Ogham (Dark Ages)

The Lhiannan practice a variant form of Koldunic Sorcery they call Ogham, named for the ancient script essential to coaxing the Discipline’s force. All within the bloodline bear a shard from a dark, powerful spirit of the land who was once quite vast. Ogham draws from the strength of that spirit and is uniquely found among the Lhiannan; it can only be taught to those suffering the curse of their lineage. Unlike traditional koldunism as practiced by the Tzimisce, Ogham is an innate in-clan Discipline for the Lhiannan. Like the kraina of their koldun cousins, a Lhiannan may learn the Genius Loci kraina (which they refer to as talamh, meaning “earth”) as a secondary path of Ogham.To cast their magic, a Lhiannan must offer up a mortal sacrifice and then roll Attribute + Occult against a difficulty of the power’s level + 4. Lhiannan gain certain benefits depending on the circumstance surrounding their sacrifices:

* If the sacrifice is committed within twenty feet of an oak tree, the Lhiannan may stab the diaphragm of the victim and read omens in the patterns the blood takes as it flows from the wound, granting her the Oracular Ability Merit for the rest of the evening.

* If the sacrificial victim is of special import (such as a noble or other person of some renown), the Lhiannan gains the Celestial Attunement and Eidetic Memory Merits and may also predict the weather and celestial phenomena (like eclipses, and comets or meteors) with perfect accuracy for the rest of the remainder of the night.

Ogham is strongest within the wild; the difficulty to cast any Ogham power is reduced by two if the Lhiannan is a mile (1.5 km) away from, and increased by 1 if within half a mile (1 km) of an inhabited community or cultivated area of land (like a farm or a village). Unless otherwise noted, Ogham powers last for one scene.

### **• Consecration of Esus**

Through the spirit-shard in her blood, a Lhiannan awakens plant life to act in her defense; roots and grass entangle feet, and trees creak and stir unnaturally to block her foes.

System: This power takes a scene to prepare, requiring a mortal sacrifice and a living tree with a branch capable of sustaining the weight of a human adult. The Lhiannan carves the symbol of Esus (three skulls forming a triangle surrounding the head of a bull) into the trunk of the tree. She feeds a mortal sacrifice one point of her blood and hangs the victim by the neck or ankle with a rope suspended from the branch of the tree, and then flays the victim to death. As the victim spins, his blood paints a spiral pattern on the foliage below. Tracing the area takes one turn and rouses all plant life within a 3 yard/meter diameter, centering on the victim. Lhiannan often hang multiple victims at appropriate intervals to extend the area of this power.

When the blood has been sown for all sacrifices, the player makes the activation roll (Attribute: Dexterity). If the roll is successful, the plants remain slumbering indefinitely until triggered by a mortal or Cainite entering the area affected (animals and Lhiannan do not awaken the plants). When activated, those in the area except any Lhiannan suffer a -2 penalty to all dice pools from distraction and physical interference, and are reduced to half their movement speed. Additionally, victims must make a Dexterity + Athletics roll each turn to avoid three dice of bashing damage as the plants spring to life, tripping, clutching, and assaulting those within their wake.

### **•• Woad of Teutates**

By illustrating mystical runes on her sacrifice’s body in vitae, a Lhiannan can invoke spirits of war to infuse her, direct her Beast, and gird her for battle.

System: This power takes a scene to prepare and requires a mortal warrior. The Lhiannan feeds the warrior a handful of soma (psychedelic mushrooms), then waits an hour for the soma to take effect. Next, she traces the symbol of Teutates (a serpent knotted into figure eights, surrounding a triangular spiraling triple knot) onto the warrior from head to toe, with woad mixed with blood. The Lhiannan slices open her wrist to drown the warrior in one blood point of her vitae before decapitating him. Make the activation roll (Attribute: Stamina). If successful, the woad freezes like hoarfrost, then begins to flicker with a baleful blue sheen. The woad remains active for up to a scene. While the Lhiannan carries the severed head, the vampire enjoys a handful of advantages:

* Ignore all dice pool penalties inflicted by injury.
* Add the number of successes achieved to any damage dice pools inflicted by the Lhiannan against an enemy. For example, three successes would add three dice of damage to each successful attack.
* The first time the Lhiannan takes damage in the scene, downgrade a number of health levels equal to her successes in activating Woad of Teutates. For example, with two successes, if the Lhiannan suffers three lethal damage after soak, it would become one lethal, two bashing. If she suffered seven aggravated damage, it would become five aggravated and two lethal damage. Rather than downgraded, bashing damage is simply ignored.
* Subtract the successes from difficulty rolls for Rötschreck.

### **••• Mhallacht of the Cyoeraeth**

The Lhiannan inflicts a mhallacht (curse) upon an enemy by etching her target’s name into the body of one beloved by him.

System: This power takes a scene to prepare and requires a mortal friend or close relative of the target. The Lhiannan restrains the target’s companion onto a dolmen she has erected (or found), then slices open her wrist and feeds one blood point and a handful of mistletoe berries to the companion. The Lhiannan then uses a sharp instrument to repeatedly carve the name of her target in the Ogham language across the entirety of the companion’s body and winds a metal torc around his neck. Once the ceremony is complete, make the activation roll (Attribute: Charisma). If the roll is successful, the companion’s skin changes color to a sickly green and a thick fog (three yards/meters high and twenty yards/meters in width) forms around the companion, following him when he moves. Upon entering it, the fog obscures all normal vision within five feet/two meters. The Lhiannan releases the companion, who runs terrified toward the location he believes the target to be, while continually screaming the target’s name in a shrill tenor. The companion will search day and night until he finds his target (or is destroyed in the interim), needing neither food, water, nor rest.

The mhallacht takes effect when the target sees his name inscribed on the companion’s body. He does not need to understand the language used. As soon as the mhallacht takes hold of the target, the companion’s heart explodes from fright (killing him), and the target loses the power of speech; he can grunt or moan, but cannot say any words. Additionally, the target becomes ill and weak and parts of his mind become disconnected from one another. All difficulties on Physical rolls increase by two, all wound penalties are increased by one die, and he must spend one Willpower point (on top of any other cost) in order to attempt a Knowledge roll or use any magical ability or Discipline, even if the power is innate. This Willpower doesn’t buy him a success on that roll; it simply allows him to make the attempt. If the target is a Cainite, he cannot spend blood while this power is in effect. The effects of Mhallacht of the Cyoeraeth last for twenty-four hours after finding its target.

Supplementary to the standard effects, should the mhallacht be enacted on dates corresponding to the Yule (20th-23rd of December), Imbolc (2nd of February), Ostara (19th-22nd of March), Beltane (1st of May), Midsummer (19th-23rd of June), Lughnasadh (1st of August), Mabon (21st-24th of September), or Samhain (1st of November), the Lhiannan may commemorate Cernunnos by bolting and tying a pair of stag’s antlers to the companion’s head. When the power takes effect, the target must succeed in a Courage roll (difficulty 8). If the target is a mortal and fails the roll, he is overcome by fear and flees in the opposite direction of the companion until he collapses from exhaustion. If the target is a Cainite and fails the roll, all difficulties to avoid frenzy increase by two.

### **•••• Woad of Taranis**

Through burning an effigy to the Sky God and marking his chest with an ancient sigil, a Lhiannan is partially warded from the fiery curse of flames and the sun.

System: This power takes three evenings to prepare and requires one mortal victim. During the three nights of preparation, the Lhiannan must construct a twenty-five foot/ eight meter tall Wicker Man. Once constructed, the player spends five blood points during the course of five turns while the Lhiannan cuts his wrist and splatters his blood over the effigy. The Lhiannan restrains his mortal sacrifice within the effigy, then lights it on fire. The Wicker Man burns to ash, which takes about three hours. If the Lhiannan has a container of some kind, he may save the ashes collected for later use. Next, he mixes a portion of the ashes with woad and takes one turn to paint the symbol of Taranis (an eight-spoked wheel) onto his bare chest. After the symbol has been traced, the player makes the activation roll (Attribute: Stamina). If successful, the symbol sears into his flesh amidst a clap of thunder, causing one level of unsoakable aggravated damage and leaving a charred, dull grey scar. While this power is active, the Lhiannan is immune to Rötschreck, and all damage from fire and sunlight is considered lethal and may be soaked normally. Only one use of the Woad of Taranis may be drawn from the ashes of a single Wicker Man.

### **••••• Thirst of Donn**

Thirst of Donn allows the Lhiannan to drain the very blood of the earth through her spirit-shard. They often use this power to ruin crops and spread desolation into civilized communities.

System: This power takes a scene to prepare and requires a minimum of one mortal sacrifice. The Lhiannan restrains the sacrifice onto a dolmen she has erected (or found), then slices open her wrist and feeds one blood point to the victim(s) before plunging a sharp instrument into his diaphragm. The player then makes the activation roll (Attribute: Strength), with each victim sacrificed beyond the first reducing the difficulty by one (minimum 4). If successful, the Lhiannan suffers from the Touch of Frost Flaw, but gains the ability to consume the spiritual energy of the land itself for the remainder of the evening. Each “drink” takes one turn and allows the Lhiannan to regain one point of Willpower and one blood point by depleting an area’s energies, turning a ten-foot radius tract of land into a barren wasteland incapable of sustaining life for an entire year. If Thirst of Donn is performed within an area of special power and significance (such as the Giants’ Dance), the Lhiannan permanently gains a Spirit Mentor if she doesn’t already have it.