path of the Four Seasons, Path of The Earth's Gifts, Viriditas
Gallant: The Witch Path, Path of the Earth's Gifts, The Green Path
Guru: Oneiromancy, Path of the Shadow World, Rego Mantem
Idealist: Path of the Earth's Gifts, Neptune's Might, Path of the Four Seasons
Judge: Path of the Shadow World, Rego Mantem, Path of Curses
Loner: Elemental Mastery, The Witch Path, Viriditas
Martyr: Viriditas, Path of the Four Seasons, Oneiromancy
Masochist: Viriditas, Path of Mars, Path of the Four Seasons
Monster: The Witch Path, Prey on Soul's Fear, Path of Curses
Pedagogue: Oneiromancy, Path of the Four Seasons, Elemental Mastery
Penitent: The Green Path, Path of the Earth's Gifts, Way of Passage
Perfectionist: Path of the Earth's Gifts, Rego Mantem, Weather Control
Rebel: The Witch Path, Way of Passage, Movement of the Mind
Rogue: Movement of the Mind, Viriditas, The Hearth Path
Sadist: Path of Curses, Prey on Soul's Fear, Path of the Shadow World
Scientist: Rego Mantem, Elemental Mastery, Path of the Four Seasons
Sociopath: Path of the Shadow World, Elemental Mastery, Path of Mars
Soldier: Path of Mars, Viriditas, Way of Passage
Survivor: The Hearth Path, Elemental Mastery, Oneiromancy
Thrill-Seeker: Viriditas, Movement of the Mind, Path of the Four Seasons
Traditionalist: Path of the Four Seasons, Rego Mantem, Weather Control
Trickster: Elemental Mastery, The Witch Path, The Green Path
Visionary: Oneiromancy, Path of the Four Seasons, Rego Mantem
Path of the Earth's Gifts
This is one of the oldest paths of Draiocht. Ancient Lore tells that the old Gods who created the world imprinted some of themselves into their creation, as a mother might imprint on her child. This path taps that primal connection between the natural world and the aspects that created it, substituting the Druid for the maker in this relationship, causing the world to react with favor to him, and allow him some control to reshape the natural world to suit his own needs. This Path is often unusual in its versatility, some powers having more than one aspect or way that they can be used. In such cases, each aspect is to be treated as a separate power that requires a separate roll and blood expenditure to activate.
O Daghda's Bounty
The earth holds many gifts, old and new. There are secrets buried beneath the soil that would amaze even the most avaristic of treasure hunters. This art allows the user to find, unearth, and store such bounties within the earth.
System: The player spends a blood point which must actually be spilled on a patch of natural earth or stone of sufficient size to be considered part of the natural world (a park in a city would count, but a patch of dirt with a tree in the sidewalk would not). This power can be used in one of three ways: to find hidden bounty, to unearth something buried, or to sink something in the earth and hide it away. Each use of this power is a separate activation and requires a separate roll and blood expenditure.
To learn the location of something buried the vampire goes into a trance as her mind follows the path of the blood as it seeps in tot he ground and spreads out from there. The blood disperses through the earth very quickly, giving the vampire an accurate mental image of the subterranean landscape in a radius of one mile per success. This image includes the presence of material contained within the earth, the location of anything buried, and the general layout of any subterranean structure or cave network. This process takes one turn per success.
To unearth what is buried, the vampire must be within 100 feet laterally of the thing she wishes to raise. To unearth an object the vampire must first know the outer dimensions and depth of the object, whether through a previous application of this power or other means. The earth will ripple and the object will rise to the surface, whole and intact without disturbing the earth around it. The size and depth of the object to be unearthed depends on the successes scored:
Successes Depth Size of Object
1 success 5 ft a brick
2 successes 8 ft a person
3 successes 15 ft a car
4 successes 30 ft a city bus
5 successes 50 ft a family house
6+ successes +100 ft per success a castle
The Druid must choose and apply her successes to either depth or the size of the object, so a Druid wishing to unearth something the size of a car that was buried 15 ft down would need 6 successes. Objects can only be unearthed through this power if they are buried in natural earth and rock. This power cannot affect concrete, asphalt, or any other manmade material. If used on a kindred melded with the earth or stone, this power will disturb the Earth Meld, causing the effects described in the Protean discipline.
To bury an object in the ground, the same rules and chart apply as for unearthing. The object to be buried must rest upon natural earth or stone before being interred and can only be buried in a place that physically has enough room for it.
Raising or burying an object within the earth is not an instantaneous process. The object will rise or sink at a rate of only three feet per turn (one foot per second). The Druid must continue to concentrate on the process for the entire duration to successfully raise or bury an object. If used in combat, an enemy targeted with this power and caused to sink will sink 3 feet into the ground, but will easily be able to extract himself from the now soft earth with a Strength roll (difficulty 5). If he fails to extract himself, and the Druid continues to concentrate on sinking him, the difficulty to extract himself rises to 8. If a target sinks for 3 or more turns into the earth, then he must physically dig his way back to the surface, succeeding a Strength roll at difficulty 9 for every 10 feet he is buried.
OO Eyes of Flidais
This power calls upon the favor of Flidais, huntress of the great forests and mistress of the wild beasts. With an invocation and a sacrifice of blood, this power allows the Druid to see through the eyes of the beasts of the forest far and wide.
System: The player must spend a blood point and make the usual Willpower roll to activate this power. This power may be used in two ways. It may be used on a single animal of any kind, allowing the Druid to share its senses wherever it goes. The Druid may shift his senses from either the animal or his own as often as he wishes at any time while using this power. He may even attempt to perceive both at the same time, although the distraction this creates imposes a +2 difficulty on all actions while attempting to do so. This power carries no control over the animal in question; the Druid is merely a passive observer. However this power is often used in conjunction with the Animalism discipline to create a very effective spy. If the Druid possesses the Animalism Discipline, he may communicate telepathically with the animal in question at any time during the duration of this power, and even use any power of Animalism on that animal regardless of distance. This application of the power lasts until sunrise.
This power may also be used to grant the Druid a general awareness of an area around him by tapping into an amalgamation of the vision of all the animals in his immediate vicinity. If there are at least 3 animals of any kind in the Druid's vicinity when activating this application of the power, he gains -2 difficulty on all Perception rolls, does not suffer from multiple opponent penalties in combat, and all powers that require eye contact are at +3 difficulty due to the division of his senses. These animals must be close enough to accurately perceive the scene for this power to work. A Druid could not use this power by keeping some rats in his pockets. This application of the power lasts for the scene.
OOO Dryad's Highway
All the world is connected by the roots of the great trees. The Druids understand that interconnected nature of the world to such a degree that they can literally travel along that web, appearing to disappear into one tree and stepping out of another one miles away.
System: The player spends a blood point and makes the usual Willpower roll to enter the Dryad's Highway. The Druid must physically step into a tree of sufficient size to completely encompass him. Upon successfully making this roll, the Druid gains a sense of the general location of all trees within range and may step out of any of them that is also large enough to fully encompass him. The range of this power is determined by the successes scored on the Willpower roll. Entering one tree and exiting another is part of the same action; a Druid cannot simply sit within the Highway.
Successes Distance
1 success 500 feet
2 successes Half a mile
3 successes 5 miles
4 successes 20 miles
5 success 50 miles
6+ successes +50 more miles per success
The Dryad's Highway is not physically part of this world. When traveling it, the Druid will appear to all senses both mundane and mystical to have vanished completely from his present location, only to reappear in the new one when he reenters the world. It is noted that although the Druid is aware of the general location of the tree he chooses to exit from, he gains no insight into the surrounding area or anything else currently happening around it in the material world.
There have been Druids who have spoken of remaining in the Highway or even using it to visit other worlds, speaking of the Highway by its older and greater feared name of the Faerie Trods or the Rainbow Run. Of those who have tried, nearly all were never heard from again, and the few who did return, came back changed and hopelessly mad.
A failure on this roll means that the Druid does not enter the first tree at all, failing to open the door to the Highway. A botch can eject the character from a random tree anywhere in the world, or even leave them trapped within the Highway or ejected into the other worlds touched by this path.
OOOO Hand of Govannon
With this power, the invokes the power of Govannon who sculpted the Earth to reshape the earth around himself to suit his needs. With a wave of his hand and an invocation of will he can raise earthen walls to block assailants, make the ground shift and shake beneath the feet of opponents, or even raise spikes of rock from the ground to attack.
System: The player spends a blood point and makes the usual Willpower roll to activate this power for a scene. Once so controlled, the earth can be used in combat to attack, defend and hinder, or out of combat to reshape terrain. This power may only be used on natural earth and stone. Using each of the maneuvers listed below requires the expenditure of a Willpower point.
To attack, the Druid may target a number of opponents equal to his successes on the casting roll. For each spike, the Druid rolls a Wits + Occult roll to hit with carry over damage as normal. The spikes have a base damage of the Druid's unmodified Stamina + Draiocht rating. The spikes are large enough that only one can hit a single target per attack. All targets must be standing on natural earth or stone to be affected.
To defend, the Druid simply activates the power to call forth a wall between himself and an oncoming attack. The Druid's successes on the initial activation roll subtract directly from the damage of the physical attack to be blocked. This application of the power can be aborted to as a defensive action. After being used, the wall remains, granting +2 difficulty cover penalties against future attacks from the same direction. All walls summoned with this power crash back to earth as though they were never there after 1 turn per success.
To hinder opponents, the Druid can cause the earth around him to heave and quake. This inflicts a +2 difficulty to all actions for those standing within 10ft per success. The Druid himself is immune to the penalty. This effect lasts a number of rounds equal to the Druid's Draiocht rating.
Outside of combat this power can be used to reshape natural earth and stone in any way the Druid can imagine. The Druid can shape up to 10 cubic feet of earth and stone per success with each casting of this effect. The final shape must be independently stable and viable or the structure will collapse. At Storyteller discretion, a Wits + Crafts check may be required to shape anything particularly complex.
OOOOO Aspect of Cernunnos
This final power of this path is unique in that it does not channel the natural world around the Druid, but rather taps into the primal creature within every Cainite, the Beast. This power opens the Beast to the raw power of the old Hunt, reminding the vampire of the nights when the great forests covered the earth, and all were subject to the laws of the hunt, the laws of nature, red in tooth and claw. This power reawakens the buried memory of the beast and channels through that predator to call a Wild Hunt of old.
System: This power may only be evoked in a natural setting of sufficient size to be considered a primal place. The Storyteller will always be the final arbiter on whether or not an area is sufficient but the guideline should be that a large park in a city should count, but a small clump of trees does not.
The Druid lets out a primal howl as he either spits or flings blood onto the target who will become the Prey of of the Wild Hunt. The player spends a blood point and makes the usual Willpower roll. Once so marked, the Prey instinctively knows that he has been marked as Prey and all the natural world has turned against him. If successful, all the natural world knows the target as Prey. All of the predatory beasts within a ten mile radius are called to the Hunt and will unerringly track the Prey and seek to attack and bring him down. For the duration of the Hunt, all such beasts gain +1 to each physical attribute.
The Druid himself upon activating this power appears to vanish on the spot as he melds his body and soul with the natural world. Over the next 5 minutes, he assumes the mantle of Cernunnos the Divine Aspect of Nature Red in Tooth and Claw. When he reappears 5 minutes later in the same spot, he stands over 10 feet tall, granting him an extra 3 Bruised Health Levels and 10 extra dots to distribute among his Physical and Mental Attributes. He grows silvery white stag's horns from his forehead to mark him as the Master of the Hunt, and while so marked, no other predator, including Lupines, will be able to challenge his Authority. This transformation effect takes a full five minutes during which the Druid may take no other actions. During this time the Druid exists outside the physical world and cannot affect or be affected by any other effect.
If the Prey runs, all the beasts affected by this power will attempt to run down the Prey, harrying and harassing him until the Master of the Hunt arrives. They will attempt to render the Prey to a Crippled state and surround him attempting to prevent escape. However the beasts will not attempt to strike the killing blow, though this may occur by accident. Their goal is to weaken the Prey for the Master of the Hunt. If the Prey is not attempting to escape, the beasts will take no action against him. If the Prey is running it is important to remember the wound penalties that apply to movement as the animals wound and harry the Prey, consuming his resources before the Master of the Hunt arrives. If the Prey stands his ground, the beasts will circle around and snarl and growl, but will not attack unless he attempts to flee.
Once the transformation is complete and the Druid reappears transformed, the Druid may unerringly track the Prey, always aware of his precise location, piercing all attempts at illusion or stealth. All attempts to use any power to conceal the Prey's location must be of higher level than the Druid's Draiocht rating or automatically fail. However the bargain struck with the natural world for the use of this power compels the Druid to follow the Laws of the Hunt in this chase. The Hunt is a physical thing, a contest of strength and tooth and claw. As such, for the duration of the hunt, no discipline classified as Mystical (Blood Magic, Obtenebration, Chimerstry, etc.) may be used or the Hunt is immediately forfeited and the effect ended.
As impossible as it seems, the Prey does have a chance in every Hunt. The Laws of the Wild hold no sway in the dominions of Man. The Hunt will only end with the sun's rise or the moment the Prey flees inside any man-made structure. The Prey will instinctively know this the moment that he is declared Prey and will get his chance to run. A manmade structure is only sufficient if it can be considered a permanent structure (a hut would count but a tent would not) and was already built before the Hunt was called.
The Path of the Four Seasons
This is one of the oldest paths of magic, being based on the core principles of the Druidic faith and developed alongside the Mages of the Old Faith Fellowship. The cycle of the world affects all things as the seasons turn. Each season brings with it aspects of life and very different energies. By channeling these aspects of the cycle, the Druid may exemplify the current place in the cycle in connection with the the resonating magic to produce great effects that match the current season. With Spring comes rebirth, renewal and new life. With Summer comes strength, good health and morale. With Autumn comes aging, and weakness, but also plenty and the harvest. With Winter comes cold and death.
Each power of the Path of the Four Seasons is not a distinctive power in itself. Rather each level exemplifies one of the key principles of Druidic magic that all initiates are taught. The specific effect that is invoked when a power is used depends upon the current season at the time of the casting. This makes this path incredibly versatile if used by the patient and those who understand the flow of the cycle, while rather irritating to younger practitioners who think only of immediate needs.
O Season's Watch
The divination of secrets runs through all things. As all things in the natural world are connected through the cycle of life, so may a Druid divine their secrets simply by looking in the right places. The aspects of this power are all about looking for the secrets sympathetic to each season.
Spring: Spring is the season of rebirth and change, but this is not always beneficent. Change bears the marks of deception and disguise as well as renewal. But no matter how well one wishes to disguise themselves, echoes of their true self are always there somewhere. With this power the Druid may attempt to see past a disguise or illusion to the truth behind the mask. The Druid must look at a person or object they believe to carry a disguise and activate this power. Even one success scored on the activation roll will tell the Druid whether or not the subject of the power is disguised in any way. This however gives no direct knowledge of what lies behind the disguise.
Summer: Summer is the season of passion and emotions flaring. With this power, the Druid may glean the nature and source of a subject's emotional state, and even whether or not that state is natural or inflicted.
The Druid looks at the subject and rolls normally to activate this power. The information gained by this power is based on successes scored as per the following chart.
1 success: Subject's primary emotion
2 successes: Subject's secondary emotion
3 successes: Origin and target of subject's emotions. This determines for whom the subject feels each emotion revealed and whether or not that emotion is natural to them or inflicted by some artificial power.
4 successes: Perceived cause of subject's current emotional state. This reveals the specific power used to inflict an artificial emotion upon the subject (though not the user of that power) or if a naturally occurring emotion, reveals what the subject believes is the originating cause of the emotion present.
5+ successes: Actual cause of the subject's current emotional state. This reveals the user of any artificial power used to alter the subject's emotional state, as well as the circumstances under which said power was used. If the emotional state is natural, then this reveals the true cause of that emotion, even if it is unknown to the subject (such as a shadowy hand that manipulated these feelings while disguised as something else).
Autumn: Autumn is the season of age and wisdom, the season of plans come to fruition. The Druid with this power may look into the plans of another and determine their true plans, unmasked by deception.
The Druid makes the usual roll and activates this power for a scene. During that time he may attempt a Perception + Politics roll (difficulty equal to the subject's current willpower) to divine the plan and end goal behind any action he sees being taken. He may see a rival speaking to the prince and determine just how that step fits into the plans of his rival. This aspect may only be used to determine the plans of actions in progress before the Druid. One or two successes reveal the end goal of the plan, 3 or 4 reveal how this step is important, while 5 or more reveal the plan in its entirety.
Should combat break out during a scene that the Druid has activated this power, it has another effect, allowing the Druid to see the plans and actions of all others involved in the combat before they happen. The Druid saves his declaration of action until after everyone else has declared theirs, although still acts at the usual place in the initiative order.
Winter: Winter is the season of death and finality. The Druid with this power can determine just how close someone is to death, as well as spotting those who have passed beyond the veil such as ghosts or those who have stepped outside of the cycle whether by suspending their aging such as vampires and ghouls or by not being subject to time at all such as Fae.
The Druid rolls normally and this power activates for a scene. While this power is activated, the Druid sees the world overlaid with a dreary and deathlike pallor, the flaws in everything coming to the forefront. This allows the Druid to see exactly how wounded anyone he may look at is, and determine the type of damage (bashing, lethal, or aggravated) of those wounds. The Druid may also determine the exact age of anyone he sees, as well as if that creature is part of the cycle or not and how they have been removed from the cycle if they have. This will unerringly spot vampires, ghouls and changelings. Further the Druid may sense the presence of Wraiths as if he possessed the Medium merit, though he may not truly see them.
OO Force of Nature
The power of the Seasons is not only a passive event. The Druids understand the truly potent power behind the changing of the Seasons and know that to harness that power in its raw form to strike at those who would oppose the Druid's power. Each Season also has an elemental association that comes to the forefront when this power is called upon.
Spring: The Winds of Spring blow fiercely and bring with them the change and rebirth of the age. This power channels those winds in their aspect of force to summon a vicious whirlwind, trapping the target within.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally and sends the winds to envelop his target. The target is immediately surrounded by a raging whirlwind, imprisoning him and keeping him from taking other actions. While in the whirlwind, the victim cannot move or take any physical action save attempting to break through the winds. Any mental actions the victim would take suffer +2 difficulty due to distraction. The whirlwind kicks up enough dust and debris that line of sight is broken both to and from the victim. To break out of the whirlwind requires a Feat of Strength roll of 5 + the successes scored on the casting roll. Should anyone outside the whirlwind approach within two yards, they must make a reflexive Strength + Athletics roll (difficulty 8) or be swept up in the raging winds, subject to the same penalties as the victim. This power lasts for one turn per success scored on the casting.
Summer: The passions of Summer can bolster, but the sun's fires burn hottest in this season. This power channels that very solar fire, scorching the earth and blasting the Druid's enemies to ruin.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally. Once activated, the Druid is surrounded by a corona of white flame that carries no heat until it is discharged. Any vampire attempting to approach the Druid with this power active must test for Rotschreck at difficulty 6. Any vampire attempting to strike the Druid with this power active must test for Rotschreck at difficulty 8.
To discharge a bolt of flame is a physical action, requiring the Druid to make a Dexterity + Alertness test to hit his target. This roll can be dodged normally and grants carryover successes like any other ranged attack. The bolt inflicts a base amount of aggravated damage dice equal to the Druid's mastery of the Path of the Four Seasons. Discharging the bolt removes the flame aura. This power will last for one scene or until discharged.
Autumn: The Autumn is the season of the harvest, of the bounties of the Earth. But the Earth can take as well as give. This power channels the destructive power of earth upon a victim, causing each of their steps to sink into a churning sinkhole beneath their feet.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally to curse his victim with earth. With each step, the victim's foot sinks about a foot into the ground as the earth churns beneath him, hampering all action and movement. A victim affected by this power halves all dice pools for physical action, loses the automatic movement ability and has his active movement reduced to 5 + Strength in yards. This power lasts for one turn per success on the activation roll.
Winter: Winter is the season of loss and hardship, of decay and death. It may seem odd that this season is exemplified by the element of Water which gives life, but what is given may be taken away. The winter winds blow and blood with water freezes and cracks. This power causes the blood in its victim to freeze in the veins.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally to freeze his victim's blood. If the victim is mortal, this inflicts one level of lethal damage per success that cannot be soaked with armor or any physical defense. Against a vampire, this power causes the victim anguish when he tries to spend blood. For one turn per success after this effect is cast, for each blood point he spends, he takes an unsoakable level of lethal damage.
OOO Season's Ward
The power of the Seasons is ever present and the Druid knows how to channel that energy to protect as well as attack.
Spring: Spring's connection to the winds is shown here as the Druid conjures a vortex of raging winds around himself, deflecting attacks from even the most capable assailant.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally to conjure the vortex. For the remainder of the scene, all melee attacks against him suffer a +2 difficulty as the blows are diverted off course. The true power of this effect is shown though against ranged attacks which automatically fail against him as the projectiles are knocked hopelessly off course. As a physical defense this only applies to physical based ranged attacks such as a gun or thrown weapon. The winds have no power to stop mystical effects.
Summer: Summer is the season of war and passion, and the ward associated with it is similarly militant. A Druid invoking the ward of summer's skin thickens, turning even the deadliest blows aside.
The player spends a blood and rolls normally. For the remainder of the scene, the Druid has -2 difficulty on all soak rolls vs. any kind of damage.
Autumn: Autumn as the season of mysticism and magic, when channeled defensively carries a potent ward against such practices. The Druid need only know that they are the target of a mystical assault of some kind and invoke this power to weaken or even stop the effect entirely.
This power can only be used when the Druid is specifically targeted with a power. The Druid then spends a blood and rolls normally. Any successes the Druid gains on this roll are subtracted from the successes of the power that was targeting the Druid. This can only be used if the Druid is aware of the power that is targeting him, possibly requiring a Perception + Occult roll for subtle effects. This power takes an action in combat, though it may be aborted to as a defensive action. This power cannot cause the target to botch, only fail.
Winter: The cold of Winter weakens and kills those unprepared for its trials. Those who have learned to channel winter's harsh energies however may use that very aspect to weaken a vampire's greatest banes. The Druid using this power greatly reduces the threat of fire as winter's energies permeating his body snuff the fiercest blaze down to that of a tiny spark, and the sun at its weakest in the winter is reduced to a barely noticeable glow.
The Druid spends a blood and rolls normally. For a number of turns equal to the successes scored, all damage from fire and sunlight is treated as Bashing damage.
OOOO Season's Balance
The theme of balance runs at the heart of Druidic practices. For any great effect there must be an equally great price to be payed. To give life to the crops, a sacrifice of life is called for. Each of the aspects of Season's Balance show this as their powerful temporary effects have a cost that must be paid.
Spring: Spring is the season of regeneration and renewal, as new life energy floods the earth. Tapping into this flood of energy, the Druid gains great capacity for regeneration.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally to establish the connection to the Spring flood of energy. For the next hour, the Druid will automatically regenerate one blood point and one Willpower point every 2 rounds (or minute out of combat). This cannot increase either pool beyond their maximum, but allows the Druid to consistently remain at full resources.
However the price of such a flood of energy is felt afterwards. The Beast is a greedy thing and grows used to the flood of energy and forces the Druid to feed its gluttony. For a full week after using this power (including the beginning of the next game session up until the time the power was used), any time the Druid feeds, he must make a Self-Control/Instinct roll at difficulty 10 to avoid draining the victim dry, and diablerizing the victim if a kindred. If he is forcibly prevented from draining his victim, the Druid will immediately enter frenzy. For the next week, the Druid must feed Brutally.
Summer: Summer as the season of war and valor can lend great prowess to the warrior in the field. However every warrior knows that when you push yourself to your limits, a price is paid afterwards in the crippling weakness that comes of stretching one's limits.
The Druid spends a blood and rolls normally. For the remainder of the scene, all of the Druid's base physical attributes are doubled. This effect doubles only the actual Attribute score itself, not including any powers or blood expenditures modifying it. However it does stack with other powers that boost attributes and blood expenditures and counts as a transformation effect for the purpose of how it stacks with blood expenditures and the cap of 10. For example a Druid with Strength 3, Dexterity 3, and Stamina 4 would gain +3 Strength, +3 Dexterity, and +4 Stamina that stack with all other expenditures and powers that boost the attributes.
The price of strength is future weakness though. For the remainder of the night that the Druid uses this power, all of his Physical Attributes are halved, rounding down to a minimum of 1, though they may still be raised with blood or other powers. Further uses of this power may not be attempted while suffering the power's cost.
Autumn: Autumn is the season of the harvest, the season of plenty. This aspect is shown as the Druid channeling these energies can dramatically increase the efficiency of her blood pool. However, a resource used too quickly is gone all too soon and the cost of using such a power is felt in the end.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally. For the remainder of the scene, each blood point the Druid spends counts as if he had spent 2 blood points, which may be allocated to anything the Druid wishes. For example, if a 9th generation Druid were to spend 2 blood points, he would gain 4 points that could be spent raising attributes, powering disciplines, healing, or any other normal use of blood.
The cost however comes at the end of the harvest when the resources have been overtaxed. For the remainder of the night the Druid uses this power, he gains the Thin Blood flaw. Further uses of this power may not be attempted while suffering the power's cost.
Winter: Winter is the season of death and decay. This power allows the Druid to channel all the destructive power of Winter through himself as a conduit to wreak terrible destruction on a hated foe. However channeling such power has a cost and the balance of the world must be maintained.
The Druid must touch his intended target to use this power requiring a successful Dexterity + Brawl check. The Druid then spends a blood and rolls normally. If the Druid succeeds on his check, his victim is sent into instant torpor regardless of current health levels. This torpor is considered damage torpor and lasts the normal amount of time based on the victim's Path rating.
Channeling such destruction has a terrible price though. The same energies rip through the Druid as they do through the target causing the Druid to take a number of health levels of unsoakable aggravated damage equal to 1 + the number of health levels the victim had remaining when the power was used. The force of this energy is spiritual in nature and channeled through the Druid's very soul, thus affecting him normally even while possessing another host. Wise Druids use this power very cautiously.
OOOOO The Great Cycle
Perhaps the most important aspect of Druidic practices is the concept of the Great Cycle. Everything comes in cycles; life and death, day and night, the passing of the Seasons. This final power of the Path of the Four Seasons exemplifies the end of each season as it passes into the next.
Spring: Spring is the season of health and renewal. However soon enough the children of Spring are the soldiers of Summer. This power captures a last vestige of Spring's renewal energies but moves it to a more martial end. This power allows the Druid to heal himself by channeling his wounds on the one who inflicted them.
This power may only be used in a scene where the Druid has taken wounds of some kind. The Druid must touch the target of this power which must be the one who inflicted his wounds, requiring a Dexterity + Brawl roll and spend a blood point and roll to activate the power normally. For each success gained, the Druid transfers one of the wounds he suffered at the hands of his victim upon his target, healing himself of those wounds in the process. This power affects any kind of damage, and the same kind of damage that was inflicted is suffered by the target. This can only affect those wounds that the target of the power inflicted upon the Druid and any successes gained in excess of the number of wounds suffered at the hands of the target are lost with no effect. This only affects wounds actually suffered, not those mitigated by soak.
Summer: Summer is the season of glorious battle, but as summer wanes even the greatest of battles end and bolstering effects fade away. This power grants the Druid one last burst of energy at the expense of his foes.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally, targeting one of his enemies. If he scores even a single success, all attributes that the target has currently increased by blood expenditures immediately return to their original levels. Furthermore, for ever success scored by the Druid, he may steal some of the lost energy from his opponent and increase one of his own physical attributes as if he had spent blood to raise it. This increase follows all the normal rules of spending blood to raise physical attributes.
Autumn: Autumn is the season of the harvest and plenty, but as Autumn turns to winter, the table grows bare and hunger spreads, requiring strong wills to survive. This power hits a vampire in the same way.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally. For a full week after this effect is cast, the target cannot spend blood for any reason. However in times of strife great strength of will is found. For all things that would normally cost blood, the victim may spend a corresponding amount of willpower instead.
Winter: Winter is the season of death and the end of all things. However as things fade, that is often when they cling to life the hardest. This power allows the Druid to ignore death itself, albeit for a very short time, before succumbing to the final rest.
This power may only be used reflexively after suffering a blow that would either send the Druid into torpor or bring them to final death. For a number of turns equal to the successes scored, the Druid may continue to act in any way he wishes. While in this deathless state he is immune to further damage and suffers no wound penalties. After the duration runs out, the Druid suffers the full effects of the strike that allowed him to activate this power, whether that sends him into torpor or has causes him to meet final death.
Viriditas
After the Roman Empire began to fail and contract, it abandoned its farthest flung colonies like Brittania, and thousands of legionairies were left behind with no way to return to the central empire. These Roman citizens, trapped without support in a foreign land, had to fend for themselves with hostile locals who remembered the scourge of the Roman armies. Captured and tortured, a single legionary named Cauis Crassus spent years among the Picti tribes, until at last, cursing and reviling his former people, he was accepted by the Picts. When the Roman civilization saw him again, he was changed; primal, driven, and a vampire of powerful blood. He brought with him the secret power of the wildmen beyond Hadrian's wall, and he turned on his previous fatherland to burn away Roman the lingering occupation with a hate only spite can make.
This path of Draoicht focuses the primal, natural life energy of the wood to grant the witch who uses it incredible resilience and recovery. It connects with the raw, life-giving power of blood that is the fundamental principle of vampiric vitae and unleashes it upon the body. While normal vampiric healing draws upon the power of the blood to physically repair some wound, this power calls uses the vitae to forge and maintain a connection to the primal principle of lifeforce while the power is active.
O Recovery
The witch can focus the power of his life blood to recover from damage on an ongoing basis, stretching the recovery out over the entire evening. Many witches use this power to efficiently heal from any wounds they may have suffered during the evening to awaken fresh and renewed the next sunset without wasting precious blood, while others use it to maintain their bodies from low grade injuries throughout a busy night.
System: Spend 1 blood to activate the power. Heal 1 lethal damage at the end of each scene or hour until the next dawn.
OO Regeneration
The power of the natural world is alien to the vampire body, and it takes great effort and a personal connection to draw it forth. While holding perfectly still in a meditative state, the witch may force his body to recover rapidly, healing one level of lethal damage every round as he pulls the natural power through his body to keep the power of his blood active and working through his body to heal it.
System: Heal 1 lethal per round so long as you are standing still taking no other action. Lasts until you take another action.
OOO Burst of Life
At this level of mastery, the witch can focus and store natural power inside his body, laying dormant in case of injury or harm. Spending a blood point and rolling to activate the power, the witch gains extra effective health levels of damage on and above his normal health levels as his body gains a certain resilience to damage and reflexive healing. As soon as his flesh is damaged by an attack, it automatically knits itself on that same action, even before additional damage can be delivered by subsequent actions or attacks. This power can only be activated once per scene. These health levels can only stop lethal or bashing damage, not Aggravated wounds.
OOOO Conduit
At this level of mastery, the power of the witch to draw in the power of the land is exceptionally powerful and stable. Once he invokes a connection to the land and its lifeforce, e can continue to draw forth natural energy for healing even as he moves and takes other actions as the power simply flows through his vampiric unlife like a hole in a pressurized channel. The power of the conduit of energy is so strong that the vampire may even heal Aggravated damage by standing perfectly still and spending a point of Willpower for each wound healed in this way.
OOOOO Healing Gift
Through this final barrier of mastery, the witch can call forth great gouts of primal power, multiplying his natural healing ability manifold. By concentrating but a moment, he can flood his body with power and restore it to its natural form at once. For every success rolled on the activation, the vampire immediately heals that many levels of Lethal or Bashing damage.
System: Spend 2 Blood and a WP and roll to activate. Instantly heal that number of successes in levels of Lethal or Bashing damage, extra successes will convert aggravated damage to lethal. This may recover lost health levels that are part of Burst of Life if used in the same scene.
The Witch Path
This path is a kind of sanguine witchery, with a wide array of strange powers. The odd disparity of its effects often confuses other Kindred; many who have never heard of the witches of Draoicht mistake each power of the Witch Path as evidence of a different parent Discipline. The witches have a reputation for knowing scores of bizarre Disciplines, when in fact their ilk has only one unique tradition of power. Like all good witches, of course, the druids are loathe to reveal such a secret to others; let their enemies - and allies - make their mistakes.
The supernatural powers of the witches have no single origin story. Some among the Old world druids claim that Draoicht is a kind of proto-discipline, from which other, more common paths have descended. Such witches believe other Kindred powers are derived from their own. More modern scholars have supposed that this Path's disparate powers are a result the feeding habits of the of its original druid progenitress, rumored to have feasted upon mortal witches and mages of all kinds. The blood of the witches who practice this power is now, theoretically, a blend of bizarre, magical ingredients.
One folk tale, passed down from sire to childe, claims that the witch's unique powers were drawn from the land itself - that the sacred mountains of Hibernia bled magical powers, and the first witches drank them up. Thus, this power represents a raw mixture of magic inherent in the lands that lay in the shadow of the dark forests and hills of the British Isles.
O Eye of Blood
It is commonly claimed in the folklore of the peasantry that witches were able to spy on people from miles away. Evil sorcerers would learn a person's secrets in this way, and use them to force good folk to do evil deeds. Bur first, the witch had to touch you or your belongings. This power lets a witch do just that. By applying a spot of own blood to the body or clothing of the subject, the witch is able to mystically watch him from afar. The witch must be able to touch the subject to cast her "bloody eye" on him, but just a fingerprint's worth of blood is necessary to activate this power. Once done, the witch's ability to perceive her subject is limited only by her own perceptiveness and mystic power.
The witch does not see through the subject's eyes or from the point of view of the blood she applies to him. Rather, she experiences "third-person" visions consisting of images, sounds, emotions and smells, like a kind of arcane telemetry. The sensations come to her in a surreal almost hallucinatory experience, not unlike a vision gained through the use of Auspex, but in real time.
System: Applying the eye requires touch and a blood point to be spent. To attempt to view the subject later requires another blood point and the player rolls Wits + Empathy, difficulty of the subject's Permanent Willpower. On a botch, the link is corrupted, and the character receives disturbing and terrifying images rather than a vision of the subject, and loses a point of Willpower in addition to wasting the blood to activate the power. On a successful roll, the character is able to perceive visions of the subject's whereabouts, and actions until the next sunset. She may actively "look in on" the subject with an instant action as many times as she likes during this power's duration. Whenever the subject experiences a substantial sensory change (such as going from a warm cottage into a chilly night or being physically or emotionally hurt), the character may attempt a reflexive Wits + Empathy roll at the same difficulty to receive a brief vision of the experience.
The number of successes achieved on the activation roll determines the number of miles the subject may travel from the character without breaking the mystic connection. Each successes extends the power's range by five miles, and five or more successes produces an unlimited duration. While the witch slumbers, visions of the subject come to her in dreams.
The visions received by the character may be a confusing mix of images, sounds, smells and emotional sensations. The character gains no special ability to perceive beyond her normal means with this power; the vision cannot be steered. While a sense of the subject's environment certainly comes across through the vision, the subject himself is always the primary focal point of the vision.
The character may take actions to discern details and spot hidden objects in a vision just as though she were there. If the character were looking in on a subject with a concealed weapon, for example, she may attempt a Perception + Alertness roll to notice it. The Storyteller may apply as much as a +3 difficulty when the character attempts to scrutinize objects or people other than the subject. If the character has Auspex, she may can even bring Heightened Senses and Aura Perception to bear on the subjects in the vision.
OO Witch-Cloak
Witches are known for their sometimes bizarre appearance and use of trickery to protect themselves. With this power, an old witch can disguise herself amid the weeds of an abandoned lot, vanish into a row of roadside trees or appear to change her shape. The witch has only a slight ability to control this power, however. Rather, it is a mystic effect that radiates from her own corpse to affect the eyes of others.
Note that this power does not actually change the witch's shape in any way. Instead, it plays with the senses of an onlooker. A witch may appear to transform from a tree into her normal form, when in fact she was simply standing near other trees. A witch may appear to have a wooden post in place of legs, when in fact she is simply wearing a brown skirt. The images perceived by the subject become more dramatic as the witch's proficiency with the Witch Path increases.
System: Cost 1 blood. No roll is necessary to activate this power. Rather, the Witch-Cloak allows the character to add her dots in the Witch Path to Stealth and Subterfuge dice pools to hide or disguise herself. Whereas a mundane disguise allows a character to pass herself off as someone else, this power allows the witch to pass herself off as something else. Note that this power cannot compensate for the character's clan flaws or inhumane appearance; a bestial witch may go so far as to disguise herself as a wolf, but cannot pass for a normal human. Likewise, the character's disguise cannot dramatically change her apparent size.
As a rule of thumb, a disguised witch does not seem more trustworthy or less monstrous unless she also uses an ability like Leadership to change her target's mind. This power only alters the subject's literal perceptions.
A witch augmenting her Stealth skill with the Witch-Cloak never appears to vanish using this power. Rather, she appears to be something else. A witch hiding in a ruined house might be mistaken for a man-sized patch of water damage to the wallpaper, while a witch sneaking across a playground might appear as a mass of blowing leaves.
The witch's control over this power is influenced by her Specialities. The Witch may combine her mystic prowess with other bonuses as well. The mad witches of folklore seemed to wear their "alternate forms" as capes on their backs or leaves in their hair. No doubt some of those witches were simply fooling the eyes of their subjects with this power.
OOO Witch's Gaze
This power is the witch's sanguine manifestation of the archetypal curse of a mad witch - the "evil eye." With just a look, the witch can curse a subject, dooming him to suffer a terrible setback, grievous injury or awful malady. The witch may inflict a particular curse upon the subject by proclaiming her intent for the subject to hear, or she may simply lay a bane upon him to attract bad luck.
System: This power costs 1 Willpower to activate. The player rolls Charisma + Intimidation, opposed by a Willpower roll, difficulty 6 for both.
If the roll is successful, the witch may attempt to curse one of the target's Abilities, or the target themselves. To curse a specific Ability, the witch must suggest the Ability to be cursed with a proclamation, for example "You rely too much on your guns, fool!" indicates the Firearms Ability, while "Damn your cherished tongue" might indicate Expression or Leadership, and the player must specify which Ability is intended to the Storyteller. The subject has no means of determining which Ability has been cursed other than the character's proclamation. For a number of occurrences equal to the net successes on the activation roll, the next time the character fails in a serious attempt to use the cursed Ability, he suffers a botch instead. The Storyteller is encouraged to discount actions specifically designed to "absorb" the curse, the subject may attempt such actions, but they should not trigger the curse's effect.
The duration of an Ability-specific curse depends on the witch's dice pool. The default duration for an Ability-specific curse lasts until the next sunset. Each +1 difficulty the witch voluntarily applies to her dice pool extends the curse by two more days, assuming she wins the contested action to invoke the curse.
If the character curses the subject in general, all actions taken by the subject are treated as if they scored one less success on all rolls for every Net success on the activation roll, to a minimum of Failure, rather than Botch for the rest of the scene. The general curse does not require a verbal proclamation.
OOOO Blood Minions
The penultimate power of the witch is perhaps the strangest. A witch with this power can transform her blood into supernatural animal servants that do her bidding. To onlookers, it appears as though birds, rats, or bugs crawl out from gashes in the vampire's flesh.
The animals created with this power are clearly unnatural, with empty sockets in place of eyes, blood-colored beaks or claws or some other horrific sign of their strange origin. These minions can travel any distance from the witch, who instinctively knows their location at all times. Though these creatures do not eat, sleep or think, they follow the will of the witch exactly. They attack her enemies, fetch objects for her and assist her in the use of other powers of the Witch Path.
Blood Minions appear to be made of flesh and bone, but are actually made up of something more akin to the ashy remains of burnt paper. If damaged, they crumble into ash. Unlike a vampire, these supernatural creature can move about during the day.
System: 1 or more Blood point
Dice Pool:
Strength + Animal Ken. If successful, the character is able to transform her Vitae into lifeless, animate Minion creatures. By spending an amount of Vitae equal to the blood points listed for the desired creature, the witch can create small birds, bats, ravens, rats, cats or even dogs and larger animals to do her bidding. The character can create any number of Minions, provided she has enough Vitae to account for the blood pool of all the animals created (in addition to the Vitae spent to activate this power). The character can only create animals using the amount of Vitae she can spend in one turn, based on her Generation. These creatures must be let out from the character's body, through a gash in the stomach, arm, or leg, for example, though this wound causes no harm to the character.
Minions created with this power can fly, bite, carry and perform any other actions an animal of the same type could. In addition, the witch can use the Eye of Blood power to perceive a Minion's surroundings over any distance and the Flight of the Warlock power to mystically transport herself to a Minion's location. A Blood Minion that successfully attacks a target can destroy itself to subject that target to the Eye of Blood power.
Blood Minions may take their own actions during a turn, but always act on the same Initiative as the character.
The creatures created with this power turn to ash at the next sunset or immediately upon taking any damage, whichever comes first. If the player scores 5 or more successes on the activation roll, the Minions have two days of life instead of one
OOOOO Flight of the Warlock
Witches in folklore are often attributed with an ability to fly. The druid witches that practice these powers do not have that ability, but they do have a mystic means of traversing the land. A witch with this power can instantly transport herself to the location of a Blood Minion created with her own Vitae. The vampire seems to vanish in a blink of the eye, leaving behind nothing but a chill patch of air and the scent of blood. At her destination, the witch's Minion explodes in ash as the vampire appears, perhaps misleading onlookers into thinking the witch was the animal Minion.
System: Cost 1 Willpower. Rolling Wits + Occult. If successful, the witch instantly arrives at the spot previously inhabited by her Blood Minion. On a botch, the minion is destroyed and the willpower is wasted, leaving the witch unable to use this power for the rest of the scene. If the witch attempts to transport herself to a space in which she cannot fit, this power automatically fails. The difficulty of this power raises by 1 for every two miles between the character and her target.
(I am just making sure it is visible here so people don't think we sudden-deleted anything)
Draiocht
Draiocht is a magic of nature and the blood working together. The druids of the Gangrel line kept it hidden away for centuries after the Christian religion overtook much of their homeland and drove out the pagan ways. In many ways, teaching draiocht is teaching someone to find themselves within the balance of nature; whether that makes a gangrel a god of fate or a servant of the natural world is indeterminable until the way is grasped. A person teaches the ways of the magic first, and the manifestations are determined by the learner. Afterwards, only true understanding of one's own path can be shared with another.
System:
Draiocht is unique in how it is taught and learned. Like all blood magic, it requires some level of instruction and training to use correctly, and is thus subject to the normal "Blood Magic learning time" restriction. However, unlike other blood magics, your first and Primary Path of Draiocht blossoms from within you, not from your teacher. The teacher simply plants the seed - teaching you Draiocht as a Discipline, not a specific Path, and as you gain levels of the Draiocht discipline, your Primary path manifests itself.
Druids may only ever teach their Primary path of Draiocht to another practictioner, and teach the discipline itself to others, often creating a new Path in the process. It is not uncommon for the master to become the student and his new pupil to teach him his unique manifestation of the powers of Draiocht. The Path which becomes the Primary path for a new initiate is personal in nature, and is a unique representation of the sleeping potential of that individual. The list of Paths are assigned by the character's Nature, and the most common Path for a given Nature is listed first, though there are also two other options which are less common (but chosen by the player as befits their character's personality, and perhaps Demeanor).
Draoicht's unique structure has always promoted a community ot sharing and learning, but masters have also always been very selective to only teach the secret magics to those they trust implicitly, so that greed does not spill the power over to everyone and destroy the unique power of their art.
Paths
Path of the Earth's Gifts
Path of the Four Seasons
The Witch Path
Viriditas
Rego Mantem
Elemental Mastery (Thaum)
The Green Path (Thaum)
The Hearth Path (Thaum)
Movement of the Mind (Thaum)
Neptune's Might (Thaum)
Oneiromancy (Thaum)
Prey on the Soul's Fear (Thaum)
Path of Curses (Thaum)
Path of Mars (Thaum)
Path of the Shadow World (Sielanic Thaum)
Way of Passage (Thaum)
Weather Control (Thaum)
Rituals
Spectral Mask 1st (Dark Thaum)
Sign of the Moon 2nd (Dark Thaum)
Exorcise Fever 1st (Dur-An-Ki)
Bind the Heavens 2nd (Dur-An-Ki)
Enlightenment 1st (Koldunic Sorcery)
Hospitality 1st (Koldunic Sorcery)
Sentinels of the Haven 3rd (Koldunic Sorcery)
Refuge of the Thirsty Grave 4th (Koldunic Sorcery)
Nemesis of the Living Earth 5th (Koldunic Sorcery)
Shroud of Day 2nd (Nahuallotl)
Water Walking 1st (Sadhanna)
Bind the Accusing Tongue 1st (Thaum)
Communicate With Kindred Sire 1st (Thaum)
Defense of the Sacred Haven 1st (Thaum)
Deflection of Wooden Doom 1st (Thaum)
Domino of Life 1st (Thaum)
Incantation of the Shepherd 1st (Thaum)
Purify Blood 1st (Thaum)
Purity of Flesh 1st (Thaum)
Sense the Mystical 1st (Thaum)
Wake WIth Evening's Freshness 1st (Thaum)
Burning Blade 2nd (Thaum)
Donning the Mask of Shadows 2nd (Thaum)
Extinguish 2nd (Thaum)
Eyes of the Night Hawk 2nd (Thaum)
Impassible Trail 2nd (Thaum)
Recure of the Homeland 2nd (Thaum)
Steps of the Terrified 2nd (Thaum)
Ward Versus Ghouls 2nd (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Ghouls 2nd (Thaum)
A Touch of Nightshade 3rd (Thaum)
Awakening the Verdant Thorn 3rd (Thaum)
Bind the Familiar 3rd (Thaum)
Cleansing the Flesh 3rd (Thaum)
Draught of Earth's Blood 3rd (Thaum)
Friend of the Trees 3rd (Thaum)
Incorporeal Passage 3rd (Thaum)
Ward Versus Fae 3rd (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Fae 3rd (Thaum
Ward Versus Lupines 3rd (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Lupines 3rd (Thaum)
Bone of Lies 4th (Thaum)
Infirm Inert 4th (Thaum)
Puissant Shield 4th (Thaum)
Scry 4th (Thaum)
Shadowgate 4th (Thaum)
Soul of the Land 4th (Sielanic Thaum)
Ward Versus Kindred 4th (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Kindred 4th (Thaum)
Severed Hand 5th (Thaum)
Stone of True Form 5th (Thaum)
Stone Slumber 5th (Thaum)
Umbral Walk 5th (Thaum)
Ward Versus Demons 5th (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Demons 5th (Thaum)
Ward Versus Ghosts 5th (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Ghosts 5th (Thaum)
Ward Versus Spirits 5th (Thaum)
Warding Circle Versus Spirits 5th (Thaum)
Primary Path by Nature
1st = Typical Primary Path
2nd & 3rd = Other acceptable Primary Paths
Architect: Path of Earth's Gifts, The Hearth Path, Weather Control
Autocrat: Rego Mantem, Prey on Soul's Fear, Path of the Shadow World
Bon Vivant: The Green Path, Path of the Four Seasons, Movement of the Mind
Bravo: Prey on the Soul's Fear, Viriditas, Rego Mantem
Capitalist: Rego Mantem, Elemental Mastery, Path of the Four Seasons
Caregiver: Weather Control, The Green Path, Path of the Earth's Gifts
Celebrant: Path of the Four Seasons, The Witch Path, Green Path
Chameleon: The Witch Path, Rego Mantem, Elemental Mastery
Child: Path of Curses, Weather Control, Movement of the Mind
Competitor: Viriditas, Prey on Soul's Fear, Neptune's Might
Conformist: Path of the Four Seasons, The Witch Path, Weather Control
Conniver: Oneiromancy, Rego Mantem, Path of Curses
Creep Show: The Witch Path, Path of Curses, Path of Earth's Gifts
Curmudgeon: Path of the Four Seasons, Path of Curses, The Witch Path
Dabbler: Path of the Four Seasons, Green Path, Movement of the Mind
Defender: Path of Mars, Viriditas, and Elemental Mastery.
Deviant: The Witch Path, Path of the Shadow World, Prey on Soul's Fear
Director: Rego Mantem, Elemental Mastery, Path of the Shadow World
Enigma: The Witch Path, Oneiromancy, Elemental Mastery
Eye of the Storm: Neptune's Might, Path of Earth's Gifts, The Hearth Path
Fanatic: Path of the Four Seasons, Path of The Earth's Gifts, Viriditas
Gallant: The Witch Path, Path of the Earth's Gifts, The Green Path
Guru: Oneiromancy, Path of the Shadow World, Rego Mantem
Idealist: Path of the Earth's Gifts, Neptune's Might, Path of the Four Seasons
Judge: Path of the Shadow World, Rego Mantem, Path of Curses
Loner: Elemental Mastery, The Witch Path, Viriditas
Martyr: Viriditas, Path of the Four Seasons, Oneiromancy
Masochist: Viriditas, Path of Mars, Path of the Four Seasons
Monster: The Witch Path, Prey on Soul's Fear, Path of Curses
Pedagogue: Oneiromancy, Path of the Four Seasons, Elemental Mastery
Penitent: The Green Path, Path of the Earth's Gifts, Way of Passage
Perfectionist: Path of the Earth's Gifts, Rego Mantem, Weather Control
Rebel: The Witch Path, Way of Passage, Movement of the Mind
Rogue: Movement of the Mind, Viriditas, The Hearth Path
Sadist: Path of Curses, Prey on Soul's Fear, Path of the Shadow World
Scientist: Rego Mantem, Elemental Mastery, Path of the Four Seasons
Sociopath: Path of the Shadow World, Elemental Mastery, Path of Mars
Soldier: Path of Mars, Viriditas, Way of Passage
Survivor: The Hearth Path, Elemental Mastery, Oneiromancy
Thrill-Seeker: Viriditas, Movement of the Mind, Path of the Four Seasons
Traditionalist: Path of the Four Seasons, Rego Mantem, Weather Control
Trickster: Elemental Mastery, The Witch Path, The Green Path
Visionary: Oneiromancy, Path of the Four Seasons, Rego Mantem
Path of the Earth's Gifts
This is one of the oldest paths of Draiocht. Ancient Lore tells that the old Gods who created the world imprinted some of themselves into their creation, as a mother might imprint on her child. This path taps that primal connection between the natural world and the aspects that created it, substituting the Druid for the maker in this relationship, causing the world to react with favor to him, and allow him some control to reshape the natural world to suit his own needs. This Path is often unusual in its versatility, some powers having more than one aspect or way that they can be used. In such cases, each aspect is to be treated as a separate power that requires a separate roll and blood expenditure to activate.
O Daghda's Bounty
The earth holds many gifts, old and new. There are secrets buried beneath the soil that would amaze even the most avaristic of treasure hunters. This art allows the user to find, unearth, and store such bounties within the earth.
System: The player spends a blood point which must actually be spilled on a patch of natural earth or stone of sufficient size to be considered part of the natural world (a park in a city would count, but a patch of dirt with a tree in the sidewalk would not). This power can be used in one of three ways: to find hidden bounty, to unearth something buried, or to sink something in the earth and hide it away. Each use of this power is a separate activation and requires a separate roll and blood expenditure.
To learn the location of something buried the vampire goes into a trance as her mind follows the path of the blood as it seeps in tot he ground and spreads out from there. The blood disperses through the earth very quickly, giving the vampire an accurate mental image of the subterranean landscape in a radius of one mile per success. This image includes the presence of material contained within the earth, the location of anything buried, and the general layout of any subterranean structure or cave network. This process takes one turn per success.
To unearth what is buried, the vampire must be within 100 feet laterally of the thing she wishes to raise. To unearth an object the vampire must first know the outer dimensions and depth of the object, whether through a previous application of this power or other means. The earth will ripple and the object will rise to the surface, whole and intact without disturbing the earth around it. The size and depth of the object to be unearthed depends on the successes scored:
Successes Depth Size of Object
1 success 5 ft a brick
2 successes 8 ft a person
3 successes 15 ft a car
4 successes 30 ft a city bus
5 successes 50 ft a family house
6+ successes +100 ft per success a castle
The Druid must choose and apply her successes to either depth or the size of the object, so a Druid wishing to unearth something the size of a car that was buried 15 ft down would need 6 successes. Objects can only be unearthed through this power if they are buried in natural earth and rock. This power cannot affect concrete, asphalt, or any other manmade material. If used on a kindred melded with the earth or stone, this power will disturb the Earth Meld, causing the effects described in the Protean discipline.
To bury an object in the ground, the same rules and chart apply as for unearthing. The object to be buried must rest upon natural earth or stone before being interred and can only be buried in a place that physically has enough room for it.
Raising or burying an object within the earth is not an instantaneous process. The object will rise or sink at a rate of only three feet per turn (one foot per second). The Druid must continue to concentrate on the process for the entire duration to successfully raise or bury an object. If used in combat, an enemy targeted with this power and caused to sink will sink 3 feet into the ground, but will easily be able to extract himself from the now soft earth with a Strength roll (difficulty 5). If he fails to extract himself, and the Druid continues to concentrate on sinking him, the difficulty to extract himself rises to 8. If a target sinks for 3 or more turns into the earth, then he must physically dig his way back to the surface, succeeding a Strength roll at difficulty 9 for every 10 feet he is buried.
OO Eyes of Flidais
This power calls upon the favor of Flidais, huntress of the great forests and mistress of the wild beasts. With an invocation and a sacrifice of blood, this power allows the Druid to see through the eyes of the beasts of the forest far and wide.
System: The player must spend a blood point and make the usual Willpower roll to activate this power. This power may be used in two ways. It may be used on a single animal of any kind, allowing the Druid to share its senses wherever it goes. The Druid may shift his senses from either the animal or his own as often as he wishes at any time while using this power. He may even attempt to perceive both at the same time, although the distraction this creates imposes a +2 difficulty on all actions while attempting to do so. This power carries no control over the animal in question; the Druid is merely a passive observer. However this power is often used in conjunction with the Animalism discipline to create a very effective spy. If the Druid possesses the Animalism Discipline, he may communicate telepathically with the animal in question at any time during the duration of this power, and even use any power of Animalism on that animal regardless of distance. This application of the power lasts until sunrise.
This power may also be used to grant the Druid a general awareness of an area around him by tapping into an amalgamation of the vision of all the animals in his immediate vicinity. If there are at least 3 animals of any kind in the Druid's vicinity when activating this application of the power, he gains -2 difficulty on all Perception rolls, does not suffer from multiple opponent penalties in combat, and all powers that require eye contact are at +3 difficulty due to the division of his senses. These animals must be close enough to accurately perceive the scene for this power to work. A Druid could not use this power by keeping some rats in his pockets. This application of the power lasts for the scene.
OOO Dryad's Highway
All the world is connected by the roots of the great trees. The Druids understand that interconnected nature of the world to such a degree that they can literally travel along that web, appearing to disappear into one tree and stepping out of another one miles away.
System: The player spends a blood point and makes the usual Willpower roll to enter the Dryad's Highway. The Druid must physically step into a tree of sufficient size to completely encompass him. Upon successfully making this roll, the Druid gains a sense of the general location of all trees within range and may step out of any of them that is also large enough to fully encompass him. The range of this power is determined by the successes scored on the Willpower roll. Entering one tree and exiting another is part of the same action; a Druid cannot simply sit within the Highway.
Successes Distance
1 success 500 feet
2 successes Half a mile
3 successes 5 miles
4 successes 20 miles
5 success 50 miles
6+ successes +50 more miles per success
The Dryad's Highway is not physically part of this world. When traveling it, the Druid will appear to all senses both mundane and mystical to have vanished completely from his present location, only to reappear in the new one when he reenters the world. It is noted that although the Druid is aware of the general location of the tree he chooses to exit from, he gains no insight into the surrounding area or anything else currently happening around it in the material world.
There have been Druids who have spoken of remaining in the Highway or even using it to visit other worlds, speaking of the Highway by its older and greater feared name of the Faerie Trods or the Rainbow Run. Of those who have tried, nearly all were never heard from again, and the few who did return, came back changed and hopelessly mad.
A failure on this roll means that the Druid does not enter the first tree at all, failing to open the door to the Highway. A botch can eject the character from a random tree anywhere in the world, or even leave them trapped within the Highway or ejected into the other worlds touched by this path.
OOOO Hand of Govannon
With this power, the invokes the power of Govannon who sculpted the Earth to reshape the earth around himself to suit his needs. With a wave of his hand and an invocation of will he can raise earthen walls to block assailants, make the ground shift and shake beneath the feet of opponents, or even raise spikes of rock from the ground to attack.
System: The player spends a blood point and makes the usual Willpower roll to activate this power for a scene. Once so controlled, the earth can be used in combat to attack, defend and hinder, or out of combat to reshape terrain. This power may only be used on natural earth and stone. Using each of the maneuvers listed below requires the expenditure of a Willpower point.
To attack, the Druid may target a number of opponents equal to his successes on the casting roll. For each spike, the Druid rolls a Wits + Occult roll to hit with carry over damage as normal. The spikes have a base damage of the Druid's unmodified Stamina + Draiocht rating. The spikes are large enough that only one can hit a single target per attack. All targets must be standing on natural earth or stone to be affected.
To defend, the Druid simply activates the power to call forth a wall between himself and an oncoming attack. The Druid's successes on the initial activation roll subtract directly from the damage of the physical attack to be blocked. This application of the power can be aborted to as a defensive action. After being used, the wall remains, granting +2 difficulty cover penalties against future attacks from the same direction. All walls summoned with this power crash back to earth as though they were never there after 1 turn per success.
To hinder opponents, the Druid can cause the earth around him to heave and quake. This inflicts a +2 difficulty to all actions for those standing within 10ft per success. The Druid himself is immune to the penalty. This effect lasts a number of rounds equal to the Druid's Draiocht rating.
Outside of combat this power can be used to reshape natural earth and stone in any way the Druid can imagine. The Druid can shape up to 10 cubic feet of earth and stone per success with each casting of this effect. The final shape must be independently stable and viable or the structure will collapse. At Storyteller discretion, a Wits + Crafts check may be required to shape anything particularly complex.
OOOOO Aspect of Cernunnos
This final power of this path is unique in that it does not channel the natural world around the Druid, but rather taps into the primal creature within every Cainite, the Beast. This power opens the Beast to the raw power of the old Hunt, reminding the vampire of the nights when the great forests covered the earth, and all were subject to the laws of the hunt, the laws of nature, red in tooth and claw. This power reawakens the buried memory of the beast and channels through that predator to call a Wild Hunt of old.
System: This power may only be evoked in a natural setting of sufficient size to be considered a primal place. The Storyteller will always be the final arbiter on whether or not an area is sufficient but the guideline should be that a large park in a city should count, but a small clump of trees does not.
The Druid lets out a primal howl as he either spits or flings blood onto the target who will become the Prey of of the Wild Hunt. The player spends a blood point and makes the usual Willpower roll. Once so marked, the Prey instinctively knows that he has been marked as Prey and all the natural world has turned against him. If successful, all the natural world knows the target as Prey. All of the predatory beasts within a ten mile radius are called to the Hunt and will unerringly track the Prey and seek to attack and bring him down. For the duration of the Hunt, all such beasts gain +1 to each physical attribute.
The Druid himself upon activating this power appears to vanish on the spot as he melds his body and soul with the natural world. Over the next 5 minutes, he assumes the mantle of Cernunnos the Divine Aspect of Nature Red in Tooth and Claw. When he reappears 5 minutes later in the same spot, he stands over 10 feet tall, granting him an extra 3 Bruised Health Levels and 10 extra dots to distribute among his Physical and Mental Attributes. He grows silvery white stag's horns from his forehead to mark him as the Master of the Hunt, and while so marked, no other predator, including Lupines, will be able to challenge his Authority. This transformation effect takes a full five minutes during which the Druid may take no other actions. During this time the Druid exists outside the physical world and cannot affect or be affected by any other effect.
If the Prey runs, all the beasts affected by this power will attempt to run down the Prey, harrying and harassing him until the Master of the Hunt arrives. They will attempt to render the Prey to a Crippled state and surround him attempting to prevent escape. However the beasts will not attempt to strike the killing blow, though this may occur by accident. Their goal is to weaken the Prey for the Master of the Hunt. If the Prey is not attempting to escape, the beasts will take no action against him. If the Prey is running it is important to remember the wound penalties that apply to movement as the animals wound and harry the Prey, consuming his resources before the Master of the Hunt arrives. If the Prey stands his ground, the beasts will circle around and snarl and growl, but will not attack unless he attempts to flee.
Once the transformation is complete and the Druid reappears transformed, the Druid may unerringly track the Prey, always aware of his precise location, piercing all attempts at illusion or stealth. All attempts to use any power to conceal the Prey's location must be of higher level than the Druid's Draiocht rating or automatically fail. However the bargain struck with the natural world for the use of this power compels the Druid to follow the Laws of the Hunt in this chase. The Hunt is a physical thing, a contest of strength and tooth and claw. As such, for the duration of the hunt, no discipline classified as Mystical (Blood Magic, Obtenebration, Chimerstry, etc.) may be used or the Hunt is immediately forfeited and the effect ended.
As impossible as it seems, the Prey does have a chance in every Hunt. The Laws of the Wild hold no sway in the dominions of Man. The Hunt will only end with the sun's rise or the moment the Prey flees inside any man-made structure. The Prey will instinctively know this the moment that he is declared Prey and will get his chance to run. A manmade structure is only sufficient if it can be considered a permanent structure (a hut would count but a tent would not) and was already built before the Hunt was called.
The Path of the Four Seasons
This is one of the oldest paths of magic, being based on the core principles of the Druidic faith and developed alongside the Mages of the Old Faith Fellowship. The cycle of the world affects all things as the seasons turn. Each season brings with it aspects of life and very different energies. By channeling these aspects of the cycle, the Druid may exemplify the current place in the cycle in connection with the the resonating magic to produce great effects that match the current season. With Spring comes rebirth, renewal and new life. With Summer comes strength, good health and morale. With Autumn comes aging, and weakness, but also plenty and the harvest. With Winter comes cold and death.
Each power of the Path of the Four Seasons is not a distinctive power in itself. Rather each level exemplifies one of the key principles of Druidic magic that all initiates are taught. The specific effect that is invoked when a power is used depends upon the current season at the time of the casting. This makes this path incredibly versatile if used by the patient and those who understand the flow of the cycle, while rather irritating to younger practitioners who think only of immediate needs.
O Season's Watch
The divination of secrets runs through all things. As all things in the natural world are connected through the cycle of life, so may a Druid divine their secrets simply by looking in the right places. The aspects of this power are all about looking for the secrets sympathetic to each season.
Spring: Spring is the season of rebirth and change, but this is not always beneficent. Change bears the marks of deception and disguise as well as renewal. But no matter how well one wishes to disguise themselves, echoes of their true self are always there somewhere. With this power the Druid may attempt to see past a disguise or illusion to the truth behind the mask. The Druid must look at a person or object they believe to carry a disguise and activate this power. Even one success scored on the activation roll will tell the Druid whether or not the subject of the power is disguised in any way. This however gives no direct knowledge of what lies behind the disguise.
Summer: Summer is the season of passion and emotions flaring. With this power, the Druid may glean the nature and source of a subject's emotional state, and even whether or not that state is natural or inflicted.
The Druid looks at the subject and rolls normally to activate this power. The information gained by this power is based on successes scored as per the following chart.
1 success: Subject's primary emotion
2 successes: Subject's secondary emotion
3 successes: Origin and target of subject's emotions. This determines for whom the subject feels each emotion revealed and whether or not that emotion is natural to them or inflicted by some artificial power.
4 successes: Perceived cause of subject's current emotional state. This reveals the specific power used to inflict an artificial emotion upon the subject (though not the user of that power) or if a naturally occurring emotion, reveals what the subject believes is the originating cause of the emotion present.
5+ successes: Actual cause of the subject's current emotional state. This reveals the user of any artificial power used to alter the subject's emotional state, as well as the circumstances under which said power was used. If the emotional state is natural, then this reveals the true cause of that emotion, even if it is unknown to the subject (such as a shadowy hand that manipulated these feelings while disguised as something else).
Autumn: Autumn is the season of age and wisdom, the season of plans come to fruition. The Druid with this power may look into the plans of another and determine their true plans, unmasked by deception.
The Druid makes the usual roll and activates this power for a scene. During that time he may attempt a Perception + Politics roll (difficulty equal to the subject's current willpower) to divine the plan and end goal behind any action he sees being taken. He may see a rival speaking to the prince and determine just how that step fits into the plans of his rival. This aspect may only be used to determine the plans of actions in progress before the Druid. One or two successes reveal the end goal of the plan, 3 or 4 reveal how this step is important, while 5 or more reveal the plan in its entirety.
Should combat break out during a scene that the Druid has activated this power, it has another effect, allowing the Druid to see the plans and actions of all others involved in the combat before they happen. The Druid saves his declaration of action until after everyone else has declared theirs, although still acts at the usual place in the initiative order.
Winter: Winter is the season of death and finality. The Druid with this power can determine just how close someone is to death, as well as spotting those who have passed beyond the veil such as ghosts or those who have stepped outside of the cycle whether by suspending their aging such as vampires and ghouls or by not being subject to time at all such as Fae.
The Druid rolls normally and this power activates for a scene. While this power is activated, the Druid sees the world overlaid with a dreary and deathlike pallor, the flaws in everything coming to the forefront. This allows the Druid to see exactly how wounded anyone he may look at is, and determine the type of damage (bashing, lethal, or aggravated) of those wounds. The Druid may also determine the exact age of anyone he sees, as well as if that creature is part of the cycle or not and how they have been removed from the cycle if they have. This will unerringly spot vampires, ghouls and changelings. Further the Druid may sense the presence of Wraiths as if he possessed the Medium merit, though he may not truly see them.
OO Force of Nature
The power of the Seasons is not only a passive event. The Druids understand the truly potent power behind the changing of the Seasons and know that to harness that power in its raw form to strike at those who would oppose the Druid's power. Each Season also has an elemental association that comes to the forefront when this power is called upon.
Spring: The Winds of Spring blow fiercely and bring with them the change and rebirth of the age. This power channels those winds in their aspect of force to summon a vicious whirlwind, trapping the target within.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally and sends the winds to envelop his target. The target is immediately surrounded by a raging whirlwind, imprisoning him and keeping him from taking other actions. While in the whirlwind, the victim cannot move or take any physical action save attempting to break through the winds. Any mental actions the victim would take suffer +2 difficulty due to distraction. The whirlwind kicks up enough dust and debris that line of sight is broken both to and from the victim. To break out of the whirlwind requires a Feat of Strength roll of 5 + the successes scored on the casting roll. Should anyone outside the whirlwind approach within two yards, they must make a reflexive Strength + Athletics roll (difficulty 8) or be swept up in the raging winds, subject to the same penalties as the victim. This power lasts for one turn per success scored on the casting.
Summer: The passions of Summer can bolster, but the sun's fires burn hottest in this season. This power channels that very solar fire, scorching the earth and blasting the Druid's enemies to ruin.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally. Once activated, the Druid is surrounded by a corona of white flame that carries no heat until it is discharged. Any vampire attempting to approach the Druid with this power active must test for Rotschreck at difficulty 6. Any vampire attempting to strike the Druid with this power active must test for Rotschreck at difficulty 8.
To discharge a bolt of flame is a physical action, requiring the Druid to make a Dexterity + Alertness test to hit his target. This roll can be dodged normally and grants carryover successes like any other ranged attack. The bolt inflicts a base amount of aggravated damage dice equal to the Druid's mastery of the Path of the Four Seasons. Discharging the bolt removes the flame aura. This power will last for one scene or until discharged.
Autumn: The Autumn is the season of the harvest, of the bounties of the Earth. But the Earth can take as well as give. This power channels the destructive power of earth upon a victim, causing each of their steps to sink into a churning sinkhole beneath their feet.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally to curse his victim with earth. With each step, the victim's foot sinks about a foot into the ground as the earth churns beneath him, hampering all action and movement. A victim affected by this power halves all dice pools for physical action, loses the automatic movement ability and has his active movement reduced to 5 + Strength in yards. This power lasts for one turn per success on the activation roll.
Winter: Winter is the season of loss and hardship, of decay and death. It may seem odd that this season is exemplified by the element of Water which gives life, but what is given may be taken away. The winter winds blow and blood with water freezes and cracks. This power causes the blood in its victim to freeze in the veins.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally to freeze his victim's blood. If the victim is mortal, this inflicts one level of lethal damage per success that cannot be soaked with armor or any physical defense. Against a vampire, this power causes the victim anguish when he tries to spend blood. For one turn per success after this effect is cast, for each blood point he spends, he takes an unsoakable level of lethal damage.
OOO Season's Ward
The power of the Seasons is ever present and the Druid knows how to channel that energy to protect as well as attack.
Spring: Spring's connection to the winds is shown here as the Druid conjures a vortex of raging winds around himself, deflecting attacks from even the most capable assailant.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally to conjure the vortex. For the remainder of the scene, all melee attacks against him suffer a +2 difficulty as the blows are diverted off course. The true power of this effect is shown though against ranged attacks which automatically fail against him as the projectiles are knocked hopelessly off course. As a physical defense this only applies to physical based ranged attacks such as a gun or thrown weapon. The winds have no power to stop mystical effects.
Summer: Summer is the season of war and passion, and the ward associated with it is similarly militant. A Druid invoking the ward of summer's skin thickens, turning even the deadliest blows aside.
The player spends a blood and rolls normally. For the remainder of the scene, the Druid has -2 difficulty on all soak rolls vs. any kind of damage.
Autumn: Autumn as the season of mysticism and magic, when channeled defensively carries a potent ward against such practices. The Druid need only know that they are the target of a mystical assault of some kind and invoke this power to weaken or even stop the effect entirely.
This power can only be used when the Druid is specifically targeted with a power. The Druid then spends a blood and rolls normally. Any successes the Druid gains on this roll are subtracted from the successes of the power that was targeting the Druid. This can only be used if the Druid is aware of the power that is targeting him, possibly requiring a Perception + Occult roll for subtle effects. This power takes an action in combat, though it may be aborted to as a defensive action. This power cannot cause the target to botch, only fail.
Winter: The cold of Winter weakens and kills those unprepared for its trials. Those who have learned to channel winter's harsh energies however may use that very aspect to weaken a vampire's greatest banes. The Druid using this power greatly reduces the threat of fire as winter's energies permeating his body snuff the fiercest blaze down to that of a tiny spark, and the sun at its weakest in the winter is reduced to a barely noticeable glow.
The Druid spends a blood and rolls normally. For a number of turns equal to the successes scored, all damage from fire and sunlight is treated as Bashing damage.
OOOO Season's Balance
The theme of balance runs at the heart of Druidic practices. For any great effect there must be an equally great price to be payed. To give life to the crops, a sacrifice of life is called for. Each of the aspects of Season's Balance show this as their powerful temporary effects have a cost that must be paid.
Spring: Spring is the season of regeneration and renewal, as new life energy floods the earth. Tapping into this flood of energy, the Druid gains great capacity for regeneration.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally to establish the connection to the Spring flood of energy. For the next hour, the Druid will automatically regenerate one blood point and one Willpower point every 2 rounds (or minute out of combat). This cannot increase either pool beyond their maximum, but allows the Druid to consistently remain at full resources.
However the price of such a flood of energy is felt afterwards. The Beast is a greedy thing and grows used to the flood of energy and forces the Druid to feed its gluttony. For a full week after using this power (including the beginning of the next game session up until the time the power was used), any time the Druid feeds, he must make a Self-Control/Instinct roll at difficulty 10 to avoid draining the victim dry, and diablerizing the victim if a kindred. If he is forcibly prevented from draining his victim, the Druid will immediately enter frenzy. For the next week, the Druid must feed Brutally.
Summer: Summer as the season of war and valor can lend great prowess to the warrior in the field. However every warrior knows that when you push yourself to your limits, a price is paid afterwards in the crippling weakness that comes of stretching one's limits.
The Druid spends a blood and rolls normally. For the remainder of the scene, all of the Druid's base physical attributes are doubled. This effect doubles only the actual Attribute score itself, not including any powers or blood expenditures modifying it. However it does stack with other powers that boost attributes and blood expenditures and counts as a transformation effect for the purpose of how it stacks with blood expenditures and the cap of 10. For example a Druid with Strength 3, Dexterity 3, and Stamina 4 would gain +3 Strength, +3 Dexterity, and +4 Stamina that stack with all other expenditures and powers that boost the attributes.
The price of strength is future weakness though. For the remainder of the night that the Druid uses this power, all of his Physical Attributes are halved, rounding down to a minimum of 1, though they may still be raised with blood or other powers. Further uses of this power may not be attempted while suffering the power's cost.
Autumn: Autumn is the season of the harvest, the season of plenty. This aspect is shown as the Druid channeling these energies can dramatically increase the efficiency of her blood pool. However, a resource used too quickly is gone all too soon and the cost of using such a power is felt in the end.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally. For the remainder of the scene, each blood point the Druid spends counts as if he had spent 2 blood points, which may be allocated to anything the Druid wishes. For example, if a 9th generation Druid were to spend 2 blood points, he would gain 4 points that could be spent raising attributes, powering disciplines, healing, or any other normal use of blood.
The cost however comes at the end of the harvest when the resources have been overtaxed. For the remainder of the night the Druid uses this power, he gains the Thin Blood flaw. Further uses of this power may not be attempted while suffering the power's cost.
Winter: Winter is the season of death and decay. This power allows the Druid to channel all the destructive power of Winter through himself as a conduit to wreak terrible destruction on a hated foe. However channeling such power has a cost and the balance of the world must be maintained.
The Druid must touch his intended target to use this power requiring a successful Dexterity + Brawl check. The Druid then spends a blood and rolls normally. If the Druid succeeds on his check, his victim is sent into instant torpor regardless of current health levels. This torpor is considered damage torpor and lasts the normal amount of time based on the victim's Path rating.
Channeling such destruction has a terrible price though. The same energies rip through the Druid as they do through the target causing the Druid to take a number of health levels of unsoakable aggravated damage equal to 1 + the number of health levels the victim had remaining when the power was used. The force of this energy is spiritual in nature and channeled through the Druid's very soul, thus affecting him normally even while possessing another host. Wise Druids use this power very cautiously.
OOOOO The Great Cycle
Perhaps the most important aspect of Druidic practices is the concept of the Great Cycle. Everything comes in cycles; life and death, day and night, the passing of the Seasons. This final power of the Path of the Four Seasons exemplifies the end of each season as it passes into the next.
Spring: Spring is the season of health and renewal. However soon enough the children of Spring are the soldiers of Summer. This power captures a last vestige of Spring's renewal energies but moves it to a more martial end. This power allows the Druid to heal himself by channeling his wounds on the one who inflicted them.
This power may only be used in a scene where the Druid has taken wounds of some kind. The Druid must touch the target of this power which must be the one who inflicted his wounds, requiring a Dexterity + Brawl roll and spend a blood point and roll to activate the power normally. For each success gained, the Druid transfers one of the wounds he suffered at the hands of his victim upon his target, healing himself of those wounds in the process. This power affects any kind of damage, and the same kind of damage that was inflicted is suffered by the target. This can only affect those wounds that the target of the power inflicted upon the Druid and any successes gained in excess of the number of wounds suffered at the hands of the target are lost with no effect. This only affects wounds actually suffered, not those mitigated by soak.
Summer: Summer is the season of glorious battle, but as summer wanes even the greatest of battles end and bolstering effects fade away. This power grants the Druid one last burst of energy at the expense of his foes.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally, targeting one of his enemies. If he scores even a single success, all attributes that the target has currently increased by blood expenditures immediately return to their original levels. Furthermore, for ever success scored by the Druid, he may steal some of the lost energy from his opponent and increase one of his own physical attributes as if he had spent blood to raise it. This increase follows all the normal rules of spending blood to raise physical attributes.
Autumn: Autumn is the season of the harvest and plenty, but as Autumn turns to winter, the table grows bare and hunger spreads, requiring strong wills to survive. This power hits a vampire in the same way.
The Druid spends a blood point and rolls normally. For a full week after this effect is cast, the target cannot spend blood for any reason. However in times of strife great strength of will is found. For all things that would normally cost blood, the victim may spend a corresponding amount of willpower instead.
Winter: Winter is the season of death and the end of all things. However as things fade, that is often when they cling to life the hardest. This power allows the Druid to ignore death itself, albeit for a very short time, before succumbing to the final rest.
This power may only be used reflexively after suffering a blow that would either send the Druid into torpor or bring them to final death. For a number of turns equal to the successes scored, the Druid may continue to act in any way he wishes. While in this deathless state he is immune to further damage and suffers no wound penalties. After the duration runs out, the Druid suffers the full effects of the strike that allowed him to activate this power, whether that sends him into torpor or has causes him to meet final death.
Viriditas
After the Roman Empire began to fail and contract, it abandoned its farthest flung colonies like Brittania, and thousands of legionairies were left behind with no way to return to the central empire. These Roman citizens, trapped without support in a foreign land, had to fend for themselves with hostile locals who remembered the scourge of the Roman armies. Captured and tortured, a single legionary named Cauis Crassus spent years among the Picti tribes, until at last, cursing and reviling his former people, he was accepted by the Picts. When the Roman civilization saw him again, he was changed; primal, driven, and a vampire of powerful blood. He brought with him the secret power of the wildmen beyond Hadrian's wall, and he turned on his previous fatherland to burn away Roman the lingering occupation with a hate only spite can make.
This path of Draoicht focuses the primal, natural life energy of the wood to grant the witch who uses it incredible resilience and recovery. It connects with the raw, life-giving power of blood that is the fundamental principle of vampiric vitae and unleashes it upon the body. While normal vampiric healing draws upon the power of the blood to physically repair some wound, this power calls uses the vitae to forge and maintain a connection to the primal principle of lifeforce while the power is active.
O Recovery
The witch can focus the power of his life blood to recover from damage on an ongoing basis, stretching the recovery out over the entire evening. Many witches use this power to efficiently heal from any wounds they may have suffered during the evening to awaken fresh and renewed the next sunset without wasting precious blood, while others use it to maintain their bodies from low grade injuries throughout a busy night.
System: Spend 1 blood to activate the power. Heal 1 lethal damage at the end of each scene or hour until the next dawn.
OO Regeneration
The power of the natural world is alien to the vampire body, and it takes great effort and a personal connection to draw it forth. While holding perfectly still in a meditative state, the witch may force his body to recover rapidly, healing one level of lethal damage every round as he pulls the natural power through his body to keep the power of his blood active and working through his body to heal it.
System: Heal 1 lethal per round so long as you are standing still taking no other action. Lasts until you take another action.
OOO Burst of Life
At this level of mastery, the witch can focus and store natural power inside his body, laying dormant in case of injury or harm. Spending a blood point and rolling to activate the power, the witch gains extra effective health levels of damage on and above his normal health levels as his body gains a certain resilience to damage and reflexive healing. As soon as his flesh is damaged by an attack, it automatically knits itself on that same action, even before additional damage can be delivered by subsequent actions or attacks. This power can only be activated once per scene. These health levels can only stop lethal or bashing damage, not Aggravated wounds.
OOOO Conduit
At this level of mastery, the power of the witch to draw in the power of the land is exceptionally powerful and stable. Once he invokes a connection to the land and its lifeforce, e can continue to draw forth natural energy for healing even as he moves and takes other actions as the power simply flows through his vampiric unlife like a hole in a pressurized channel. The power of the conduit of energy is so strong that the vampire may even heal Aggravated damage by standing perfectly still and spending a point of Willpower for each wound healed in this way.
OOOOO Healing Gift
Through this final barrier of mastery, the witch can call forth great gouts of primal power, multiplying his natural healing ability manifold. By concentrating but a moment, he can flood his body with power and restore it to its natural form at once. For every success rolled on the activation, the vampire immediately heals that many levels of Lethal or Bashing damage.
System: Spend 2 Blood and a WP and roll to activate. Instantly heal that number of successes in levels of Lethal or Bashing damage, extra successes will convert aggravated damage to lethal. This may recover lost health levels that are part of Burst of Life if used in the same scene.
The Witch Path
This path is a kind of sanguine witchery, with a wide array of strange powers. The odd disparity of its effects often confuses other Kindred; many who have never heard of the witches of Draoicht mistake each power of the Witch Path as evidence of a different parent Discipline. The witches have a reputation for knowing scores of bizarre Disciplines, when in fact their ilk has only one unique tradition of power. Like all good witches, of course, the druids are loathe to reveal such a secret to others; let their enemies - and allies - make their mistakes.
The supernatural powers of the witches have no single origin story. Some among the Old world druids claim that Draoicht is a kind of proto-discipline, from which other, more common paths have descended. Such witches believe other Kindred powers are derived from their own. More modern scholars have supposed that this Path's disparate powers are a result the feeding habits of the of its original druid progenitress, rumored to have feasted upon mortal witches and mages of all kinds. The blood of the witches who practice this power is now, theoretically, a blend of bizarre, magical ingredients.
One folk tale, passed down from sire to childe, claims that the witch's unique powers were drawn from the land itself - that the sacred mountains of Hibernia bled magical powers, and the first witches drank them up. Thus, this power represents a raw mixture of magic inherent in the lands that lay in the shadow of the dark forests and hills of the British Isles.
O Eye of Blood
It is commonly claimed in the folklore of the peasantry that witches were able to spy on people from miles away. Evil sorcerers would learn a person's secrets in this way, and use them to force good folk to do evil deeds. Bur first, the witch had to touch you or your belongings. This power lets a witch do just that. By applying a spot of own blood to the body or clothing of the subject, the witch is able to mystically watch him from afar. The witch must be able to touch the subject to cast her "bloody eye" on him, but just a fingerprint's worth of blood is necessary to activate this power. Once done, the witch's ability to perceive her subject is limited only by her own perceptiveness and mystic power.
The witch does not see through the subject's eyes or from the point of view of the blood she applies to him. Rather, she experiences "third-person" visions consisting of images, sounds, emotions and smells, like a kind of arcane telemetry. The sensations come to her in a surreal almost hallucinatory experience, not unlike a vision gained through the use of Auspex, but in real time.
System: Applying the eye requires touch and a blood point to be spent. To attempt to view the subject later requires another blood point and the player rolls Wits + Empathy, difficulty of the subject's Permanent Willpower. On a botch, the link is corrupted, and the character receives disturbing and terrifying images rather than a vision of the subject, and loses a point of Willpower in addition to wasting the blood to activate the power. On a successful roll, the character is able to perceive visions of the subject's whereabouts, and actions until the next sunset. She may actively "look in on" the subject with an instant action as many times as she likes during this power's duration. Whenever the subject experiences a substantial sensory change (such as going from a warm cottage into a chilly night or being physically or emotionally hurt), the character may attempt a reflexive Wits + Empathy roll at the same difficulty to receive a brief vision of the experience.
The number of successes achieved on the activation roll determines the number of miles the subject may travel from the character without breaking the mystic connection. Each successes extends the power's range by five miles, and five or more successes produces an unlimited duration. While the witch slumbers, visions of the subject come to her in dreams.
The visions received by the character may be a confusing mix of images, sounds, smells and emotional sensations. The character gains no special ability to perceive beyond her normal means with this power; the vision cannot be steered. While a sense of the subject's environment certainly comes across through the vision, the subject himself is always the primary focal point of the vision.
The character may take actions to discern details and spot hidden objects in a vision just as though she were there. If the character were looking in on a subject with a concealed weapon, for example, she may attempt a Perception + Alertness roll to notice it. The Storyteller may apply as much as a +3 difficulty when the character attempts to scrutinize objects or people other than the subject. If the character has Auspex, she may can even bring Heightened Senses and Aura Perception to bear on the subjects in the vision.
OO Witch-Cloak
Witches are known for their sometimes bizarre appearance and use of trickery to protect themselves. With this power, an old witch can disguise herself amid the weeds of an abandoned lot, vanish into a row of roadside trees or appear to change her shape. The witch has only a slight ability to control this power, however. Rather, it is a mystic effect that radiates from her own corpse to affect the eyes of others.
Note that this power does not actually change the witch's shape in any way. Instead, it plays with the senses of an onlooker. A witch may appear to transform from a tree into her normal form, when in fact she was simply standing near other trees. A witch may appear to have a wooden post in place of legs, when in fact she is simply wearing a brown skirt. The images perceived by the subject become more dramatic as the witch's proficiency with the Witch Path increases.
System: Cost 1 blood. No roll is necessary to activate this power. Rather, the Witch-Cloak allows the character to add her dots in the Witch Path to Stealth and Subterfuge dice pools to hide or disguise herself. Whereas a mundane disguise allows a character to pass herself off as someone else, this power allows the witch to pass herself off as something else. Note that this power cannot compensate for the character's clan flaws or inhumane appearance; a bestial witch may go so far as to disguise herself as a wolf, but cannot pass for a normal human. Likewise, the character's disguise cannot dramatically change her apparent size.
As a rule of thumb, a disguised witch does not seem more trustworthy or less monstrous unless she also uses an ability like Leadership to change her target's mind. This power only alters the subject's literal perceptions.
A witch augmenting her Stealth skill with the Witch-Cloak never appears to vanish using this power. Rather, she appears to be something else. A witch hiding in a ruined house might be mistaken for a man-sized patch of water damage to the wallpaper, while a witch sneaking across a playground might appear as a mass of blowing leaves.
The witch's control over this power is influenced by her Specialities. The Witch may combine her mystic prowess with other bonuses as well. The mad witches of folklore seemed to wear their "alternate forms" as capes on their backs or leaves in their hair. No doubt some of those witches were simply fooling the eyes of their subjects with this power.
OOO Witch's Gaze
This power is the witch's sanguine manifestation of the archetypal curse of a mad witch - the "evil eye." With just a look, the witch can curse a subject, dooming him to suffer a terrible setback, grievous injury or awful malady. The witch may inflict a particular curse upon the subject by proclaiming her intent for the subject to hear, or she may simply lay a bane upon him to attract bad luck.
System: This power costs 1 Willpower to activate. The player rolls Charisma + Intimidation, opposed by a Willpower roll, difficulty 6 for both.
If the roll is successful, the witch may attempt to curse one of the target's Abilities, or the target themselves. To curse a specific Ability, the witch must suggest the Ability to be cursed with a proclamation, for example "You rely too much on your guns, fool!" indicates the Firearms Ability, while "Damn your cherished tongue" might indicate Expression or Leadership, and the player must specify which Ability is intended to the Storyteller. The subject has no means of determining which Ability has been cursed other than the character's proclamation. For a number of occurrences equal to the net successes on the activation roll, the next time the character fails in a serious attempt to use the cursed Ability, he suffers a botch instead. The Storyteller is encouraged to discount actions specifically designed to "absorb" the curse, the subject may attempt such actions, but they should not trigger the curse's effect.
The duration of an Ability-specific curse depends on the witch's dice pool. The default duration for an Ability-specific curse lasts until the next sunset. Each +1 difficulty the witch voluntarily applies to her dice pool extends the curse by two more days, assuming she wins the contested action to invoke the curse.
If the character curses the subject in general, all actions taken by the subject are treated as if they scored one less success on all rolls for every Net success on the activation roll, to a minimum of Failure, rather than Botch for the rest of the scene. The general curse does not require a verbal proclamation.
OOOO Blood Minions
The penultimate power of the witch is perhaps the strangest. A witch with this power can transform her blood into supernatural animal servants that do her bidding. To onlookers, it appears as though birds, rats, or bugs crawl out from gashes in the vampire's flesh.
The animals created with this power are clearly unnatural, with empty sockets in place of eyes, blood-colored beaks or claws or some other horrific sign of their strange origin. These minions can travel any distance from the witch, who instinctively knows their location at all times. Though these creatures do not eat, sleep or think, they follow the will of the witch exactly. They attack her enemies, fetch objects for her and assist her in the use of other powers of the Witch Path.
Blood Minions appear to be made of flesh and bone, but are actually made up of something more akin to the ashy remains of burnt paper. If damaged, they crumble into ash. Unlike a vampire, these supernatural creature can move about during the day.
System: 1 or more Blood point
Dice Pool:
Strength + Animal Ken. If successful, the character is able to transform her Vitae into lifeless, animate Minion creatures. By spending an amount of Vitae equal to the blood points listed for the desired creature, the witch can create small birds, bats, ravens, rats, cats or even dogs and larger animals to do her bidding. The character can create any number of Minions, provided she has enough Vitae to account for the blood pool of all the animals created (in addition to the Vitae spent to activate this power). The character can only create animals using the amount of Vitae she can spend in one turn, based on her Generation. These creatures must be let out from the character's body, through a gash in the stomach, arm, or leg, for example, though this wound causes no harm to the character.
Minions created with this power can fly, bite, carry and perform any other actions an animal of the same type could. In addition, the witch can use the Eye of Blood power to perceive a Minion's surroundings over any distance and the Flight of the Warlock power to mystically transport herself to a Minion's location. A Blood Minion that successfully attacks a target can destroy itself to subject that target to the Eye of Blood power.
Blood Minions may take their own actions during a turn, but always act on the same Initiative as the character.
The creatures created with this power turn to ash at the next sunset or immediately upon taking any damage, whichever comes first. If the player scores 5 or more successes on the activation roll, the Minions have two days of life instead of one
OOOOO Flight of the Warlock
Witches in folklore are often attributed with an ability to fly. The druid witches that practice these powers do not have that ability, but they do have a mystic means of traversing the land. A witch with this power can instantly transport herself to the location of a Blood Minion created with her own Vitae. The vampire seems to vanish in a blink of the eye, leaving behind nothing but a chill patch of air and the scent of blood. At her destination, the witch's Minion explodes in ash as the vampire appears, perhaps misleading onlookers into thinking the witch was the animal Minion.
System: Cost 1 Willpower. Rolling Wits + Occult. If successful, the witch instantly arrives at the spot previously inhabited by her Blood Minion. On a botch, the minion is destroyed and the willpower is wasted, leaving the witch unable to use this power for the rest of the scene. If the witch attempts to transport herself to a space in which she cannot fit, this power automatically fails. The difficulty of this power raises by 1 for every two miles between the character and her target.
