Homebrew Blood Sorcery

Aapilu Summoning Ritual

Using this ritual requires an ask before the scene occurs, to sort out how it will be done and if it is viable. The task and cost must be agreed upon between player and ST before beginning the scene and/or ritual. Please suggest a cost that is equivalent to the work the aapilu is being asked to do.

Your ability to summon an aapilu is done via a ritual roll. Their name must be known or shared. While it doesn’t confer dominant control over the aapilu it can be used to call them and negotiate services. Binding an aapilu is a campaign level goal. When given an aapilu as an ally for a campaign reward, the ritual still needs to be learned, but the exp cost is free. An aapilu may choose to appear in front of a character for free, such as in a campaign or ST led scene.

The Level of reliability influences how often the aapilu can be called if allied, otherwise there is a 2 stain fee for the ritual. The level of the ritual performed confers what the aapilu can do for the caster. The ritual roll is Intelligence + Blood sorcery vs level of ritual +1.

Ingredients: A pentagram or other sigil inscribed on the floor, a burning brazier, a wooden wand, lit candles at the points of the pentagram, the aapilu’s name they currently go by or still identify with. 
Process: Chant the name of the aapilu to start the call. Visualize the goals in which the casters wish to achieve. Drop a blood in a brazier then dip the wand in. Draw a pentagram or some summoning sigil.
System: On a success the blood will set the sigils on fire (No frenzy) and an appilu will appear in some form. Two stains are incurred if they are not allied. This opens negotiations as the aapilu can offer services in exchange for something of proportionate cost to ST discretion. The aapilu is usually amiable, but insults or threats will force it to retaliate.

On a failure, the sigil doesn’t ignite and no Stains are incurred. 

On a total fail, the sigil turns into black fire and the caster blacks out for a scene as the aapilu take them for a joyride. They wake to a massacre. No stains are incurred, but they must clean up the mess the aapilu made while possessing their body. 

Reliability Chart 

• 0 dot of Reliability – Once per story without incurring cost beyond the service fee an aapilu ally may be called for service.
• 1 dot of Reliability – Twice per story without incurring cost beyond the service fee an aapilu ally may be called for service.
• 2 dots of Reliability – Three times per story without incurring cost beyond the service fee an aapilu ally may be called for service.

Note: Additional use comes at a flat 2 stains to call them, plus whatever deal has to be struck. 

Remember: Those who summon an aapilu, and they are not an ally on the sheet, there is a flat 2 stain cost to summon, and they must still pay the service fee. The task will not be accomplished by the aapilu if the service fee is not paid first.

Aapilu Ritual Levels

These are the general terms of service and cost for work, these are examples, anything outside of this should match in terms of monstrous actions.

Level 1
Service: Equivalent to a Trivial Favor. Summon a lesser aapilu or an equivalent fraction of an aapilu’s power.
Usual Cost: Aggravated Willpower, resisting temptation, take a die penalty for one session, forget something important for the entire night (must be relevant to the scene).

Level 2
Service: Equivalent to a Minor boon. Summon an average aapilu or an equivalent fraction of an aapilu’s power
Usual Cost: Non-mitigated Stain from break of convictions or tenets

Level 3
Service: Equivalent to 2 Minor Boons. Summon an advanced aapilu  or an equivalent fraction of an aapilu’s power
Usual Cost: Impose next 3 rolls are at Hunger 5, demand a betrayal of a friend, harm a Touchstone.

Level 4
Service: Equivalent of a Major boon. Summon a formidable aapilu. 
Usual Cost: Kill a Touchstone, Increase automatically to Hunger 5, Embrace a Mortal, or any other monstrous act.

Level 5
Service: Banned, ST tool. Summon a Parshun who can exact massive changes. 

Aapilum Types and Power Scale

Aapilu level equivalents for deciding ally dot value. For descriptions refer to Blood Sigils or Tattered Facade. Refer to the Hombrew Advantage for supernatural ally mechanics.

Level 1
Lashu or Arnu: 2-dot base rating, 1-dot supernatural

Level 2
Zar or Imps(homebrew): 2-dot base rating, 2-dot supernatural

Level 3
Daeva: 3-dot base rating, 1-dot supernatural

Level 4
Manis: 3-dot base rating, 2-dot supernatural 

Level 5
Parshun: Banned, ST tool

Corebook

• Craft Bloodstone: The Creation is done after 1 hour of chanting and is completed at reset. It lasts for one full irl week unless destroyed.
• Wake with Evening’s Freshness: With the ritual roll not required unless they are in danger, you must inform the ST in solo campaigns if you have prepared this as soon as daysleep approaches. During regular play, it must be mentioned in your post as being set up.
• Dagon’s Call: Duration: After blood has touched the target the user has up to one IRL Month to use the discipline.
All others approved

Book of Nod Apocrypha

• Shape the Sanguine Sacrament: Changed from previous version, this power does not work to remove Scour Secrets damage.
• Blood Apocrypha: Approved

Blood Sigils

• Astromancy: Approved
• Bind the Accusing Tongue: The cord remains wound until either the target passes the test or until an amount of weeks passes equal to margin on ritual test.
• Craftmaster: Critical win lasts 3 weeks (3 nights), any rolls made using this power cannot be used for leveling as it does not represent the skill of the character nor development.
   • If used regularly against merits such as Retainers, there can be negative
   • If getting blood from a Contact, an appropriate hunt roll is needed. Their skill rating depends on if it is the Contact’s area of expertise or not. Refer to chart below.

• Depth of Nightmare: Approved as RAW
• Le Sang de l’Amour: An ask is required for the resolve + awareness roll.
• Silentia Mortis: Approved
• Tiamat Glistens: Will use the alternate guidelines presented. Success on Tiamat’s Glisten on a Furcus adds 1 automatic success to Blood Sorcery Rituals subsequently performed at that location as outlined by this Ritual’s duration; a critical win adds 2 automatic successes. performed at that location as outlined by this Ritual’s duration; a critical win adds 2 automatic successes.
• Viscera Garden: For full safety of Masquerade Breaches use a Haven 2 otherwise at your own risk.
• Blood Sigil: Sense the Unseen roll is required, diff 2 if touching the sigil/tattoo, diff 3 if only looking. It persists through Fleshcrafting and PHG.
• Nepenthe: Permanent stains are remain until the character drops in Humanity or takes another dose of Nepenthe. Characters with permanent stains roll for Remorse every night upon waking.
• Seeing with the Sky’s Eyes: Approved
• Seeking Tiamat: Use of this power requires use of the ask the st system. On a success, the Blood Sorcerer can locate a 1 dot Furcus; a critical win can locate a 2 dot Furcus. This can replace extended tests to locate Furcae.
• Soul of the Hemonculus: A month equals four weeks, submit an update upon completion. This is not a retainer, no need to purchase these with dots. You can only have one at a time. This will not be treated as a substitute child due to tenets.
• Stone of the True Form: Storyteller discretion. Oldest language == First language they learned
• Trespass: Each travel through cracks, liquid blood etc. costs 1 superficial willpower. This power follows the rules of Obfuscate.
• Viral Haruspex: Banned.
• Compel the Inanimate: Approved
• Ergregore Consultation: Banned
• Riding the Earth’s Veins: Requires an ask; STs will determine where the character emerges.
• Fisher King: Works as Clairvoyance, lasts 1 month and can only have one active at a time. Questions will be answered at ST discretion.

Players Guide

• Seal the Brand: This cannot be used to hide a thin-blood tattoo, it will always show over anything put on it. If they touch the hot metal they must make a Frenzy test at Difficulty 2.
• Calix Secretus: Can only store Blood once in an object till it’s empty again. Don’t try to make infinite Blood stores and don’t be cheesy. We are testing this one currently, if it becomes too cheesey we will add a limiter.
• Fire in the Blood: Can only be used once on a victim per night.
• Feast of Ashes: The pool is made of remaining Willpower, and can only be cast on the same victim once per night.
• Invisible Chains of Binding: Approved but don’t be cheesy. Someone frozen by the chains has the ability to reroll to break free once per hour against the initial user’s roll. People frozen can use Disciplines that do not require big movements.
• Dominion: Don’t forget this will affect coterie mates

Chicago Folios

Rituals of Chicago and Milwaukee (Chicago Folios)
Only Camarilla/Pyramid Tremere who come from the Chantry of Chicago or Milwaukee may acquire these rituals. Your character must come from either of these cities by background (and must have spent enough time there to learn them) and their city of provenance will lock which rituals they are allowed to learn (e.g. a Tremere from the Chicago Chantry will not be able to learn the rituals of the Milwaukee Chantry and vice versa).

Learning any of these rituals after character creation requires a pre-existing Mawla of either of these chantries, or a Storyteller-approved reasoning. If your character leaves the Pyramid and/or the Camarilla, access to these rituals and/or their Mawla will be lost.

• Calling the Aura’s Remnants: Approved
• Eyes of the Past: Approved
• Illusion of Peaceful Death: There must be at least 1 slake remaining in the body, at the discretion of the ST pending other wounds inflicted.
• Gentle Mind: Approved
• Unseen Change: Approved
• Innocence of Child’s Heart: Banned
• Rending the Sweet Earth: Approved
• Protean Curse: Approved
• Sanguine Watcher: Approved
• Bladed Hands: Approved
• Illusion of Perfection: Approved
• Haunted House: Approved, Masquerade threat potential 

Let the Streets Run Red

• Letter Ward: Approved
• Blood Message: Approved
• Herd Ward: Approved
• Sleep of Judas: Approved

Sabbat

Disciplines

• Transitive Bond: Only purchasable by characters with a Sabbat background or having been taught by an ex/Sabbat teacher. Players must inform other players of the use of this power on a ghoul, if other characters are to feed from the ghoul in question.
• Reclamation of Vitae: Only purchasable by characters with a Sabbat background or having been taught by an ex/Sabbat teacher. Warning: it will gain you 2 stains for intentional murder, as well as cause the loss of related retainer dots.

Rituals
• Beezlebeatit: Approved
• Communal Vigor: Only purchasable by characters with a Sabbat background or having been taught by an ex/Sabbat teacher.
• Galvanic Ruination: Only purchasable by characters with a Sabbat background or having been taught by an ex/Sabbat teacher. Be aware of the danger of this one in use: if used against a faction or sect it will spell execution if the characters are found out. This is not permitted OOC to be used against key location on the server, which is to say the faction locations and hunting grounds that have been noted in #locations-and-information.
• Simulacram Gate: Banned for player characters. Due to its history of only one being known in existence, this is strictly an ST tool.

Players Guide

Disciplines

• Scour Secrets: Shape the Sanguine will not clean these books nor will anything else, they are stained.
• Blood Aegis: If you already have a rouse check of your own vitae at the ready with Shape the Sanguine Sacrament, then the first rouse is unneeded, but follow-ups may need the rouse.

Rituals

• As Fog on Water: Approved
• Douse the Fear: This was originally called Dampen the Fear
• Seal the Brand: This cannot be used to hide a thin-blood tattoo, it will always show over anything put on it. If they touch the hot metal they must make a Frenzy test at Difficulty 2, with +1 agg damage if they keep holding onto the metal.
• Calix Secretus: Can only store Blood once in an object till it’s empty again. Don’t try to make infinite Blood stores and don’t be cheesy. We are testing this one currently, if it becomes too cheesey we will add a limiter
• Soporific Touch: Ishtar’s Touch was renamed.
• Fire in the Blood: Can only be used once on a victim per night.
• Feast of Ashes: The pool is made of remaining Willpower, and can only be cast on the same victim once per night.
• Guided Memory: Banned
• Invisible Chains of Binding: Approved but don’t be cheesy. Someone frozen by the chains has the ability to reroll to break free once per hour against the initial user’s roll. People frozen can use Disciplines that do not require big movements.
• Antebrachia Ignium: This is Creatio Ignis, refer to Players Guide and below for adjustments.
• Dominion: Don’t forget this will affect coterie mates

Gehenna War

Disciplines

• Blood’s Curse: Approved

Rituals

• Blood To Water: Approved
• Revealing Crimson Trail: Approved, Please CW for gore
• Innocence’s Veil: Approved
• Atrocity’s Release: Banned
• Reawakened Vigor: Banned

Cults of the Blood Gods

As with other cult rituals these are locked to SPC Mawla of their respective cults or being a member of the Illuminare. Of course, players can teach other players.

• Coax the Garden: Approved (Bahari)
• Eden’s bounty: Approved (Bahari)
• Dampen Fear: Approved – Renamed Douse the Fear in Players’ Guide. (Church of Caine)
• Fire in the Blood: Approved – See Player’s Guide Homebrew above. (Church of Caine)
• Creatio Ignis: Approved – Renamed Antebrachia Ignium in Player’s Guide.(Church of Caine) We use the Players Guide version, with one adjustment. The ritual requires one Rouse Check for the collection of vitae, this is done by whoever donates the Blood, and is done before the Ritual is started.

Forbidden Religions

As with other cult rituals these are locked to SPC Mawla of their respective cults or being a member of the Illuminare. Of course, players can teach other players.

• Enrich the Blood: Approved (The Penny Dining Club)
• Enhance Dyscrasia: Approved (The Penny Dining Club)
• The Shroud of Silence: Approved (The Shepherds of Ur-Shulgi)
• The Bloodless Feast: Approved (The Bloodless Pilgrims)

Blood-Stained Love

• Ripples of the Heart: Approved with homebrew – changes to mortal resonance only last one in game night/irl week, and Compulsions last four in game nights/irl weeks unless resolved; requires OOC consent for use against PCs.

In Memoriam

For information on how to use the Memoriam mechanic, refer here.

• Shared Memory: Approved; additional characters experiencing the memories gain nothing if they were not present for the event when it originally occurred. This is best used for providing plot hooks and understanding of characters’ experiences.
• Stolen Memory: Approved, can only go back to Sire.
• Guided Memories: Banned.

Tattered Facade

Disciplines
• STSS: Approved. Buffed to a full scene. Keep bonus to cleaning up or collecting blood as in Book of Nod Apocrypha.
• Fulminating Vitae: Approved. No blood bond element though. Vitae released after the detonation is inert and cannot give disciplines.
• Marionette: Approved. Ghouls may use Fortitude to augment their occult in resistance. May induce a torture stain.
• Aapilu Awakening: Not approved for now. We will revisit when supernatural allies are hashed out more.
Rituals
• Grim Chrysalis: Approved. Teachable by Koldun Mawla.
• The Balm of Bathory: Approved. Does not work on Nosferatu. For those with ugly or repulsive Flaw can suppress the flaw by one level. Effects last for a month. Once on the second batch, you receive one superficial per night, unless you use this ritual again or forgo a month per batch to overcome withdrawal negatives.

Live from the Succubus Club

Blood Missive: Same ritual as Blood Apocrypha just renamed.
Sanguine Tidings: Approved is mechanically the same as Bloody Message as Let the Streets Run Red other than a UV light vs Lightless room.
Seek the Gathered Vitae: Approved