Thaumaturgy

Thaumaturgy encompasses blood magic and other sorcerous arts
available to Kindred. The Tremere Clan is best known for their
possession (and jealous hoarding) of this Discipline.

The practice of Thaumaturgy is divided into paths
and rituals. Thaumaturgical paths are applications of the vampire's
knowledge of blood magic, allowing her to create effects on a whim.
Rituals are more formulaic in nature, most akin to ancient magical
"spells."

 **Due to the complex structure of Thaumaturgy & inter-clan politics, Tremere are considered an advanced clan and are not recommended for first timers to Vampire: The Masquerade.**

 When a character first learns Thaumaturgy, the player selects a
path for the character. That path is considered the character's primary
path, and she automatically receives one dot in it, as well as one Level
 One ritual. Thereafter, whenever the character increases her level in
Thaumaturgy, her rating in the primary path increases by one as well.
Additional rituals are learned separately, as part of a story; players
need not pay experience points for their characters to learn rituals up
to the level equal to their overall rating in Thaumaturgy, though they
must find someone to teach the rituals in question.

 As mentioned before, the first path a character learns is
considered her primary path and increases automatically as the character
 advances in the Discipline itself. Secondary paths may be learned once
the character has acquired two or more dots in her primary path, and
they must be raised separately with experience points. Furthermore, a
character's rating in her primary path must always be at least one dot
higher than any of her secondary paths until she has mastered her
primary path. Once the character has achieved the fifth level of her
primary path, secondary paths may be increased to that level.

 Each time the character invokes one of the powers of a
Thaumaturgical path, the thaumaturge's player must spend a blood point
and make a Willpower roll against a difficulty equal to the power's
level +3. Only one success is required to invoke a path's effect -- path
 levels, not successes, govern the power of blood magic. Failure on this
 roll indicates that the magic fails. A botch causes some kind of loss
or catastrophic backfire, such as losing a Willpower point (or dot!),
spontaneous combustion, or accidentally letting a living statue run
rampant.

## Available Paths

Below is a listing of playable paths for those choosing to play a Tremere. Some paths have been banned and are listed on the Bans page. The links provided below go to the V2O subnet page for that path. Please keep in mind that nearly every Tremere starts with Path of Blood, and you will need a substantial reason to not have it as your primary path.

### **Green Path**

The Green Path deals with the manipulation of plant matter of all sorts. Anything more complex than an algae bloom can theoretically be
controlled through the appropriate application of this path. Ferns,
roses, dandelions, and even ancient redwoods are all valid targets for
this path's powers, and living and dead plant matter are equally
affected. While not as immediately impressive as some other more widely
practiced paths, the Green Path (sometimes disparagingly referred to as "Botanical Mastery") is as subtle and powerful as the natural world which it affects.

### **Hands of Destruction**

A few Camarilla
Tremere have managed to learn the secrets of this path over the
centuries, despite it being practiced mostly by the late Sabbat antitribu. The Hands of Destruction has an infamous history, and some
Tremere refuse to practice it due to rumors that it is demonic in
origin. This path cannot be taken as a starting path, and any who indulge in it will likely not be trusted.

### **Lure of Flames**

This path grants the thaumaturge the ability to conjure forth mystical
flames -- small fires at first, but skilled magicians may create great
conflagrations. Fire created by this path is not "natural." In fact,
many vampires believe the flames to be conjured from Hell itself. The
Lure of Flames is greatly feared, as fire is one of the surest ways to
bring Final Death upon a vampire. This path cannot be taken as a starting path no matter what, and any Tremere using Lure of Flames subjects themselves to scrutiny and suspicion inside and outside the clan.

### **Movement of the Mind**

This path gives the thaumaturge the ability to move objects
telekinetically through the mystic power of blood. At higher levels,
even flight is possible (but be careful who sees you). Objects under the
 character's control may be manipulated as if she held them -- they may
be lifted, spun, juggled, or even "thrown," though creating enough force
 to inflict actual damage requires mastery of at least the fourth level
of this path.

### **Neptune's Might**

Vampires are rarely associated with the ocean in most mythologies, and
most Kindred have nothing to do with water in large quantities simply
because they have no reason to do so. Nevertheless, Neptune's Might has
enjoyed a small, but devoted, following for centuries among Camarilla
thaumaturges. This path is based primarily around the manipulation of
standing water, although some of its more disturbing effects depart from
 this principle.

### **Path of Blood**

Almost every Tremere studies the Path of Blood as her primary path. It
encompasses some of the most fundamental principles of Thaumaturgy,
based as it is on the manipulation of Kindred vitae. If a player wishes
to select another path as her character's primary path, you will need to provide an adequate reason that fits lore.

### **Path of Conjuring**

Invoking objects "out of thin air" has been a staple of occult and
supernatural legend since long before the rise of the Tremere. This
Thaumaturgical path enables powerful conjurations limited only by the
mind of the practitioner.

### **Path of Corruption**

The Path of Corruption is primarily a mentally and spiritually oriented
path centered on influencing the psyches of other individuals. It produces a gradual and subtle
twisting of the subject's actions, morals, and thought processes. This
path deals intimately with deception and dark desires, and those who
work through it must understand the hidden places of the heart.
Accordingly, no character may have a higher rating in the Path of
Corruption than he has in Subterfuge.

### **Path of Mars**

This path has proven useful, turning the tides of several confrontations
 with other vampires. The path adopts a very martial stance, whereas
other blood magics tend to have subtler, less violent effects. It is
rumored that some Camarilla Tremere have learned this path, but very few
 of them have the right temperament to wield this path effectively since it was developed by the late Sabbat antitribu. You cannot start with this path as your primary, and any who use it will under suspicion.

### **Path of Technomancy**

The newest path to be accepted by the Tremere hierarchy as part of the
Clan's official body of knowledge, the Path of Technomancy is a
relatively recent innovation, developed in the latter half of the 20th
century. The path focuses on the control of electronic devices, from
cellphones to laptops, and its proponents maintain that it is a prime
example of the versatility of Thaumaturgy with regards to a changing
world.

### **Path of the Father's Vengeance**

This path, based loosely on a powerful thaumaturge's interpretations of
the Book of Nod, devotes itself to delivering justice to the race of
Cainites. Each power supposedly has some precedent in the parables of
the ancient book, and focuses on teaching the lessons of Caine via the
power of blood magic. Camarilla vampires don't have the same knowledge
of the Book of Nod that the Sabbat do, but the path is not entirely
unheard of in Tremere chantries.

### **Weather Control**

Command over the weather has long been a staple power of wizards both
mortal and immortal, and this path is said to predate the Tremere by
millennia. The proliferation of usage of this path outside the Clan
tends to confirm this theory; Weather Control is quite common outside
the Tremere, and even outside the Camarilla. Lower levels of this path
allow subtle manipulations, while higher stages of mastery allow a
vampire to call up raging storms.

## Rituals

Rituals are Thaumaturgical formulas, meticulously researched and
prepared, that create powerful magical effects. Rituals are less
versatile than paths, as their effects are singular and straightforward,
 but they are better suited to specific ends.

Thaumaturgical rituals are rated from 1 to 5, each level
corresponding to both the level of mastery of Thaumaturgy the would-be
caster must possess and the relative power of the ritual itself. Unless
stated otherwise, a ritual requires five minutes per level to cast.

 Casting rituals requires a successful Intelligence + Occult roll,
for which the difficulty equals 3 + the level of the ritual (maximum 9).
 Only one success is required for a ritual to work, though certain
spells may require more successes or have variable effects based on how
well the caster's roll goes. Should a roll to activate a ritual fail, most of the time it just ends up doing nothing. A botched ritual roll may indicate a catastrophic failure or summon an ill-tempered demon.

 Rituals sometimes require special ingredients or reagents to work
-- these are noted in each ritual's description. Common components
include herbs, animal bones, ceremonial items, feathers, eye of newt,
tongue of toad, etc. Acquiring magical components for a powerful ritual
may form the basis for an entire story.

Lvl 1 Rituals - Lvl 2 Rituals - Lvl 3 Rituals - Lvl 4 Rituals - Lvl 5 Rituals