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Dark Thaumaturgy
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| Though the Sabbat endorses many paths to power, dealing with demons is one that the sect has never approved of. Servitude to an infernal master, to the Sabbat's way of thinking, is no better than servitude to the Antediluvians - in some ways worse, as it places the Cainite under an influence that Caine himself never accepted. Nevertheless, individual Sabbat vampires do seek out the quick road to personal power that demons provide. One of the most common forms of power that demons grant to vampires is a unique form of blood magic, and such paths and rituals are collectively known as Dark Thaumaturgy. Most Cainites refer to practitioners of this Discipline as infernalists. Were a scholar of blood magic to compare the fundamental practices of Thaumaturgy to Dark Thaumaturgy, she would find few differences. Both are forms of magic that rely on the strength of Caine's Curse and the individual practitioner's vitae to power their effects. The primary differences lie in the philosophy behind the two Disciplines and the source of the requisite knowledge. Much like a history lesson from a devout neo-Nazi is inescapably colored by his perceptions, a blood magic lesson from a demon bears the biases of the infernal perspective on magical workings. With time, this taint affects the vampire's perceptions, his world view, his physical form and even his very soul (which, by this point, he merely holds in trust for his demonic master). The Sabbat loathes infernalists because their ultimate loyalty is not to the sect. Rather, it is to the demon with whom they made their pact for power. Though an infernalist's night-to-night actions may be in accordance with the Sabbat's goals, his master may call upon him at any moment to act on the demon's own agenda, regardless of how it conflicts with the actions and views of those around him. To an organization whose very existence is based on the principle of mutual loyalty, such betrayal is anathema. The recently expanded Sabbat Inquisition exists for the sole purpose of rooting out and destroying such traitors, and it is very, very good at this job. Learning individual paths and rituals of Dark Thaumaturgy follows the same limitations as for Thaumaturgy, including the declaration of a primary path. However, the learning process is marginally easier, thanks to demonic tutelage. All Dark Thaumaturgy paths cost two Experience Traits for Basic powers, five for Intermediate ones, and eight for Advanced ones. All Basic rituals cost two Experience Traits, Intermediate rituals cost three and Advanced Rituals cost five. Note that Thaumaturgy and Dark Thaumaturgy are incompatible for the purposes of sharing rituals and primary path levels - a character with an Advanced rating in his primary Dark Thaumaturgy path but only an Intermediate one in his primary path of Thaumaturgy cannot learn Advanced Thaumaturgy rituals. Players may not take this as one of their Disciplines at character creation. Even if you have every intention of coming into the chronicle as an infernalist (and where is your Storyteller if you are?), you must still make the bargain to start acquiring Dark Thaumaturgy. Furthermore, you may not learn simply by spending a couple of Experience Traits and calling it a fait accompli - your character must petition his dark master each and every time he wishes to advance on his path or learn a ritual. Doing so otherwise is to trivialize the dark pact and the fact that an infernalist is at the beck and call of a demon. |
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| Dark Thaumaturgical Paths |
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| Mechanically, Dark Thaumaturgy functions in the same manner as does Thaumaturgy (Laws of the Night, p. 176). To use one of the powers of an individual path, spend a Blood Trait and make any additional challenge expenditures that the individual path calls for. |
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