Thaumaturgy (VTM)

This article is about the Discipline used by Clan Tremere. For the generic usage of the term, see blood magic (VTM).

Name:	Thaumaturgy
Symbol:
Pronunciation:
Clans:	Tremere

Thaumaturgy is the closely guarded form of blood magic practiced by the vampiric clan Tremere.

Overview

Created by exhaustive research and extensive experimentation, Thaumaturgy utilises the principles of Hermetic magic used by House Tremere when it was still a cabal of mages, adapted to be fuelled by the inherent magical power of Vitae rather than the Quintessence known to mortal mages. While it is certainly powerful and versatile, it is organised very differently to the Spheres; Thaumaturgy is largely unknown to mages, and universally distrusted and reviled by those who do know of it.

Thaumaturgy uses a system of paths and rituals to focus the thaumaturge's will. Paths are learned expressions of thaumaturgical principles developed into reliable, repeatable effects. Unlike the "natural" powers of Disciplines, however, thaumaturges must concentrate their will, forcing the power of their blood to unnatural ends. If their concentration is not complete, if they falter, then the magic will fail, and in extreme cases such failure can have a lasting effect on the thaumaturge, draining their mental resources. It was not always so, however; before the Final Nights, paths were less difficult to use and did not carry the possibility of harm to the thaumaturge.

Rituals, by contrast, are elaborate, sophisticated and codified instructions for producing set magical effects. Rituals vary in complexity, and require varying levels of thaumaturgical knowledge to complete successfully. They often require the trappings of Hermetic magic - circles drawn in chalk, locks of the victim's hair, meditation, chanting ancient words of power and the like. Rituals can take hours, days or even months to perform, but if successfully completed will always produce the same result. They can be incredibly powerful, particularly when senior thaumaturges join forces; it was a thaumaturgical ritual which cursed the entire Assamite clan.

Adept thaumaturges have sometimes been diagnosed with Thaumaturgical Glossolalia, a mental derangement that stems from over-expenditure and heavy reliance on the Discipline. Afflicted persons under stress speak only in thaumaturgical symbology, but often the mind of the individual seems to shift into a different state of thought - almost like magical aphasia. The afflicted has rarely any idea he is doing anything unusual, in his own mind still equates these concepts to the strange words, while conversely he becomes unable to translate more mundane language.

Paths

Thaumaturgy has a large number of paths; though it is not the oldest tradition of blood magic, the Tremere were magical scholars long before they were vampires and toil ceaselessly to push their studies ever further. Many paths were once known by names which reflected the Tremere's previous magical heritage.

Alchemy^[1]

• Simple changes to an object's form
• Complex changes to an object's form
• Complicated changes to an object's form
• Small changes in atomic number
• Major changes in atomic number

Biothaumaturgy^[2]

• Thaumaturgical Forensics: Gain information from a tissue sample
• 
  • Thaumaturgical Surgery (Revised): Convert a level of damage to a lesser form
  • Animal Experimentation (Prerevised): Can alter life forms less complex than a human
• 
  • Lesser Animation (Revised): Animate dead plants or small animals that will follow instructions
  • Thaumaturgical Surgery (Prerevised): Repair damage to all sorts of creatures, including supernatural ones
• 
  • Greater Animation (Revised): As Lesser Animation, except works on large animals and humans
  • Human Experimentation (Prerevised): As Animal Experimentation, except works on humans
• 
  • Cognizant Construction (Revised): Grant an animated creature rudimentary intelligence
  • Supernatural Experimentation (Prerevised): As Human Experimentation, exept works on supernatural creatures as well

Elemental Mastery^[3]

• Elemental Strength: Gain greater strength and resilience from the earth
• Wooden Tongues: Speak with inanimate objects
• Animate the Unmoving: Cause an object to move and act to a limited extent
• Elemental Form: Transform into an inanimate object
• Summon Elemental: Conjure an elemental spirit

The Faux Path^[4]

• Hello, Goodbye: Temporarily cause listeners to believe a true statement to be false
• Disciplinary Identification: Recognize what Disciplines are or have been used
• Thaumaturgical Nomenclature: Identify what Thaumaturgy powers and rituals are being used
• Ritual Madness: Give a target the sensation of a particular Thaumaturgical power or ritual without actually inducing the effect
• Sanguinary Affection: Produce an illusion that gives the effect of a particular Discipline power

The Focused Mind^[5]

• Readiness: Gain a dice pool to add to Wits-related rolls or initiative
• Centering: Cause a subject to ignore any effect that reduces dice pools; grant bonus to resist frenzy
• One-Tracked Mind: Make a subject unable to split perform multiple actions
• Dual Thought: Take an extra mental action per round, including another Discipline use
• Perfect Clarity: Reduce the difficulty of all actions, become immune to frenzy, and become resistant to mental influence

Gift of Morpheus^[6]

• Cause Sleep: Force a single target to become drowsy or sleep, opposed to the target's Willpower. Spend Willpower to affect supernaturals.
• Mass Slumber: Affect multiple targets with Cause Sleep against a flat difficulty.
• Enchanted Slumber: Force a target to sleep until a trigger event. Spend Willpower to affect vampires. Multiple successes extend sleep up to a year.
• Dreamscape: The vampire may project her own image into a dream, but has no control over the dream other than by her own actions within it. The vampire must have a belonging of the victim to use this power.
• Master of Dreams: The vampire may start changing the target’s dreams, once she has entered them by using Dreamscape. If the target is a vampire, a willpower point must also be spent. Once this power has been used, the target may also change her dreams with resistance rolls, and both characters may act in the dream as if they were awake. If either character dies in this dream, the character also dies for real.

The Green Path^[7]

• Herbal Wisdom : Commune with a plant
• Speed the Seed's Passing: Cause a plant to quickly grow or decay
• Dance of Vines: Animate vegetation
• Verdant Haven: Create a shelter of branches and vegetation
• Awaken the Forest Giants: Animate trees

Geomancy Path^[8]

blessing or cursing of:

• Resistance to magic
• social attributes
• physical attributes
• talents
• any attribute or ability

Hands of Destruction^[9]

• Decay : Cause an inanimate object to age years in seconds
• Gnarl Wood: Ruin an object of wood with a look
• Acidic Touch: Your hand dispenses a powerful acid
• Atrophy: Cause a victim's limb to wither
• Turn to Dust: Make a person age years in seconds

The Hearth Path^[10]

• Guest's Herald: Create a small effect that goes off whenever someone passes through a entryway
• Master's Order: Know where all things that belong to you in your haven are located
• Rhyme of Discord: Anyone else who comes into your haven becomes disoriented and cannot remember what they find there
• Temportal: Teleport from one of your haven's doorways to another
• The Cauldron's Rede: Speak to items in your haven about events that have occurred there

Lure of Flames^[11]

This path does not have individual powers at each level. Instead, each level creates greater flames that are more dangerous.

Mastery of the Mortal Shell^[12]

• Vertigo: Cause a target to be disoriented and dizzy
• Contortion: Make a victim's limb constrict and become useless
• Seizure: Cause a victim's body writhe and tighten uncontrollably
• Body Failure: As Seizure, but more powerful
• Marionette: Force a target's body to move and act as you desire

Movement of the Mind^[13]

• Force Bolt: Cause a target to fall down losing his next action or can shunt a object of 100lb or less toward or away.
• Manipulate: Allows you to lift and handle a object that you would with one hand. TV remote, Hand Gun, a Lever et al.
• Flight: Allows the caster the ability to hoist a person or the caster into the air and can move them at walking speed.
• Repulse: As with force bolt but objects with much more weight and more then one.
• Control: Force a target's body to move as you desire or you can heft up to a single ton.

Neptune's Might^[14]

• Eyes of the Sea : See what has transpired around a still body of water
• Prison of Water: Use a large body of water to bind a target
• 
  • Blood to Water (Revised): Turn a subject's blood into water, some other liquids as well
  • Dehydrate (Prerevised): Remotely drain water from a victim
• Flowing Wall: Create a strong barrier of water
• 
  • Blood to Water (Prerevised): Turn a subject's blood into water, some other liquids as well
  • Dehydrate (Revised): Remotely drain water from a victim

Oneiromancy^[15]

• Portents: Receive visions after waking that allegorically refer to future events of one's life
• Foresee: As Portents, but works on another individual
• Dreamspeak: Send messages to someone through their dreams
• Augury: Gain answers to questions from another person's dreams
• Reveal the Heart's Dreams: Learn what someone most desires and fears from their dreams

Path of Blood^[16]

• 
  • A Taste For Blood : Gather a variety of information from a blood sample
  • Blood Strike: A projectile will strike your victim, and may return with stolen blood
• 
  • Blood Rage: Force a target to expend their vitae to raise attributes
  • Purge: Nearby enemies will vomit blood, causing damage
• 
  • Blood of Potency: Temporarily lower your generation
  • Blood Shield: A damage-absorbing shield surrounds the caster
• 
  • Theft of Vitae: Steal blood from a target from a distance
  • Blood Salvo: As Blood Strike, but affecting multiple targets
• 
  • Cauldron of Blood: Cause a victim's blood to burn them from within
  • Blood Boil: The target's blood is heated to a boil, causing them to explode, damaging nearby targets

Path of the Blood's Curse^[17]

• Ravages of the Beast : Cause a target to frenzy
• Weight of the Sun: Make a vampire feel the effects of being awake during the day
• Abated Tooth: Prevent a vampire's fangs from extending
• Treacherous Bonds: Temporarily corrupt a blood bond, turning love to hate
• The Withering of Ages: Cause a vampire to decay to their true age

Path of Conjuring^[18]

• Summon the Simplest Form : Conjure a very simple object
• Permanency: It becomes easier to permanently conjure an object
• Magic of the Smith: Conjure a complex object
• Reverse Conjuration: Banish objects conjured with this path
• Power Over Life: Conjure living (though mindless) beings for a temporary duration

Path of Corruption^[19]

• Contradict : Make someone change their mind on a course of action
• 
  • Disfigurement (Prerevised): Change the appearance of someone, making more or less attractive
  • Subvert (Revised): Cause a victim to act on their dark impulses
• 
  • Change Mind (Prerevised): Give someone a new Demeanor
  • Dissociate (Revised): Make someone become distant from others for a time
• 
  • Addiction (Revised): Cause a victim to be psychologically dependent on a particular sensation
  • Cripple (Prerevised): Paralyze someone's legs
• 
  • Corrupt Soul (Prerevised): Give someone a new Nature
  • Dependence (Revised): Temporarily bind someone to you

Path of Curses^[20]

• Stigma : Make an individual suffer socially for an evening
• Malady: Curse a victim with an illness, reducing their Physical Attributes
• Pariah: Make others see the target as their worst enemy
• Corrupt Body: Temporarily reduce one of the target's Physical Attributes
• Fall from Grace: A victim gains a botch die to all actions

Path of the Father's Vengeance^[21]

• Zillah's Litany : Discover blood bonds and Vinculi the target has
• The Crone's Pride: Reduce a victim's Appearance to zero for the night
• Feast of Ashes: Force a vampire to only be able to gain sustenance from ash for a time and be limited in how they may use blood points gained from it
• Uriel's Disfavor: Make all light uncomfortable and harmful the vampire
• Valediction: Temporarily undo any change in generation from diablerie

Path of the Levinbolt^[22]

• Spark : Generate a small electrical discharge
• Illuminate: Generate enough energy to charge a small device or produce light
• Power Array: Discharge or absorb a greater amount of energy
• Zeus' Fury: Build up energy and direct it as arcs of lightning
• Eye of the Storm: Become charged with an incredible amount of electricity

Path of Mars^[23]

• Warcry: Temporarily increase one's Courage and Willpower
• Strike True: A single melee attack automatically succeeds with one success
• Wind Dance: If not attacking, you can dodge many times without penalty
• Fearless Heart: All your Physical Attributes raise by one
• Comrades at Arms: Use Path of Mars powers on others

Path of Mercury^[24]

• teleport 10 Yards
• teleport 50 Yards
• teleport 500 Yards
• teleport 5 Miles
• teleport 500 Miles

Path of Shadowcrafting^[25]

• Out Light : Make lights darker or extinguish
• Shadow Taunt: Make a shadow mimic your movements
• Coruscating Shadow: Cause shadow to cover you, making you harder to be seen
• Night's Veil: Extend a shadow so that it creates an area of night in daylight
• Abyssal Pact: Summon an abyssal shadow that attacks or counters Obtenebration

Path of Technomancy^[26]

• Analyze: Learn how a device works
• Burnout: Cause a machine to malfunction
• Encrypt/Decrypt: Cause a device to only work for you
• Remote Access: Operate a machine remotely
• Telecommute: Project your mind into the global telecommunication network

Path of Transmutation^[27]

• Fortify the Solid Form: Make an object stronger
• Crystallize the Liquid Form: Transform a liquid into solid form
• Liquefy the Solid Form: Cause an object to soften and melt for a scene
• Gaol: Turn air into an indestructible block
• Ghost Wall: Turn an object into a gaseous mist

Path of Warding^[28]

• Bar the Common Passage: Block an door and get alerted if something breaks the ward
• Glyph of Scrying: Create a glyph to monitor its surrounding area
• Runes of Power: Ward an object with a rune, that deals aggraveted damage to everyone who touches it
• Glyph of Enlightenment: Create a glyph for scrying, comunication and transmitting thaumaturgical powers
• Secure the Sacred Domain: Seal of an entire castle for one night

Perdo Magica^[29]

This path has no own powers, instead it allows to counter other magic.

Prey on the Soul's Fear^[30]

• Startle the Superstitious Mind: Create such fear that a mortal or vampire is rooted to the spot where he stands
• Rout the Charging Hordes: Cause an number of people to flee from you
• Wrath of God: Cause a victim to witness his particular version of hell
• The Inner Demon: Confront somebody with his darkest fears
• Demonic Horde: Create horrific images and implant them in your victims mind

Rego Magica^[31]

This path has no own powers, instead it allows to create new paths.

Rego Mentem^[32]

This path is the pagan version of the infernal Rego Manes. It does not have individual powers at each level. Instead, each level allows to summon stronger nature spirits and to inflict more damage upon any spirit.

Soul of the Serpent^[33]

• Serpentine Sense : See in the dark
• Scaleskin: Get a smooth and scaly skin, allowing for greater flexibility on land and considerable freedom of movement through water.
• Venom Curse: Transform your vitae into a deadly poison capable of blinding the eyes of nearby opponents, like that of a spitting cobra.
• Touch of Typhon: Transform forarm in an venomous asp.
• Form of The Hydra: Transform your body into a writhing mass of vipers

Spirit Manipulation^[34]

• Hermetic Sight : See into the spirit world
• Astral Chant: Be able to communicate with all spirits
• Voice of Command: Force a spirit to obey your commands
• Entrap Ephemera: Bind a spirit into an object to create a fetish
• Duality: Exist in both the material and spiritual world

Spirit Thaumaturgy^[35]

• Evil Eye : Inflict botched diece on your victim
• Spirit Sight: See and speak with spirits
• Spirit Slave: Demand a service of a spirit
• Fetishes: Force a spirit to inhabit an object
• Journey: Leave your body, and roam the physical world as a spirit

Transitus Velociter^[36]

This path does not have individual powers at each level. Instead, each level allows you to increase the speed of larger groups of mortal, vampires and mounts for several hours.

Video Pellis^[37]

This path is the pagan version of the infernal Video Nefas.

• See the Unseen : Gaze into the spirit world
• Learn the Heart's Pain: look into someone’s heart and determines what grieves him the most
• Seize the Moment : Reach into the mind of your victim and draw forth his memories and thoughts
• Casting the Bones: Part the mists of time and gaze into the future
• Recall the Bloody Deed: Raise a spectre of vengeance to uncover past misdeeds

The Vine of Dionysus^[38]

• Methyskein : Make a victim slightly drunk
• Omophagy: Cause a victim to be ravenously hungry
• Hamartia: Give a target feelings of euphoria
• Enthousiasmos: Cause multiple victims to enter a passive state of happiness
• Oinos Aimatos: Imbue your vitae with the effect of Enthousiasmos

Weather Control^[39]

• Control fog
• Control rain
• Control wind
• Control storm
• Control lightning

See Also

• Blood Sorcery
• Dark Thaumaturgy
• Dur-An-Ki
• Setite Sorcery
• Thaumaturgical Countermagic

References

^  Alchemy

Alchemy

Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy

Pg. 68-69

^  Biothaumaturgy

Biothaumaturgy	Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand	Pg. 78-79
Biothaumaturgy	Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy	Pg. 69-71

^  Elemental Mastery

Rego Elementum	Vampire: The Dark Ages	Pg. 167-168
Elemental Mastery	Guide to the Camarilla	Pg. 99-100
Rego Elementum	Dark Ages: Vampire Rulebook	Pg. 215-216

^  The Faux Path

The Faux Path

Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy

Pg. 84-85

^  The Focused Mind

The Focused Mind

Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy

Pg. 71-72

^  Gift of Morpheus

The Focused Mind

Player's Guide to the Sabbat

Pg. 114

^  The Green Path

The Green Path

Guide to the Camarilla

Pg. 100-101

^  Geomancy Path

Geomancy Path

A World of Darkness

Pg. 100

^  Hands of Destruction

Hands of Destruction

Vampire: The Masquerade Revised Edition

Pg. 182

^  The Hearth Path

The Hearth Path

Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy

Pg. 72-73

^  Lure of Flames

Rego Ignem	Vampire: The Dark Ages	Pg. 165
Lure of Flames	Vampire: The Masquerade Revised Edition	Pg. 180
Rego Ignem	Dark Ages: Vampire Rulebook	Pg. 214-215

^  Mastery of the Mortal Shell

Mastery of the Mortal Shell

Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy

Pg. 73-75

^  Movement of the Mind

Rego Motus	Vampire: The Dark Ages	Pg. 165-166
Movement of the Mind	Vampire: The Masquerade Revised Edition	Pg. 181
Rego Motus	Dark Ages: Vampire Rulebook	Pg. 215

^  Neptune's Might

Neptune's Might	VTM: The Players Guide	Pg. 86-87
Neptune's Might	The Players Guide Second Edition	Pg. 83
Rego Aquam	Vampire: The Dark Ages	Pg. 166-167
Neptune's Might	Guide to the Camarilla	Pg. 101-102

^  Oneiromancy

Oneiromancy

Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy

Pg. 75-76

^  Path of Blood

Rego Vitae	Vampire: The Dark Ages	Pg. 164-165
Path of Blood	Vampire: The Masquerade Revised Edition	Pg. 178-180
Thaumaturgy	Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Rego Vitae	Dark Ages: Vampire Rulebook	Pg. 213-214

^  Path of the Blood's Curse

Path of the Blood's Curse

Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy

Pg. 76-78

^  Path of Conjuring

Path of Conjuring	VTM: The Players Guide	Pg. 82-83
Path of Conjuring	The Players Guide Second Edition	Pg. 82
Path of Conjuring	Vampire: The Masquerade Revised Edition	Pg. 181

^  Path of Corruption

Corruption	VTM: The Players Guide	Pg. 88-89
Corruption	The Players Guide Second Edition	Pg. 85-86
Path of Corruption	Guide to the Camarilla	Pg. 102-104

^  Path of Curses

Path of Curses

Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy

Pg. 78-80

^  Path of the Father's Vengeance

Path of the Father's Vengeance

Guide to the Sabbat

Pg. 117-118

^  Path of the Levinbolt

Way of the Levinbolt	Dark Ages Companion	Pg. 94
Path of the Levinbolt	Clanbook: Tremere Revised	Pg. 51-53

^  Path of Mars

Path of Mars

Guide to the Sabbat

Pg. 116-117

^  Path of Mercury

Path of Praapti

Blood Sacrifice: The Thaumaturgical Companion

Pg. 65

^  Path of Shadowcrafting

Path of Shadowcrafting

Clanbook: Tremere Revised

Pg. 53-56

^  Path of Technomancy

Path of Technomancy

Guide to the Camarilla

Pg. 104-105

^  Path of Transmutation

Thaumaturgical Alchemy	Dark Ages Companion	Pg. 92-94
Path of Transmutation	Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy	Pg. 80-82

^  Path of Warding

Path of Warding

Dark Ages Companion

Pg. 95-96

^  Perdo Magica

Perdo Magica	VTDA: House of Tremere	Pg. 109-110
Perdo Magica	Players Guide to Low Clans	Pg. 168

^  Prey on the Soul's Fear

Thaumaturgical Alchemy

Dark Ages Companion

Pg. 94-95

^  Rego Magica

Rego Magica

VTDA: House of Tremere

Pg. 106-109

^  Rego Mentem

Rego Manes (Path of Spirits)

Dark Ages Companion

Pg. 107-108

^  Soul of the Serpent

Soul of the Serpent

Cairo by Night

Pg. 88

^  Spirit Manipulation

Spirit Manipulation

Guide to the Camarilla

Pg. 106-107

^  Spirit Thaumaturgy

Spirit Thaumaturgy	The Succubus Club	Pg. 65-66
Spirit Thaumaturgy	Vampire Players Guide Second Edition	Pg. 83-84

^  Transitus Velociter

Way of Passage	Libellus Sanguinis 2: Keepers of the Word	Pg. 63
Transitus Velociter	Dark Ages: Vampire Rulebook	Pg. 217

^  Video Pellis

Video Nefas (Path of Evil Revelations)

Dark Ages Companion

Pg. 105-106

^  The Vine of Dionysus

The Vine of Dionysus

Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy

Pg. 82-83

^  Weather Control

Rego Tempestas	Vampire: The Dark Ages	Pg. 166
Weather Control	Guide to the Camarilla	Pg. 108-109
Rego Tempestas	Dark Ages: Vampire Rulebook	Pg. 215