Blood And Magic

This is a homebrew supplement for Vampire The Masquerade: Fifth Edition. This supplement aims to add
powers and rituals for Blood Sorcery aimed at recreating the abilities of Tremere in older editions. One of the
biggest changes to V5 was the both in-setting and out-of-game hits to Clan Tremere. In-setting, this was
aimed at reducing them to Low Clan status and removing them as a pillar clan of the Camarilla to force them
to seek opportunity elsewhere. This justified them being playable in any sect, in any game, and brought some
much needed diversity to a Clan famed for producing stereotypical characters. Out of game, this brought
their power in line with other Clans, as Thaumaturgy was far stronger than any other Discipline in the game.
There were few situations a Brujah, Toreador or Ventrue could do as well in as a Tremere who spent all their
XP in the right thaumaturgical Paths, and Thaumaturgy contributed strongly to the “modern fantasy” feeling
that many disliked in older editions.

This supplement is aimed at players bridging the gap between V5 and V20. The main example in my mind of
when this supplement would be used is for NPCs who still have powers from before V5’s start date, or games
taking place during or before the fall of Vienna. This is not meant to be a “V20 but with V5’s hunger system”
brew. This is a brew for V5. It is simply meant to bring older powers of Thaumaturgy into Blood Sorcery.
These powers are significantly weaker to fit V5’s emphasis on street level horror over the gothic fantasy that
V20 could often become.

The following Paths are converted in this document:

● Elemental Mastery
● Hands of Destruction
● Neptune’s Might
● Movement Of Mind
● Path Of Conjuration
● Path Of Mars
● Path Of Technomancy
● Path Of Father’s Vengeance
● Counter Magic
● Weather Control.

On Paths Not Found Here. Path of Blood is already in V5 as of the corebook. Lure of Flames and The Green
Path can be found in Cults of the Blood Gods. Path of Corruption, due to being underused by players and
STs and already feasible with Dominate and Presence, has been left out.
Elemental Mastery
This Path allows the Sorcerer to create a scene
straight out of a story, spilling their blood and
causing that which does not live to move.
Onlookers panic as statues move and cutlery
march to slice their target.
Ritual
Level 3
Animate The Unmoving
❏ Ingredients: The caster’s own blood, an
object to animate
❏ Process: The caster opens a vein, and
draws a bloody symbol on the object to
be targeted. The bigger the object, the
bigger the glyph must be. The caster then
utters a command and wills the object to
follow it.
❏ System: The caster makes the Ritual roll.
Unlike other Rituals, the Difficulty of
this Ritual is determined by the size of
the object. An object the size of the
caster’s hand would be difficulty 4. An
object the size of caster would be
difficulty 6. Regardless of successes
scored, the caster cannot animate
anything larger than their own body.
On a success, the object begins to
move. It carries out the command given
to it to the best of its ability. While an
object cannot be made to do a clearly
impossible feat (doors cannot be made to
fly, a carpet could not spontaneously
combust), they do gain a form of
maneuverability while animated. Chairs
can walk on their legs and statues can be
made to slowly walk or hold someone in
place. Once the object completes its given
task, or fails, it ceases to animate.
Hand of Destruction
This path saw frequent use by those Tremere who
joined the Sabbat. Though its use has fallen by the
wayside as that sect has lost itself in its Gehenna
Crusade or been attacked by the Second
Inquisition, it has seen a resurgence among those
Tremere who learned it and reported back to the
Pyramid.
Blood Sorcery Powers
Level 3
Atrophy
This power allows the caster to transmute their
vitae into a deadly substance that rots flesh, alive
or not. This power differs from similar powers of
Blood Sorcery in that the substance created, while
far more destructive, is far too thick to coat a
blade and must be applied by hand to harm its
target. Because of this, it saw frequent use by
Sabbat Tremere who believed brute force was an
effective methodology.
❏ Cost: One Rouse Check
❏ System: Following the Rouse Check, the
caster grips their victim (requiring a
Strength + Brawl roll if the victim is
trying to avoid the caster), with the
victim suffering two levels of aggravated
damage as well as a crippling injury.
If this injury is inflicted to an
arm or leg, the target limb is rendered
crippled and will in the case of mortals
require lengthy rehabilitation, while
vampires can mend the damage as regular
Aggravated damage. Likewise, Atrophy
may render a target mute, deaf or blind.
See crippling injuries inVampire: The
Masquerade (p. 303) for details on the
mechanical effects of crippled limbs.
Storytellers may decide that such
mutilation warrants stains.
❏ Duration: One Turn
Neptune’s Might
This power allowed Tremere to claim dominion
over water, as a puddle became a means of spying
on others and even a bottle of it could become a
deadly weapon in the right hands.
Powers
Level 4
Neptune’s Grasp
This ritual allows the caster to weaponize water
and ice alike, creating impromptu binds and
weapons from little more than bottled water.
❏ Cost: One Rouse Check
❏ Dice Pools: None
❏ System: The caster touches the water to
be manipulated and it moves as they
command. While controlling the liquid,
they can freeze it or shape it as they wish.
Making the water move with any
significant force requires an Intelligence +
Blood Sorcery roll to animate it with
sufficient force. Bindings made by
freezing the ice are not supernaturally
durable, however with enough water one
could create bindings strong enough to
hold even some Kindred. The caster can
animate water of a roughly equivalent
mass to themself.
Rituals
Level 2
Eyes Of The Sea
This ritual turns a simple puddle or lake into a
tool to spy on others, requiring little more than
the caster’s vitae to use.
❏ Ingredients: The caster’s vitae, a portion
of the body of water to be used.
❏ Process: The caster spills some of their
vitae into the body of water to be used
and stores some of the water. When ready
to activate the ritual, they pour the water
they’ve stored into their eyes.
❏ System: The caster makes the ritual roll.
On a success, they are aware of everything
within the body of water they spilled
their blood in, and can see and hear
things near it. They see and hear
everything as if they’re swimming just
below the surface, possibly making
hearing a conversation difficult. This
ritual lasts a scene, after which the caster
must reapply their blood to the body of
water and recast the ritual.
Movement Of Mind
This Path is frowned upon by those in the
Camarilla, both for its proximity to the abilities
of Thinbloods and also its potential to create
potent Masquerade breaches. Still, to hear it from
the Tremere they held this power first and its uses
are just as subtle as they can be blatant.
Powers
Level 2
Mind’s Grasp
The source of comparisons to Thinbloods the
world over. This ritual allows the caster to grasp
an object from a far, as well as push or pull a less
than compliant target given enough skill.
❏ Cost: One Rouse Check
❏ Dice Pools: Intelligence + Blood Sorcery
vs. Strength + Athletics
❏ System: The caster activates the power
and can then lift, pull or push a physical
object or person under 100 kg, within
their sight and closer than 10 meters. The
object moves swiftly, but not rapidly
enough to injure a person with the blow;
the object may break if it is fragile. The
exception: knives or other small metal
 tools, which the caster can wield with a
Intelligence + Blood Sorcery test at a
two-dice penalty because of the need for
precision. A knife used this way does only
one point of extra damage.
Trying to move someone actively
resisting requires a contest of Intelligence
+ Blood Sorcery vs. Strength + Athletics.
On a win, the caster can pull the victim
within grabbing or clawing range, or
throw them one meter for each point of
the margin on the contest, doing an equal
amount of Superficial damage. They land
prone. Keeping someone or something
floating in mid-air requires a Intelligence
+ Blood Sorcery (Difficulty 3) roll every
turn. Fine manipulation (such as pulling
the pin of a grenade_ requires Wits
+Alchemy roll at a suitable Difficulty, as
determined by the Storyteller. This ritual
ends after a scene.
Path Of Conjuration
Creating objects from thin air has been an icon of
occult and supernatural myth almost as long as
vampires have. Through use of this Path, Tremere
learned to do just that.
Use of this Path has several limitations.
First, objects can only be created if it were
something the caster could reasonably obtain
without it. Creating steel bats, clothing and even
phones are all possible. However unless the caster
worked on the Manhattan Project, creating a
radioactive isotope or a nuclear bomb is
impossible. Second, objects created cannot be
larger than the caster, with objects approaching
that size becoming harder and harder to conjure.
Third is that objects created through this power
inevitably fade into nonexistence given time. This
means that objects conjured with this power will
inevitably cease to be, and attempts to use this
power to build something of lasting power are
foolish at best. And fourth is that the caster
cannot create any specific item. Items created are
utterly mundane and typical. Attempts to create
keys would create an unfiled key, attempts to
create a rifle would create one fresh off the
assembly line. In contrast, attempts to create my
keys or my rifle would fail outright. STs are
encouraged to be wary of players using this Path,
as a player can use it to circumvent Backgrounds
and other requirements to get what they need.
Rituals
Level 3
Conjuration
This ritual is the crux of this Path, however
learning it is only the beginning. There are
Tremere who use only this Path, relying on its
versatility to supplement other abilities. To those
who demonstrate such loyalty, they find it easier
and easier to conjure that they need.
Ingredients: The caster’s own blood, chalk, candles
and something to create a flame.
Process: The caster draws a sigil on the floor,
encircled with chalk and lit candles. They then
bleed onto the sigil and imagine what they wish to
conjure.
System: The caster spills his blood, making the
Ritual roll and paying the cost. Unlike other
Rituals, the difficulty is determined by the size of
the object to be conjured. An object the size of the
caster’s hand is relatively easy (Difficulty 4). An
object half the size of the caster’s body such as a
rifle or a steel pipe or bat, is much harder
(Difficulty 5) and one the size of the caster is
impossible for some initiates (Difficulty 7). On a
success, the object emerges from the sigil coated in
blood but otherwise ready to be used.
 The caster can meditate on a specific
object. While the specifics vary, studying the
object, actually meditating and even simply
drawing it are all suitable methods. Once a night
has been spent in deep focus towards the targeted
object, the caster finds rolls to summon it for the
remainder of the story at a -1 difficulty.
Path Of Mars
This Path saw frequent use in the Sabbat. It
allowed those Tremere who fought in the sect to
push their bodies to the limit and become deadly
combatants. This Path was studied by those
Tremere in the Camarilla, however due to a
difference in temperament it rarely saw use by the
Pyramid.
Ritual
Level 3
Solemn Mind
This ritual allowed Sabbat Tremere to rise against
those who would use their minds against them,
making Tremere in the Sword of Cain particularly
deadly to Ventrue and Toreador.
❏ Ingredients: The caster’s own blood
❏ Process: The caster slices both of his
palms, allowing his blood to seep onto the
floor around him. He then meditates five
minutes and the ritual takes effect.
❏ System: The caster makes the Ritual roll
as usual. On a success, he adds his Blood
Potency to pools to resist mind altering
effects (such as Dominate and Presence).
On a Critical Win, he can spend a
Willpower point to negate these effects
without even having to roll. This trance
ends after a scene.
Level 5
Fearless Heart
This ritual was the foundation of what made this
Path so fearsome. Scholarly Warlocks became
deadly combatants given only a few minutes to
prepare, their limbs bulging with blood fueled
strength.
❏ Ingredients: The caster’s own blood, the
blood of a person the caster deems strong
❏ Process: The caster cuts their hand, before
pouring the blood of another into the
open wound.
❏ System: The caster makes the Ritual roll
and imbibes the blood. On a success, their
body is suffused with supernatural might.
The caster gains +2 to all physical
attributes for a scene. This can stack with
Blood Surge.
Path Of Technomancy
Flying in the face of Elder Tremere, the Path of
Technomancy was created by Neonate Tremere
who wanted to control the creations of the
modern world. Later on, it became a tool of
Anarch Tremere and those involved in the Red
Letter, and its use was outlawed by the Inner
Council. Still, it retains some use in modern
nights.
Ritual
Level 2
On/Off
To those who see this ritual in action, electronics
simply fail to function. Cell phones die,
computers blue screen and a vehicle loses speed.
❏ Ingredients: A battery that has soaked for
at least one hour in the caster’s blood
❏ Process: The caster places the battery
against the object to be manipulated.
❏ System: The caster rolls the Ritual roll.
On a success, the object turns off (or
 turns on if it was already off). Larger
objects, such as those larger than the
caster, may require more successes to
affect with this ritual. A car or similarly
sized object may be Difficulty 5, whereas
a crane may be Difficulty 7.
Path of Father’s Vengeance
This Path saw use in the Sabbat. Drawing
inspiration from the Book of Nod, this Path used
the curses of other Cainites against them. It’s use
was rare in the Sabbat, where claiming to know
Caine’s will was tantamount to heresy. In other
sects, it’s use was virtually unheard of.
Rituals
Level 3
Curse Of The Father
This ritual allowed those Tremere in the Sabbat to
enact planned assassinations of key Kindred in
other sects. By invoking this ritual, Kindred
realizes all too late the damnation residing in their
veins.
❏ Ingredients: The caster’s own blood, the
blood of the target, a copy of the Book of
Nod
❏ Process: The caster draws a circle on the
floor with their own blood with the
target’s blood in the center. They then
recite a passage from the Book of Nod
pertaining to their target, before cutting
their hand and dropping a drop of their
own blood into the center of the circle.
❏ System: The caster makes the ritual roll.
On a win, the target’s Bane Severity
increases by 1. On a Critical Win, it
instead increases by 2. This effect lasts for
three nights, one for each of God’s angels
that visited Caine.
Countermagic
Not a true Path, this ritual rose to prominence as
a means of countering Blood Sorcery. When your
enemies learn to wield Rituals of their own,
knowing how to stop them becomes an effective
way of achieving your aims.
Rituals
Level 1
Countermagic
The principles of this Ritual are surprisingly
simple. Simply snap your fingers and it's done..
However in practice, use of this Ritual can be
exceedingly difficult. More masterful Blood
Sorcerers become increasingly difficult to counter
with this Ritual. Still, when success hinges on a
Ritual absolutely failing, this Ritual can be a
powerful tool.
❏ Ingredients: The caster’s own blood,
❏ Process: The caster draws on the magic of
their blood and snaps their fingers.
❏ System: The caster makes the Ritual roll
at the same time as their target. If the
caster of the counter scores more
successes, the target’s Ritual fizzles out
and the ingredients are wasted.
This power can be used on Wards
at the moment of activation, however the
caster must know of the ward’s existence
beforehand and must be present when the
ward is triggered to counter it. On a
success, the ward doesn’t harm whoever
triggered it and is disabled for a scene.
Weather Control
Eventually, Tremere even sought to control the
skies with their blood. With this Path, skilled
Tremere could shape the weather, creating heavy
overcast or thunderous rain. Though the concept
of striking down their foes with powerful
lightning remained out of the reach of this Path.

Rituals
Level 5
Weather Control
Through this Ritual, Tremere could create
considerable alterations in the local weather. Elder
Tremere could perform the impossible with this
Ritual, making it snow in the middle of Summer
or conjure clouds to drench a desert. This power is
not typically a breach of the Masquerade, but as
the caster achieves more impossible feats, it
doesn’t take a meteorologist to realize something
is off.
❏ Ingredients: The caster’s blood, a sundial
❏ Process: The caster draws a rune on the
sundial in his own blood and performs a
chant.
❏ System: The caster makes his Ritual Roll.
Depending on the desired result, the
Difficulty could change dramatically.
Creating reasonable weather such as
clearing up rain in summer could be
considered a typical use of this Ritual,
using the normal Difficulty for such
things. Creating something more
outlandish, like making it rain during a
drought could be much more difficult
(Difficulty 8). Doing something
impossible, such as making it snow in a
desert, is out of the abilities of most
Tremere (Difficulty 10)