Pillars of Faith by William Adams  

Pillars of Faith

Vampire the Masquerade

If you think I've been playing D&D, Shadowrun and Rifts for a long time, that's nothing on the time I spent on Vampire the Masquerade and it's attendant World of Darkness Universe.  Here's some of the debris.


Vampire PC's and NPC's

 These are a few of the hundreds of Vampires I've created or played with over the years.

Vampire Clans and Bloodlines

 Your standard assortment of "Oooh neat!  Can I try that?

The Lich

     The idea of a magic wielding Vampire is not a new one, I just came up with a mechanic for it that fits the game.  When I got my hands on Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand I saw that another coven of mages had taken the Tremere leap without looking first.  It didn't take me long to see the hole in this logic and come up with a workable solution.
     The group of death mages who gave up power for unlife where Euthanatos.  Skilled death mages, used to dealing with Spirit and Entropy, not fumbling around with Forces.  Add to that they are firm believers in Reincarnation and what follows doesn't make sense.  After the first one got embraced they would stop.  After all in the Underworld a mage who masters Entropy can survive for centuries.  So where's the benefit in being a Vampire?  If you're going to be somewhere Paradox isn't a big concern and you're not in danger of dying right now, why take the plunge?  There's nothing that Vampire Disciplines can do that a mage can't do as well or better with a Rote.  And if you're going to be living in Enoch any ways, why make it harder on yourself by giving up your best tool to control Oblivion?
     Three things to consider here:  1) True Magic is brought about by the Avatar of the Mage at the direction of the Will.  2) The Embrace, just like Gilgul, robs a mage of his Avatar.  3) An Adept of Spirit can force a Spirit into a Spirit Cage.  What am I driving at you ask?  Well in my campaign a few of those Nagaraja kept their Avatars in phylacteries and used rituals and talismans to stay connected with them.  This allowed them to continue using their magic while also allowing them to develop their Disciplines.  And the Lich doesn't even need to be in the presence of his Phylactery in order to use magic.
     All is not sunshine and roses for a Lich though.  Their bodies aren't able to hold Quintessence, they need Talismans to hold Tass and use it to fuel their magic.  Use of True Magic is restricted by the availability of Tass.  Also the Will of the mage is not as closely connected as it used to be.  It requires a monumental effort of Will to use True Magic through a Phylactery.  To cast a Sphere effect or Rote the Lich has to spend a point of Tass and one point of Willpower.  Being separated from his Avatar doesn't allow the Vampire to conduct Seekings either.  The degree of magical power he has when he becomes a Vampire is going to be the same throughout eternity.  In addition to these limitations the Lich isn't able to handle Paradox as well as a living mage.  Each point of Paradox gained causes one level of Aggravated damage that can't be soaked by Fortitude.  A Paradox backlash is usually fatal to a Lich since this damage is added to any from the Backlash.
     On the plus side a Lich isn't going to miss it's body all that much.  Whenever it's destroyed the Vampire's Spirit goes into the Phylactery.  From there the Vampire can create another body or use Mind or Spirit to inhabit another body.  Of course if the Vampire suffers a Paradox Backlash in the process he will destroy the Phylactery.  Most Liches prepare bodies that they keep close to their Phylactery to avoid just such a tragedy.
     Think about it...  Immortal, powerful and as hard to put down as a Mummy.  In my campaign I have only ever used one.  But even that was enough to put my players on edge for months.

This is a quick summary of most of the Disciplines that appear in Vampire the Masquerade.   I made this list soon after I started playing the game and even added all my homebrew Disciplines to it over time.  Believe me if you've ever played Vampire you know that nothing drags a game down more than having to look up obscure levels of Disciplines that aren't in the main book.  And I'm not talking about Necromancy, which every third PC seems to have, but things like Melpominee and Obeah which come up maybe once or twice in a campaign.  I also don't have any of the Disciplines from the Vampire Storyteller's Guide.  I never got around to buying that book and now it's out of print.

Summary of Disciplines



This little gem is a new art for Changeling: The Dreaming. It's not Vampire but I don't have anything else for Changeling so it goes here. Be careful with this one though. It's pretty much established as a game breaker. Only allow very noble high muckity muck Shidhe NPC's to have it.

Diaspora

   The Fae art of dancing sideways through the spokes of the wheel of time is a potent weapon as well as one of the most powerful arts.  Only the Sidhe count amongst themselves masters in this art and they jealously guard it from commoners and all other changelings as well.  Diaspora is a difficult art to master and many students give up or are turned away before they learn the rudiments of this art.  However as many Unseelie Sidhe know this Art as Seelie.  The difference being that the Unseelie tend to be more lethal in avoiding its dissemination, whereas a Seelie master of Diaspora would be content to strike the offender mute, deaf and blind for the rest of eternity.
   The use of Diaspora is also very demanding and its powers are universally Wyrd.  Masters of Diaspora have a greater control of the Dreaming than anyone else and many slip into the Dreaming never to return.  Diaspora is a very traditional Art and draws deeply from the history of the Fae.  A Changeling cannot have more levels in Diaspora than he has in the Backgrounds of Remembrance and Title.  Therefore a Sidhe with Remembrance of four and Title of three (baron) would be able to have Diaspora of up to level three.  If he was later promoted to count (Title level four) he could learn Diaspora at level four.  But even if he achieved the Title of duke (Title level five) he could progress no further in Diaspora due to his Remembrance.  Another limitation of Diaspora is that the wieldier cannot use a dice pool higher than his current Willpower.
   Bunks of Diaspora involve dancing, music and wine.  Things and activities that traditionally cause people to lose track of time.
   Attribute:  Wits

•  Enrapture
   A person affected by Enrapture loses sense of time and becomes engrossed with the moment he is living.  The world passes by outside but the affected person remains ensconced in a haze of timeless contemplation.  To an observer it seems as if the target just zones out.  The subject can be brought out of the trance prematurely but it takes him six turns minus his Wits to break free from the enchantment.  While it may seem that Enrapture is a Chimerical effect it is indeed Wyrd as it wraps the target in time making it extremely difficult for him to break free on his own unless he is an Archmage.  A person who is attacked or forcibly moved can be drawn out of the haze but cannot actually do anything effective until fully out of the Enrapture.  If another character tries to move the victim of Enrapture he will find that the victim moves as if caught in molasses.  Simply picking him up and running with him won't work because he is effectively caught in time.  Any movement involving the victim of Enrapture is at one quarter its normal speed.
   System:  Actor and Fae are the most common realms for use with Enrapture.  Nature can also be used but since it serves little purpose to Enrapture an inanimate object Prop is useless.  Scene can be used to affect a number of victims but the number of successes must be divided among targets.
   The number of successes indicates how long the subject is Enraptured.  Multiple castings are not cumulative, if such is attempted the casting with the most successes is used to determine the effectiveness of the Cantrip.
   1 success   one minute
   2 successes   6 minutes
   3 successes   one hour
   4 successes   one day
   5 successes   one week
   Type:  Wyrd

••  Pixie Led
   The Fae who casts Pixie Led on a victim can cause that person to interact with time at a random pace.  To the person it seems as if time has accelerated around him and people are disappearing and reappearing at random.  Those around the victim see him standing absolutely still one moment and then break out into a flurry of movement the next.
   System:  Actor and Fae can be used with Pixie led as well as Nature.  Prop can be used to freeze and object in place so that another cannot move it.  It doesn't matter how strong the other person is, the object is stuck in time.
   The effects of Pixie Led last no longer than a scene.  The number of successes in the casting of the Cantrip are subtracted from the Initiative of the victim.  If the Victim is reduced to 0 Initiative he does not act that turn.  The caster can elect not to spend all the successes on the first turn to affect the target on subsequent turns.  Multiple actions are not affected by this power but will only take place after all those whose initiative is higher have taken place.  Furthermore the first action during the turn made by a person whose initiative has been reduced is made at a +2 difficulty modifier.  Further actions are made normally as the target gets his bearings.
   While Pixie Led can be effective on the turn it is cast, it usually is not, especially if the target already won the initiative.  In these cases the penalties to the target are always applied in the next turn.  Except when the target has multiple actions in a single round, it is quite posible then to negate these actions before they occur.
   If the target is an object then the person who tries to move it loses successes from his initiative until all the successes from Pixie Led are used up.
   Special Note:  Werewolves with the Gift Spirit of the Fray and other creatures with powers that let them act first before anyone regardless of initiative are considered to have ten successes on their initiative for purposes of this Cantrip.
   Type:  Wyrd

•••  Danaan Dance
   This Cantrip allows the Sidhe invoking it to dance outside Time's embrace for short moments.  Every attack that comes at the Danaan seems to float at an agonizingly slow pace towards the Changeling.  The enemies of the Changeling seem like slow action photography figures whereas the changeling moves at blinding speeds to those watching.
   System:  Fae, Actor and Nature are the only realms appropriate for use with this Art.  The Changeling adds all the successes from the casting of this Cantrip to his dodge or defense pool and furthermore he uses his entire dodge or defense pool against each attack.  Use of this Art allows the Changeling to dodge gunfire as if it were normal melee attacks.  When the changeling makes an attack the target reduces his dodge or defense pool by the same amount.
   Type:  Wyrd

••••  Pixie Ring
   With this Cantrip the Sidhe can trap a victim in time.  The target of this Cantrip simply disappears to the outside observer but in reality he has not moved from the spot.  Years and even decades can pass before the victim is released.  The Changeling who cast this Cantrip can elect to free his victim at any time but otherwise there is virtually no escape.  Another Changeling with Diaspora can attempt to free the imprisoned character, but he must score more successes than the original caster of the Cantrip.  Pixie Ring is unique in that it cannot be unwoven except by another use of the same Cantrip.  An Archmage with the level four of the Time Sphere can also attempt to break the Cantrip but even then he must score more successes than the original caster.
   System:  Most Realms are appropriate for use with this Art.  Stories have been written about its power to affect entire kingdoms.  The number of successes indicates how long the victim is held.
   1 success   one month
   2 successes   one year
   3 successes   twelve years
   4 successes   sixty years
   5 successes   one hundred years
   Multiple castings of Pixie Ring are not cumulative however the number of successes on the casting roll affect all victims inside the area of the Cantrip equally.
   Type:  Wyrd

•••••  Immortal Prince
   With mastery of Diaspora the Changeling carries with him a piece of the Dreaming at all times.  At this level of the Art the Tuatha Danaan is considered to be a true Fae.  He has all the inherent powers of the Fae and none of the disadvantages of his Changeling nature.  Upon learning this Art the Changeling reduces his Permanent Banality by one and his human body ceases to age.  These are permanent effects though the reduction in Banality is a one time bonus and to lower it further would require extended quests into the Deep Dreaming.
   Frequent use of this power is a sure way to slip into Bedlam in short order.  A release from Banality and the ravages of time without the need to constantly stay within the confines of a Freehold are the temptations of this power.  Very few can resist the siren call of the Deep Dreaming once she has gifted you with all you've ever wanted.
   System:  With a successful casting of this Cantrip the Changeling can hide his Human body inside his Fae soul.  He becomes in effect invisible and intangible to mortals and unenchanted Prodigals.  For obvious reasons then this Art cannot be used with the Actor, Nature or Prop Realms, it only affects Changelings.  While using this Art the Changeling does not acquire Banality and his human body does not age.  Also rolls to invoke the Dragon's Ire are made at -2 difficulty in addition to other modifiers.
   The Cantrip lasts for as many scenes as the caster had successes.  The other effects are Permanent and should be counted as Boons.  On the other hand simply having this power puts the character at stage one of Bedlam.  The character will always be at stage one of Bedlam or higher and no amount of Banality under ten will cause him to slip out of Bedlam.
   Type:  Wyrd

White Wolf, Vampire the Masquerade, Changeling the Dreaming and all attendant materials and trademarks are Copyright © White Wolf.
All Images are Copyright © 2002 William Adams and cannot be reproduced without permission.
Some Characters are inspired by the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer and their use here does not represent a challenge to any pre-existing copyrights or trademarks.
Warning: This comic may include adult situations and  suggestive dialogue not suited for minors.

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