Biothaumaturgy
A shunned art, Biothaumaturgy, sometimes referred to as lame necromancy or stitching, is the art of manipulating the dead through science and magic. This bizarre path reputedly has its roots in the secret tomes of the inscrutable Black Hand. Over the past few years, its esoteric secrets have spread among certain cabals of Tremere, who regard it as a curious mixture of Hermetic science and black magic. Biothaumaturgy concerns itself with the manipulation of life energies. In the laboratories of inspired Biothaumaturgists, there's often strange creatures almost out of myth, veritable Frankenstein's monsters and far less wholesome creations. Although it is not considered a "taboo" path by the Tremere, Biothaumaturgy is nonetheless strange and unsettling to those who observe its results, and an instant masquerade breach when creations do escape. As such, many Princes frown on anything more than lab pets being kept.
A quirk of this path is that rather than an innate power, the path is made up of rituals, experiments and techniques that take time to complete. The powers of this path take one hour to complete for every level of the power used, in addition to any other costs. They need not be consecutive. (For example, the Level One power takes one hour to complete, while the Level Five one requires 9, as it is taking the level 4 power and adding onto it with its own. These can be done in a single period, or divided up however the Thaumaturge dictates. Additionally, raw materials are required for each. On top of the bodies (or disseperate parts) required for most effects, magical plating, copper tubing, blood of certain resonances and all manner of other bizarre gear is used for these effects. Though not listed explicitly, take the time to play up the style of your thaumaturge and how they work, adding individual style to your character.
As such with the materials, Biothaumaturgy requires the thaumaturge to have a laboratory or other site where they can conduct their great work. This need be nothing more complex than a doctor's table and a few sharp knives, but it may be as complicated as the "mad scientist" affairs of pulp fiction, with steaming alembics and crackling generators. The Storyteller should feel free to modify a character's Biothaumaturgy difficulties if he has excellent laboratory resources or his facilities are utterly lacking. Working with a crude lab may add two dice to the activation roll, while a high-grade facility may lower the same pool by two.
■ Type: Sorcery
■ Masquerade Threat: High, though the highest level powers can pass for regular people (assuming they're subjected to no more than a cursory scan), shambling corpses and horrors beyond comprehension tend to raise a few eyebrows.
■ Blood Resonance: Melancholy, the blood of inventors, the dying, gravediggers and morticians, as well as blood that emphasizes the specific goal of the creation, such as Chloric for a created body-guard.
• Thaumaturgical Forensics
Using their magics to first analyze flesh and blood, this power shares much with Auspex, and is able to reveal a wealth of information from what otherwise is a mundane pile of meat. The required tissue can range from blood, flesh, bone and other body parts of a creature, being substantial enough to take up the size of a clenched fist. It does not need to specifically be from a living, dead or undead creature; it only matters that it is from something that was once, or still is, alive. Potential information learned often includes information that "normal" forensics and genetics would not yield, such as age, generation, clan, cause of death etc. This information can be conveyed even if only a small quantity of material is present.
■ Cost: 1 Rouse Check
■ System: A player rolls Blood Sorcery + Medicine. Each success on the activation roll yields one piece of simple information about the subject after the required period of time has passed, which may be any living, unliving or dead entity (but not an inanimate object), including plants. This information is limited to physical characteristics of the subject: Thaumaturgical Forensics can be used to determine gender, clan, traces of diablerie and the like, but it will not reveal if a given subject killed an individual or where she kept her trove of personal belongings. The storyteller has the final call on what can be learned, though the user may request what they would like to learn unless the ST determines they are unable to for whatever reason.
■ Duration: Instantaneous
•• Thaumaturgical Surgery
The Thaumaturge uses his knowledge of magic and physiology to aid a body in its regenerative capacity. Even the most grievous wounds close up expeditiously if aided by this sorcerer’s art. Through fusing mortal medicine with magic and grim science, subjects are often wary of submitting themselves to one that is often capable of turning a dog inside out, though their results are undeniably effective, yet rumours always persist of awful costs after one undergoes this dark sorcery.
■ Cost: 1 Rouse Check
■ System: After activating the power, the user makes an Blood Sorcery + Medicine check. Each success on the player's roll allows the thaumaturge to heal one point of superficial damage. Otherwise, the thaumaturge may use two successes to convert a point of aggravated damage into superficial damage. The player may divert successes however he pleases. This power takes the full amount of time to be completed successfully, (two hours) as the patient is treated, and otherwise recuperates. During this time, both must remain at the worksite and cannot engage in any other activity.
■ Duration: Instantaneous
••• Lesser Animation
The thaumaturge mystically endows a dead life form with magical energy and imparts to it a rudimentary set of instructions. Some thaumaturges favour simple necromantic beings, their creations simply reanimated corpses, while others are stitched from multiple animals, copper tubing running the length of their bodies in a grotesque simulacrum of life. The resultant creation carries out their given orders to the letter, which many Biothaumaturgists find their most useful trait. Though often far more inconvenient to use than ghouling animals, the loyalty and adaptability will occasionally make up for this. Skilled Thaumaturges use this power to populate their havens with deathless guard dogs and other, quirkier "pets", all of which no longer need to breathe, eat, and are endlessly loyal, to the dismay of many.
■ Cost: 1 Rouse Check
■ System: When the power's time requirements are over, the Thaumaturge rolls Blood Sorcery + Medicine. This power affects plants and simple animals - nothing more than a single shrub or dog per use. If the effect is successful, the animated creation may be given a one-sentence command, which it will fulfill until destroyed. This command can be changed only by the thaumaturge, given verbally. It remains active for a number of nights equal to the number of successes rolled on activation, while a critical win on the roll keeps the servant active forever. A total failure destroys all components involved in the Ceremony.
Minor variations of the subject may even be made - a thorn thicket could be animated to move slowly toward intruders to entangle them. When animating the corpse, the Thaumaturge may use successes on their activation roll allows for a single minor variation to be made to the animated corpse. The downside to this is that it will take an extra hour of time to raise the body for each. For every success used, the creation is animated for one less night unless permanent. Specifics should be worked out with the Storyteller, though examples are provided below.
Creatures animated in this manner have their original Strength and Stamina, while their Dexterity drops by one (but never below 1). Social and Mental Attributes are considered to be at zero. Each creation has a number of health levels equal to half those it had in life, yet take damage like kindred, but suffer double damage from fire.
■ Duration: Instantaneous
•••• Greater Animation
At this level, the Thaumaturge has refined their knowledge to allow them to animate more complex creatures. Working very similarly to the former power, at this level of the path allows for much greater feats of magic. Even human corpses and large animals may be given the "spark of life" with this power: one Biothaumaturge in Egypt is rumoured to have a pair of animated elephants which he terrorizes his enemies.
■ Cost: 2 Rouse Checks
■ System: This power works the same way as Lesser Animation, but allows the vampire to animate more complex creatures. Certain life forms are probably beyond the capacity of this power - zombie whales sound fairly foolish, but the only limit is what the Storyteller chooses to allow. Even individual parts of a creature may be animated, such as a single hand or leg, though this is often much more difficult. This power also allows major alterations to be made to lesser subjects, using two successes for each major alteration, and adding two hours of extra work. Still, only minor changes may be added to more complex creatures completed.
For example, an animate human corpse may wield a bone-hook instead of a hand, or a rat might be able to fly with a pair of leathery gargoyle-wings made from the bonds and skin of birds and infants. Once again, a table of changes are provided below, but players are encouraged to get creative. A human animated in this manner retains none of their original "self." This power merely animates the corpse, it does not reunite the spirit with the body or grant intelligence or personality. Consider the body to be almost a drone in this manner.
■ Duration: Instantaneous
••••• Cognizant Constructions
The pinnacle of Biothaumaturgy, this power bestows a dead creature animated through one the previous powers of this path with a semblance of the reasoning it had in life. Animated animals possess a malicious cunning while higher life forms gain a shrewd ability to reason deductively rather than satisfy commands single mindedly.
■ Cost: 2 Rouse Checks
■ System: This power relies on the former two to make use. When creating a creature using one of those, the Thaumaturge may activate this one, adding the additional time and rouse checks to the base cost. They may not use it on a preexisting creation, as the process must be completed soon after the reanimation. Although this power gives a construct base intelligence, the creature nonetheless still serves the orders it is given by its creator with complete subservience. A creature animated with Cognizant Constructions has Mental Attributes of one less than it possessed in life (but never below 1), though it continues to not possess social stats, and may not speak. This power won't be creating any undead geniuses, but the story effect is that it creates an animated monster capable of reasoning. A Cognizant Construction won't mindlessly fight to its second death if it sees a better or cleverer way of routing foes, and it will be capable of other deductive tasks as well.
Additionally, major modifications may now be applied even to complex animations. For every two successes rolled and two hours of extra work, a major modification may now be applied. Another option available is to use four successes on the roll to make the creation permanent, rather than requiring a critical success.
If the Storyteller allows it, the Thaumaturge may even create all new creatures from many corpses, through creating their own stat blocks, though the Storyteller must approve all potential concepts.
■ Duration: Same as Power Used
Biothaumaturgy Modifications
Minor Adaptations
| Modification | Abilities |
|---|---|
| Extra Limbs | The creature possesses multiple limbs, more common tasks depending on what the storyteller decides. |
| Metal Bones | With an enhanced frame, increase the creature's strength and stamina scores by one each. |
| Embedded Weapon | You implant a weapon of some sort into the creature, which must be provided. It is then able to use the weapon at any time, which may not be removed by any means while it still 'lives'. |
| Pouch | A hidden space on the creature somewhere, it is able to carry one item no bigger than a baseball, unable to be found by any means short of an autopsy. |
| Sharpened Claws | Much more conspicuous than embedded weapons, one naturally present attack in the form is enhanced, dealing +1 damage. |
| Enhanced Sense | The creature gains a sense type it otherwise didn’t possess, or gains a 2 dice bonus to checks relating to one it already does, taken from and improved with other creatures. |
| Frightening Visage | Made to look familiar yet unsettling, the creature gains a dice pool of five for any intimidation check, and is able to make them despite not possessing social stats. |
Major Adaptations
| Modification | Abilities |
|---|---|
| Wings | Stitched from other animals, the creature is able to fly at a speed equivalent to its walking speed. They will likely be quite large for more complex creatures, if the ST allows it at all. |
| Barbed Hide | With blades or other such implements imbedded in its skin, any time a creature damages the creation with a melee attack, it takes one superficial damage. |
| Extra Heads | With multiple heads, the creature is able to use each as if it were its own, for reconnaissance or guarding. |
| Vocal Cords | The creature is able to talk. Though not intelligent without Cognizant Construction, it is still able to mimic sounds, whether as a distraction or psychological torment. |
| Innate Armour | Providing a set of armour to the creation, it is embedded in its skin and it gains the benefits provided by it. The armour cannot be removed while the creation lives. |
| Blood Repository | The creature is able to take two Rouse Checks worth of blood and store them within itself for up to a month without it spoiling, allowing a kindred to feed even after it kills, though this will not be pleasant. |
| Bloated Body | The creature's body is inflated with a substance of some kind that the Thaumaturge provides. The first time it takes damage, the animation bursts, spilling the substance within a 10ft circle, killing it in the process. |
| Homunculus | The creature is designed to be a servant, possessing traits that allow it to move much quicker and ferry through information, though the exact details of this are up to the Storyteller. |
