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Giovanni Clan Disciplines

Potence

Dominate

Necromancy
(since this is like Thaumaturgy.
Below are the paths)
Sepulchre Path
Ash Path
Bone Path
Cenotaph Path  
Pisanob Necromancy  
Necromantic Rituals  

NOTE: The disciplines that are explained here are information collected from Laws of the Night, Vampire the Masquerade Source book and The Giovanni Clanbook. Copyrighted by White-Wolf.

Potence

This Discipline is the phenomenal strength that is displayed by vampires. The kindred that possesses this Disicpline can achieved amazing feats of strength that a normal human would not be able to. As a kindred progresses in the years, A kindred can either grow stronger with this Discipline or simply learn another level. Each level shows the type of strength that a kindred can use.

Level 1 : Prowess
This basic level can kill even the hardiest mortals. Using bare hands alone can inflict very grevious wounds that could only be caused with the use of a club.
A kindred is able to lift heavy objects that a mortal would have trouble lifting.

Level 2 : Might
This Second level is a little more lethal than Prowess, meaning that a kindred can actually harm another kindred greviously. With this level, you can easily overcome some of the weaker kindreds in strength.

Level 3 : Vigor
Your unnatural vampire power is truly exceptional. This power alone allows a kindred to life hundreds of pounds with relative ease, crush bones easily or even bully a weaker kindred into submission with your strength alone.

Level 4 : Intensity
Your strength is so immense that you never seem to tire out. A kindred relying on this level, will never be dissappointed with the strength of the level. Unless sorely pressed or wounded, you can continue incredible feats indefinitely.

Level 5 : Puissance
There are no mortals alive that could match this level of strength and even vampires tremble at your touch. The strongest of them all, almost rivalling the proverbial Superman. Use it well.

Dominate

This power shows the awesome mental powers of the kindred that possesses this. Through the use of hypnotic words or the mind, one can easily bring the target into his fold, following his commands like a mindless zombie or even stripping away certain memories of the target. However, despite being potent, the discipline needs to be used accordingly in order for it to work. The Commands must be issued verbally, unless used in accordance with Auspex:Telepathy. It doesn't work with kindred that do not understand the language and one cannot dominate an older kindred. However, the last option has been a little sketchy since there are times where even a elderly kindred can succumb to Dominate when he is not careful. Lastly, eye contact must remain at all times.

Level 1 : Command
The simplest form of Dominate, this Discipline can only be used with direct eye-to-eye contact and a one word command. However, this level cannot be used to harm the target directly such as "Die". If the target doesn't seem to understand the command, (vague, ambigious, unclear) the target may respond slowly or might interpret it as something else. A good way to use this level, is to emphasize on a certain word in a sentence. An example would be "You may -sit- down now". However, this method requires precise eye-locking and the right time to say the word or else the effect of the power will be poor.

Level 2 : Mesmerize
This is almost similar to a post hypnotic suggestion. BY simplying implanting a suggestion or a false thought into a target's subconscious mind, a kindred can invoke this suggestion anytime or even with a particular event. Powerful it may seem, but this power can only be used when the target is free from distraction and requires intense concentration. Eye-contact is a must and the command must be clear and precise. This power cannot be used to harm the person directly such as "Shoot yourself at precisely noon" even though this power can be used to cause a weaker person to take on a large group. The commands that are used can be simple (walk outside when it is raining) or highly complex (observe a person's habits and relay the information at a certain time). ONLY ONE suggestion can be implanted on a person at any given time.

One or Two Successes - The target cannot do anything that is strange to her (IE: walk outside when it is raining but won't act like a chicken)
Three or Four Successes - Any Command as long as it doesn't endanger the subject.
Five Successes - Virutally anything as long as it doesn't harm the target directly or against his/her nature.

Level 3 : The Forgetful Mind
Think of this as a brainwashing technique but in terms of memories. A kindred with this power can alter or erase a target's memory. This power doesn't allow for telepathic connection as the kindred using this level must operate like a hypnotist, asking questions and getting answers out of the target. The alteration of the memory depends on what the kindred desires. This power is used most oftenly to make the target "forget" ever being bitten or ever meeting the kindred.

Most important factor that makes a memory successfuly being implanted in a target's subconcious mind (since the mind will naturally resist it) is the amount of detail put into it. For example : a simple memory ("You ate at a restaurant last nighht") will be more likely to crumble like a proverbial house of cards than a very detailed memory ("You went to Denny's last night at about 8.15 pm. You were being waited on by a pretty waitress and you ordered the Meat Skillet combo. however she said that they ran out of soup and you decided to have salad and mash potatoes with extra gravy with it. After paying for the meal, you went home to watch Jerry Maguire which happened to be on Re-Run and felt asleep through it")

Of course, even though this power sounds simple to use, but it is not always effective. One can sometimes leave holes in a subconscious mind due to the fact that the kindred didn't know what the target was doing previously. This results in "gaps" or holes in memories that the target doesn't comprehend not remembering. Hence the reason of amnesia seeps in.

Sometimes a target may remember being bitten, but might conclude it as an animal attack. Greater memories that were "erased" might return in the form of deja-vu or pieces of dreams. Sometimes the target might even be assaulted by all the memories through a familiar smell, or event that was associated with the memory.

A quicker way to restore this memory is another kindred with the Dominate:The Forgetful Mind. A kindred can sense whether a person has its memories altered or not through the use of this power. HOWEVER, the target that has this power cannot do it on himself.

Level 4 : Conditioning
At this level, your mental powers are truly firghtful and pervasive. Imagine being able to make a mindless puppet of a person. With time, you can strip away the defenses of the most determined mind, even removing your victim's personality and free will.

Through sustained manipulation , the vampire can make a subject more plaint to the Kindred's will. With more sessions, the target (usually a mortal since they are easier) would be more susceptible to the kindred's will while being more resisting against other kindred's will. However, one doesn't take over a person's mind in a night. It takes weeks and even months to be successful.

This power are most often used to "brainwash" their retainers so that they will remain completely loyal to their masters. In this method, the retainers would -literally- follow every command obediently like a faithful dog would. However, with such a prize, comes a high price. The Target loses ALL senses of creativity, will, passion and individuality, taking on the form of a mindless zombie that only listens to its master. Once you have established the target's sense of total obedience, one doesn't need to make an eye-contact to issue commands. However, these commands are to be issued verbally.

Once Conditioned, the target becomes more difficult to be dominated by other kindred. However, there are ways for a target to be unconditioned or released.

The common way is to wait it out. In other words, the target has to be separated from the kindred that had conditioned her for a very long time. Depending on the situation or the degree of the conditioning, the process might takes days to weeks or even months before the target regains his/her whole personality without any intervention from the master. During this time, the target will slowly regain his/her will and personality. However, should the master tries to conditioned the target again, it takes half the effort to reconditioned that target again.

An unorthodox yet effective solution is to reCondition the target to regain their former self.

Level 5 : Possession
No mortal mind can resist the power of your will. This ability allows a kindred to transfer his/her own conciousness into another -mortal- body. This means that the vampire spirit takes over the body of the mortal completely, leaving behind an empty shell of his vampiric body. Since the Laws of the Night and Vampire the Masquerade Source book entails different ways of possessing a mortal, this page will list the two ways to appease both parties.

The two ways are Direct eye-to-eye contact and holds it there OR through touch/gripping. Either way, the kindred will try to transfer its essence and mind into the mortal's body, thus fighting a psychic battle with mortal. If successful, the vampire's body collapse without any volition and the vampire takes complete control of the mortal. The mortal however falls into a mental fugue under possesssion. The mortal is only aware of the events only in a distorted, dreamlike fashion. The Vampire's body is left defenseless and usually Kindred would hide the body to ensure the body's safety.

There is no limitations on distance between the vampire's body and the mind. So the Vampire that is controlling the mortal can travel further away from the body. In this state, the vampire can use some of the disciplines he has but that will be shown later. But in this state, the vampire experiences everything that the mortal body feels during possession from pleasure to pain. As a result, any damage to the mortal body is also applied to the kindred's body. If the mortal dies before the kindred's spirit leaves the body, the kindred's body will go into torpor. This is due to the reason that the vampire's spirit has been casted out from the body and needs to find its body.

An advantage to this power is that, even though the vampiric body is destroyed, the vampire's spirit can still live on in the mortal's body. However, at each sunrise, the vampire has to fight to regain the body or else be expelled from the body. If the vampire tumbles into the astral plane, his soul is permanently lost in the spirit world. If the vampire in the mortal body is embraced, this is a Final Death to the vampire as the spirit prevents the transfer of the Curse.

Should the mortal be alive when the vampire leaves the body, the mortal may wake up in an instant or even be in a state of comatose for days while the psyche copes with the violation.

Since a mortal's body is not as strong at a vampire's, this power is used on a ghoul instead to keep his strength and endurance. The vampire can only use Mental Disciplines to aid him in this state as all pyshical abilities are relied on the mortal's body. Hence the reason why kindreds would rather use this level of Dominate on a ghoul to keep its relatively increased speed, strength and stamina.

NECROMANCY

The real power of the Giovanni is the power over death. The Giovanni clan was not known as the Clan of Death or The Necromancers for nothing. Not many clans has this ability saved for the Samedi and the Tremere.The Giovanni is the primary clan that pursues this Discipline tirelessly. Hence, the teachings and the practicionars are usually shunned or ignored whenever possible. Teachings of this Discipline to other clans not of the Giovanni blood are punishable by Final Death and this age old tradition is held -very- strictly.

Do not get confused with the word Necromancy in White-Wolf terms. There are different paths of Necromancy for a Giovanni to learn and all these paths have their own unique abilities. For instance, a Giovanni may be able to control spirits while another Giovanni may only control zombies. Only patience and time that a Giovanni can fully master this dark and powerful Discipline that would make any vampire tremble.

Over the centuries, the various schools of vampiric Necromancy have diversified, leaving three recognisable paths of necromantic magic to the Kindred. Mindful that there are other paths but they are usually rare and available to certain branches of the family which will be shown later.

Why used Wraiths ? First of all, they are invisible even to the vampire's eyes unless used with Auspex. They can strike and drain any vampire of mental and pyshical powers until they are weak leaving the Giovannis to finish them off easily. They are also a good source of information through the spirit world and some good necromancers can find ways to manipulate them to their own reasons

All Necromancers first learn the Sepulchre path, and then extend thier studies to the Bone Path (control over Zombies) or Ash Path (Control over Spirits). There are also rituals that Necromancers can learn and their effect are truly impressive saved for the fact that it is tedious and requires a very delicate procedure.

To make a long story short, A Necromancer has to master the first three levels of Sepulchre before extending his studies to either the Bone Path or the Ash Path.

Once the necromancer has mastered Sepulchre (All five levels), the Necromancer can then take on both paths. For example, A Giovanni by the name of Diego has mastered 3 levels of Sepulchre. He can now have the choice to learn either Ash or Bone. IN this case, he wants to learn Ash. However, once the decision is made, he cannot learn Bone if he has mastered a level in Ash Path. Then as time progresses on and Diego learns the trade, he manages to master Sepulchre and has not mastered another level beyond the level of Ash path that he has. The level in Ash path doesn't affect him learning Bone path as long as the primary path (Sepulchre) is mastered and now Diego can now learn a third path which is the Bone path.

There is a benefit to this Discipline called Automatic level raising which is only applicable to Sepulchre. How it works is that any number level gain in the second path that is greater that the number of levels in the Sepulchre path, the level in the Sepulchre path will increase to match the level of the second path.

For Example: Diego has learned 3 levels of Sepulchre which entitles him to extend his studies to the two paths. In this case, Diego learns a level in Ash Path. As time progresses, Diego managed to master 4 levels of Ash Path. Since he didn't spend time on Sepulchre Path, The number of levels in Sepulchre is 3 and the number of levels in Ash Path is 4. With this automatic raising, Diego will automatically know 4 levels in Sepulchre to match with the 4 levels of Ash. This is due to the fact that the Sepulchre path is the primary path that needs to be concentrated more. So if Diego mastered the 5th level of Ash Path, he automatically knows the 5 th level of the Sepulchre path as well.

ALL Begining Necromancers gains 1 level in the Necromantic Rituals automatically. However, the amount of levels gain in Rituals cannot exceed the amout of levels in Sepulchre Path. For example: Diego has 4 levels of Rituals and 3 levels of Sepulchre. This is not possible. However, if the Necromancer has 4 levels of Necromancy, this means that the necromancer knows at least 4 levels of rituals.

The table below would illustrate the point for any begining Necromancers.

The Sepulchre Path

This path is the first path for all necromancers, the path where all necromancers began their studies. All Giovannis has some form of control over ghosts and this path is the one that helps the Giovannis to get Wraiths to help them. With this path, the kindred delves into the names of wraiths and the means by which they may be compelled to service. This would be in the simple form of giving the spirits what they want like a child ghost wanting her teddy bear or even threathening them into providing service for the necromancer. Many Giovannis even called upon "family wraiths" that have worked for them for several years, especially since some novices lack the ability to see or communicate with wraiths that they do not summon and control directly.

Level 1 : Insight
This level allows the kindred to see the last visions of a corpse. These visions are usually the final scenes of his death and they appear as flashes of vision and startling sensations. The Vision only appears in the eyes of the cadaver and no one except the Necromancer can see it. This power can even be used on the corpse of a vampire who has reached Final Death. However, this is only possible as long as he has not achieved Golconda and is not in a state of advanced decomposition. This is impossible on vampires who are still ambulatory.

Level 2 : Summon Soul
This power allows the kindred to summon a particular wraith to appear for the summoner. This is the most perceived power of Necromancy. However, there are certain procedures that a necromancer must do to use this power. This power is not used to order ghosts or spirits to perform tasks, but for conversational purposes only. In order to perform this feat, the Giovanni or the necromancer must :-

1) Know the name of the wraith that he is calling since, The Giovanni will be calling this name out. This can be substituted with a clear image of its persona through the use of Spirit's Touch or even just from memory.
2) The Giovanni must have an item that the wraith has some contact with before death. If the item has an important relationship with the wraith, the summoning is easier and it -will- improve the powers of the other levels of Sepulchre automatically. Should the wraith failed to comply, the Necromancer can try again to force the wraith to do his bidding with the aid of the item.

When the wraith appears, the wraith is only required to ask one question freely and usually dissappears once its duty is done. However there are cases when the wraith might just stay or is forced to stay by the Giovanni's powers.

Level 3 : Compel Soul
At this level, the necromancer can command a ghost/wraith to do his bidding for a while. This power can only be used IF and ONLY IF Summon soul was successfully. Once the necromancer has successfully summon the spirit, the Necromancer can then try to command the spirit to do its bidding.

The wraith usually dissappears after an hour of service or when the Necromancer permits so. However some Necromancers might spend some of their will power to make the spirit stay longer. A temporary spent will power will make the spirit stay for a night but a permanent will power spent will bind the spirit to the necromancer for one year and a night.

Level 4 : Haunting.
This level allows a necromancer to bind a spirit to a particular place with a cryptic message and a powerful command. The Wraith cannot leave the area for one night, and leaving the area will risk the chance of self-destruction. By expending a willpower point, the wraith will remain for a week, but a permanent expenditure will make the wraith stay for a whole year.

Level 5 : Torment
This power is what makes most wraiths fear the most puissant Necromancers. Why? It is because with this power, a necromancer can actually inflict damage to the wraiths themselves. This power is used in the pyshical world and can inflict damage through any weapons that are held by the necromancer. The reason for such is that, The vampire cannot be harm by the wraith in the real world. If the wraith dies by this power, the wraith is sent back to the deeper levels of the underworld and cannot return to the real world for a month.

Ash Path

The barriers between the real world and the underworld are permeable to the student of the Ash Path. This allows the student to see, hear and even communicate with all wraiths, not just the ones he can summon. This is different from Sepulchre in a way that, a student of Ash Path can virtually see or hear ANY wraiths that might linger on. Moreover, with enough skill, the student of the Ash Path can cross the Shroud into the underworld. Moreover, of all the paths involved, this path is the more perilous path as it increases the necromancer's vulnerability to the attacks of wraiths with every use of the powers.

Level 1 : ShroudSight
This power allows the necromancer to see through the Shroud, which is really a mystical barrier that separates the living world and the Underworld. The Underworld appears as a decaying and ghastly reflection of the mortal world. The Necromancer can spot ghostly buildings and items, the landscape of the so-called Shadowlands and the wraiths themselves too. One can see anything that transpires in the Underworld within the normal vision,acting some sort of a "double sight" that does not hinder the normal vision. However, the odds are that an observant wraith will notice when a vampire suddenly starts staring at him, which can sometimes lead to unpleasant consequences.

Level 2 : Lifeless Tongues
As ShroudSight provides the vision for the necromancer, this power will ensure that the babbles of restless spirits to be clear to him. By concentrating for a moment, the necromancer can attune his senses to the Underworld, making himself capable of both seeing and hearing all that transpires there around him. Unless the ghost uses a different language to converse with the Necromancer, the Necromancer understands the language of the dead very clearly.

Level 3 : Dead Hand
Similar to the power of Sepulchre power Torment, The Dead Hand allows a necromancer to be in both the living world and the Underworld at the same time. Confused yet ? Well,in other words, the Necromancer can reach out into the Underworld and grasp or affect a ghostly item while still remaining in the living world at the same time. Wraiths are real when this power is invoked thus they can be attacked. However, beware of this power since to the Wraiths, you are just as real to them and they can harm you too. In a bizzare sort of half life, the necromancer can stretch his physical form across the shroud, interacting with beings and scenery there even as your physical body remains partially in the living world. However, do not confuse the fact that this ability does not pierce the Shroud as you are literally at two places at the same time. For example: You see a ghostly rope hanging in a room. By using this power, you can actually climb the rope. However in the living world, the people would be amazed to see you climbing a non-existent rope giving the illusion of flying.

However, since that the spectators in the living world can see you, the weapons they can use against you is pretty much real as well. Take heed when using this power.

Level 4 : Ex Nihilo
Simliar to the powers of Dead Hand, but this time, the necromancer can travel through the Underworld as a solid ghost. As a result, this is a direct contact with the spirits. This usually serves as an unusual means of travel and this trip is a dangerous one. This is due to the reasons that many spirits are waiting to take vengeance on necromancers and the Underworld is still a mystery to the vampires, where it contains untold dangers that have yet to be discovered. The kindred/necromancer enters the world with his normal health levels but can only be hurt by things that inflicts damage on any other wraiths. Items such as weapons forged from souls, certain ghostly powers, etc are applicable to damaging the necromancer. Even though a kindred is physical in the Underworld, he can pass through solid walls in the Underworld by spending a health level and can remain "incorporeal" that depends on his Stamina.

To achieve this feat, a door must be drawn with a chalk or blood on any surface. It can be a shape of a door as well. Doors can be drawn ahead of time as well for this purpose. Then the necromancer must then try to pass the door physically. If successful, the necromancer will seem to pass through the surface into the underworld. Else, he would look rather stupid knocking his head against a surface, won't he ?

ANYWAY, a heed of warning. There are no blood in the Underworld, thus if the necromancer wasn't smart enough to bring some blood with him, there is no way to heal in the Underworld. The laws of physics in the Underworld is different from the living world where guns or mechanical or even electronic devices literally do not work at all. A vampire killed in the Deadlands is gone forever, beyond even the reach of other necromancers. Wander too deep into the deadlands, you may become lost and unable to pierce the Shroud. A Necromancer can take with him inanimate objects with him but not any living or undead creatures.

When the Necromancer wants to return to the real world, one can leave when he is near the land of the living from the Underworld.

Level 5 : Shroud Mastery
This ability is indeed impressive, being able to manipulate the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead. Instead of stepping across or watching the events of the Underworld, you can actually manipulate the fabric of the Shroud. By manipulating the Shroud, a Necromancer can make it easier to cross to the Underworld and back, bar wraiths from exerting their influence on the material world, easier for bound wraiths in his service to function or even make it nearly impossible for ghosts to contact the spirit world. There are many possibilities in using this ability as long as it manipulates the Shroud.

Bone Path

This path is concerned primartily with corpses and the methods by which dead souls can be restored to the living world temporarily or otherwise. Since Bone Path controls death's phsyical ends, corpses are the medium of power for a necromancer, and they can be imbued with unwholesome energies animated to perform according to their master's bidding. Zombies and soulless automatons are the hallmarks of the Bone Path.

Level 1 : Tremens
This level allows the necromancer to make the flesh of a corpse shift once. Though this power is very insufficient to animate or control bodies, A necromancer can only make them twitch or start spasmodically. An arm might suddenly flop forward, a corpse might sit up or eyes even open suddenly. Naturally this sight will tend to have an effect on people who don't expect their dead relatives to roll over in their coffins.

Since this power is so insufficient, a Necromancer CANNOT made a dead body to attack or cause damage. A necromancer needs to spend a blood point and can dictate how a body moves. If the necromancer spends a pyshical trait, he can then issue a command to the corpse, causing it to move (once) as he directs when a certain event comes to pass. Another way to command them is to have 5 successful rolls or even have a higher mental power to command them.

Level 2 : Apperentice's Brooms.
This level allows the necromancer to animate the dead. However, the corpses are reanimated to perform a simple function. For example, a corpse can be ordered to carry heavy objects, digging or just merely shambling from place to place. The corpses however do not attack or defend should they be attacked. Instead, they will try to finish the task. They can only stop should they be destroyed (dismemberment, fire or something similiar), they rot away, or commanded to stop. The corpses reanimated this way, will tend to rot but they rot slower than the normal procedure. Corpses usually last for four months. However, these corpses cannot be ordered to attack anyone. Thus, if a corpse who was reanimated by this power, which has not been destroyed would simply collapse after they accomplished their task or time destroyed them.

Level 3 : Shambling Hordes.
This fearful power is what you think will do. Create zombies or skeletal hordes to attack at your command. However, this power has its advantages - long term. A necromancer has to spend a blood point for each corpse that is reanimated and a Will power point to call onto this power. Each corpse has 4 health levels and are very slow or they do not attack efficiently or even both. However, badly damaged corpse might be weaker and has less health. These zombies can be ordered to guard a place or even attack immediately. Any body, no matter how decomposed or even mere skeletons, can be raised at will.

Sometimes these corpses wait - for years if neccessary - to fulfill the command given to them. Due to this fact, it is not a surprise to suddenly stumble into a mausoleom after a decade, to find a mere skeleton still guarding the place even though the body was fresh 10 years ago. Skeletons that were raised are not affected by this, but fleshy corpses are subjected to this rotting phenoma though they rot slower than the normal rate. Time doesn't seem to slow them down so they will still be able to perform their duties.

Level 4 : Soul Stealing
Your mastery of animate flesh and spirit allows you to literally pull a soul from a living or an undead being, turning the hapless spirit into a temporary wraith. A mortal that was pulled away from his body has only one tie to the real world which is his own empty body.

A good necromancer can actually use other Necromancy powers to bind the spirit as long as it is separate from the body. The body however continues to survive in a comatose state allowing it to be a perfect host for the 5th level of Bone Path called Daemonic Possession.

Level 5 : Daemonic Possession
Although the name is a little misleading, but the necromancer doesn't deal with inferanal spirits. However, a necromancer can cast a willing soul into a fresh corpse or inanimate body. Once embedded, the soul takes control of the body turning it into a new physical home. A reanimated corpse however is a reanimated corpse and will decay after a week. So in essence they are only good for a week, but it provides a perfect temporary repose for a free-floating soul or a summoned ghost.

The body must be no more than 30 minutes dead and the new tenant must agree to inhabit it since a ghost or an astral form cannot be forced into it. Most ghosts are willing to seize the opportunity but that is a different story. Bodies of vampires in torpor do not make suitable hosts as the vampire's spirit is still inside the torpid body.

Once a soul is inhabiting the body, the soul can use whatever physical abilities of the new body but can only use the mental abilities of the soul itself. Thus, a possessed body cannot used the new tenant's physical abilities and cannot use the body's mental abilities

Cenotaph Path

This path was introduced by the African Branch called the Ghiberti. The African nigrimancy plays on the belief that the African spirits are much harder to control. Those unaccustomed to the fourfold souls of abombo (African wraiths) have much difficulty in controlling them there fore making it harder to summon or even compel these spirits. Former slave traders, the Ghiberti combined the elements of their previous profession and their unwholesome sorcery to create a path of Necromancy that made the enslavement of the Ivory Kingdom wraiths easier to accomplish. Studying the strange powers of the ghostly Moriman, the Ghiberti is the experts of tracing wraiths and binding them, even the most active or troublesome ones. Note that a few Giovanni (if any) outside the Ghiberti branch have access to knowledge of how to compel abombo, much less the mastery of the Cenotaph Path.

Although, the other branches of the family are comfortable in mastering the occassional wraith or affecting corpses which in turn has become studies for rituals and even been developed into a discrete path, The Ghiberti recognised thei mystically compelling the dead required an extensive knowledge of the ghosts to be so commanded.

Most Necromancers believed that the creation of the Cenotaph Path begun following the World Wars. Due to the amount of people dying and lost wraiths around the world, soul-catching became some sort of a trade. The Ghiberti had a gift for sniffing out the recently dead (especially in quantities) with the use of Cenotaph Path to find objects or locations important to the legion of wraiths. Some elder Giovanni has even mentioned that this power was even used during the heyday of Mediterranean expansion, seeking out death cults or even battlefield during the prime of Rome and Italy.

Although Cenotaph Path has proven its use, the path is still a rarity and is only used to serve to amplify the other powers of a well established Necromancer.

The path functions on the belief that the Necromancer, who is already a corpse, is an unnatural bridge between the living and the dead. As such, the necromancer is served to be the perfect medium to find other similar linkages. The basics of the Cenotaph Path becomes easier once the Necromancer has established or attune to these connections comfortably. Advanced mastery of the path however entails a much more stable concentration to create artificial connections that would serve as the bridge for the Necromancers. This is usually used to break taboos, to draw the shadowlands closer by focusing unsavoury passions or through techniques of authority and purity designed to command the two disparate worlds together. (See Blood Magic: secrets of Thaumaturgy for information about the Necromancy Techniques)

Level 1 : Touch of Death
Just as the necromancer can exert his mastery over the Shadowlands, some wraiths can do the same on to the living world. Although bleeding walls, unexplainable smells, unexplained knockings and moans etc., are not subtle, there are some ghostly abilities that exert such subtle effects that aren't easily recognised not detectable. With this power, the necromancer is sensitive to such residue of wraiths and discern whether the object or area was affected by spirits or a recent passage of a wraith.

The Necromancer has to touch an object or a person that he suspects had a ghostly intervention. If successful, the Necromancer can use Sepulchre Path to influence the spirit without having the need to call the name, since he knows the presence of the spirit and knows the identity of the spirit as well. However on failure, the Necromancer receives no impression or even worse, a wrong impression (object may have a ghostly impression when it does not, or vice versa).

Level 2 : Reveal the Catene
Necromantic powers function more effectively should the necromancer has an object that is related to the wraith's importance. Fetters tie the dead to the living lands through their remembered importance - a favored recliner for relaxing, a reviled piece of art foisted by haterd relatives or some object of similarly intense emotion. Although many Giovanni can detect the catene through the use of rituals (Ritual of the Unearthed fetter, that is explained in Rituals), the Ghiberti can use this power to determine the fetter through touch. By simply handing the object or caressing the person, the necromancer can recognise the significance of the object to certain wraiths or even legion of wraiths (like a battle field). Successful identification of a connected wraith is not exclusive, since the Giovanni can also determined whether the object is important to a given wraith. He can also determind is there are other wraiths tied to the item, though he must use this power again to gain their identities.

Many Necromancers uses this power in effect with the Touch of Death to determind whether the wraith is trying to attune to a given fetter or simply just toying with the living.

The Necromancer has to handle the object and if it was a person, it might require a more invasive examination. If Successful, the necromancer can determine whether the object has any significance to any wraith. If there are more successes, the necromancer can identify at least one such wraith that is tied to item, thus enabling the necromancer to assert Sepulchre Path on the wraith. However, if the Necromancer had already knew the names of the wraiths but didn't know the significance of the item to them, the Necromancer will know automatically of the ties to these wraiths to the object once they assert this power over the item/person. This meaning that the Necromancer has already used Sepulchre Path on these wraiths before. If the object is a Fetter to multiple wraiths, the Necromancer will receive an impression as well as information that other wraiths are tied to the item.

Should the necromancer failed to assert this power, the Ghiberti can never successfully use this power on the item being examined although it may be too harsh and has lessen in this effect that the Ghiberti cannot use the power for a period of time.

Level 3 : Tread Upon the Grave
The extended awareness granted with the Cenotaph Path allows a Necromancer to sense the vagaries of the sudario and to spot locations where the Shroud is (where the Shadowlands and the living world come close). The necromancer usually experienced chills or a shiver when stepping into an area where the Underworld lies near the living one. With practice, the Giovanni can eventually learn to spot locations with ease.

Experienced Necromancers learn that certain locations are very sensitive to ghostly influences. These haunted areas become homes to wraiths which would provide a useful place to snare Wraiths.

Upon Success, the Necromancer can detect the strength of the shroud as well as where it is located. With more successes, the Necromancer can even detect whether the shroud was ever tampered with. (Ash Path: Shroud Mastery or other ghostly powers). Failure only results in no information. This power can only be used ONCE on every area each night.

Level 4 : Death Knell
Not all who die go on to become ghosts, many lack the drive to hang on after death or simply have no overwhelming needs that compel them to stick around. Although a necromancer have no way to sort those who might have become ghosts from the masses who go on to whatever rewards await, with time, he would become more sensitive to the pull of death that occurs when a soul escapes from a body to hover in wait, enslaved by its postmortem desires. This desperation becomes a pull for the Necromancers, making them savor the tangible pull of this emotion as they find the spirit that was released from its body.

However, this is not as easy as it seems. The necromancer may need some means to see through the Shroud or may have to send a few spirits to look for the new wraith especially when it died in a mass death area such as a battle field. The many corpses makes it difficult for a Ghiberti to easily discern and test names with other compulsions. Furthermore, new spirits are covered in sticky plasms that clouds their minds. Therefore, these spirits have to be freed from their spirit sludge before it can be useful which again requires the Necromancer to send a wraith or himself through the Shroud to release the spirit.

This is an "always on" Discipline that allows the Necromancer to detect death within a half mile radius. Although this power detects the demise of a person, it doesn't automatically pinpoint the location of the newly deceased. However, by concentrating harder and spending some blood points, the Necromancer can find out where the person died and there fore easier to find the spirit. Upon failure, generally sends the Necromancer in the wrong direction.

Level 5 : Ephemeral Binding
This level allows the Necromancer to actually create the ties of the living and the dead instead of just sensing the natural ones. The master of this level is able to turn a mundane object ot person into a depository for his own mephitic energy, the undying Curse transforming the subject into a sort of linkage between the living and the dead.

To achieved this, the Ghiberti smears the item with his own blood, which will mystically be absorbed into the item leaving no trace of blood. Once this is done, the item will then be used to anchor a spirit. If the necromancer knows of the name of the wraith that he wishes to ensnare, the item becomes a fetter at any range, even to a ghost who does not normally come near the living world. Otherwise, the Ghiberti has to use some power of sight to see or sense the ghost.

A fetter created in this fashion do not suffer any penalties and act as a normal fetter. It can be detected by other Necromancers and the Necromancer gains an advantage against a wraith attuned to it, thus making it easier to exert some power over the spirit. The wraith can sink into the fetter to heal and if the fetter is destroyed, the wraith is banished to some inaccessible parts of the Underworld, perhaps never to return.

Each night is equaled to the number of successes. Thus if the Necromancer has 3 successes, the Fetter is active for 3 nights. However, by spending a temporary Willpower, it allows the duration of the Fetter to increased for a week with each success. A permanent will extend a whole year and a night with each success.

However, should the Necromancer failed, the wraith that has been called to the Fetter will realise what the Necromancer was doing, and will attack the Necromancer.

Pisanob Necromancy Rituals

The roots of this morbid necromancy intertwines with the dark practices of the Mesoamerican cultures if the Aztecs, and to a lesser degree, their predecessors, the Mayans and the Toltecs. The practices of this necromancy have its roots in the elaborate ceremony of the ancient Aztec religious rites. Due to this, the Pisanob have grown dependent on the ritualistic trappings employed by the forebears. As a result, The Pisanob Necromancers have more difficulty in performing the rituals compared to other branches of the Necromancers. Keep in mind that it is much more difficult for a Pisanob to perform Necromancy no matter how powerful he is.

Since they are tied to ritual as Pisanob are, it is not surprising that they've developed a number of necromantic rituals to which individuals within the family have access and guard preciously. Of the following, only the Ritual of Pochtli is widely practiced by kindred outside the Pisanob branch of the Giovanni family. There had been rumors that there are much more potent rituals of the Pisanobs but due to the secrecy and the gruesome ceremonies of the rituals that requires alot of sacrificial of self parts, most of these rituals are shunned or kept in secret.

Level 1 Ritual: Ritual of the Smoking Mirror
Named for the chief Aztec god Tezcatlipoca, this ritual allows the Necromancer to use an obsidian mirror to see as ghosts do. By gazing into the mirror's ebony depths, the Pisanob may discover an object's flaws, assess the general health of mortals or even read a being's aura.

At the start of the ritual, the necromancer decides which two aspects that he wishes to use, never both at the same time. With Lifesight, the necromancer gains the abilities of a level 2 Auspex : Aura Perception. Deathsight however gives the ability to see the Shadowlands and wraiths. The ritual also allows the stain of oblivion on the living, which a knowledgeable necromancer may use to diagnose and study illnesses, damage or disabilities from which a target may suffer. This Ritual is also used to make a simliar study of inanimate object's flaw and how to repair them, if that item has a strong link to either life- or death- energies (such as a murderer's knife or a window box that used to grow healing herbs).

To perform this ritual, the necromancer graps an obsidian mirror that is crafted to have sharp edges so that it cuts into the flesh of whoever that holds it. As the vitae flows onto the mirror's surface, the vitae allows the mirror's reflective power to bridge the worlds of the living and the dead. If the Necromancer wishes LifeSight, he calls upon the power of Tonatiuh, He Who Goes Forth Shining. If he wishes Deathsight, he calls upon Mictlantéotl, Aztec God of the Underworld. If successful, the necromancer can then view the mirror like a scene appearing on it. Failure would cause the deities to invoke their wrath on them.

Level 2 Ritual : Ritual of Pochtli
This is the more widely used ritual by other necromancers outside the Pisanob. The actions of this ritual were developed in concert with several Ghiberti vampries who have been residing in Pochtli's temple for almost two decades. Due to their lengthy history of elaborate ceremonies, the two families are much more comfortable working together than mainstream Giovanni. this ritual is not a stand alone. It has to be performed with another path or disicpline for this ritual to work.

This ritual increases the chances of the path or the discipline to succeed when it is more difficult to be performed alone. Therefore this ritual requires two or more necromancers who knows of that same path to perform. This ritual requires a mortal vessel, and the participants inflict precise incisions in the shape of blasphemous Egyptian hierogylphs or Aztec symbols. They each then drink from these injuries which they have made themselves. For Example, Two Necromancers make an incision of an Egyptian god Anubis's symbol and the Aztec's symbol of death. The necromancer that made the Egyptian symbol can only drink from the cut he has made and attempts to drink from the cut that he has not made, will not allow him to work his powers with the other Necromancers.

With this ritual, the necromantic power seek to emply gains the benefits of all participants' knowledge. This ritual makes it possible for necromancers to create truly terrifying feats of death-magic when it is more difficult to perform it alone. However, the participants must have knowledge of Ritual of Pocthli (meaning how to perform it or has that level) as well as the secondary path that needs to be performed with it.

For Example: three Pisanob attempt to use the Ritual of Pochtli to flay the soul from a Sabbat ghoul who has been intruding their haven. Each kindered proceeds to perform the ritual and their successes are collected as a person. The path that they want to perform is Soul Stealing and the first necromancer might have 3 successes, another has 2 successes and the last one has 1. In total this amount to 6 which in turn makes it a successful Soul Stealing that results in the soul of the Sabbat ghoul to be cast out for 6 hours.

Another example is this, let's say that three Pisanobs want to call forth a very powerful wraith using Summon. After successfully performing Ritual of Pochtli, the power of the discipline Summon wil be tripled three times fold, should all participants succeed. Only those who succeed in both casting the ritual and the successive power or ritual add to the final effect.

However, the downside is that the failure also add to the effect of the ritual.

Level 3 Ritual : Divine Sign
This ritual allows the Pisanob Necromancer to use the principles of Aztec astrology to divine a person's day sign. Used upon the living, this information allows the Necromancer to divine the target's future actions. On the dead, this knowledge forges a more intimate connection with the target, making it easier to cast other necromantic effects on it.

In order to use it on a living person, the birthdate of the target is required. Upon succession, the Pisanob can tthen activate this ritual by cross-referencing it with the Tonalamatl, the Book of Destinies, and thereby learning of the person's day sign. This book is a rarity and needs to be found either in rare books section, personal libraries or other secretive places. There are some copies where it has been translated or not. Acquiring the book also needs some influence from the Occult or maybe a chance to get the book from the Giovanni's library. Anyway, once the day sign is predicted, the Necromancer can then predict the target's next course of action, allowing him to deal with that person accordingly.

However using it on wraiths yeilds a different story. Since they have already died, the Tonalamatl can offer no insight into the spirits' destinies since they have run their course. Instead, this ritual increases the effect of the effect of the Necromantic powers on the spirit, making it easier to invoke the Disicplines. This can be compared to the ritual Ritual of the Unearthed Fetter.

You can't use this ritual multiple times on the same person or wraith and is allowed to be used again if failed initially.

Level 4 Ritual : Xipe Totec
This ritual may not be the faint of heart, but its powers are indeed fearsome enough in their effects. In the past, the Aztec priests would flay the skin from a victim and wear it as a sacrifice to Xipe Totec, god of suffering and renewal. In a similar fashion, the Pisanob used this ritual to steal that person's identity.

To perform this ritual, the Pisanob removes the victim's top layer skin with an obsidian dagger, making sure not to damage the skin too greatly. As impossible as it may seem, the victim must survive the process (though he/she may well die of blood loss shortly after the ritual if not seen to properly). The Pisanob then drains the victim's blood into a large ceremonial golden bowl, of which the blood is mixed with octli, amaranth and other ingredients. When this mixture is consumed, the Necromancer will sweat a glistening sheen of blood (equal to one blood point). The Necromancer then dons the skin like clothing and if successful, the kindred vitae will be absorbed into the second skin which begins to heal, forming another skin over the Pisanob's own. Naturally, the victim needs to be of similar stature as it would yeild hazardous results should a big person tries to don a small person's skin and vice versa. The skin will be distorted and be useless. This power also has not effect on Kindred and Lupines.

Under normal vision, the ruse is flawless. However, the skin is only a skin and doesn't provide the Pisanob and knowledge of the victim's memories as well as mannerisms. It also does nothing to mask the Kindred's own undead nature. Therefore, it would be useful if there is the least contact with the victim's family or friends.

To preserve the skin's condition, the Pisanob must bathe it in a blood point's worht of vitae nightly. When the Pisanob removes the skin, (which incidentally causes damage to the kindred since it forms like a skin and HAS to be removed with same knife that removed the skin in the first place), the skin is deemed useless and cannot be used again.

This ritual requires lots of Humanity checks.

Level 5 Ritual : Ritual of Teyolia
This ritual yeilds no power but only provides a mean to end a character's life. Long ago, the Mayan astrologers foretold that the end of the world would occur shortly after the end of a thousand-year period. The recent return of the Ravnos Antediluvian has re-enforced in Pochtli a belief that the Mayans were right. He believes taht the foretold end of the world is, in fact, the inevitable Gehenna. In an effort to survive the end of the age, Pochtli and his lieutenants developed a means of tearing out the hearts of Kindred and preserving within them the heart's blood, or teyolia, of the Kindred so sacrificed. When Gehenna comes, Pochtli intends to offer the hearts of his victims to the terrible blood gods in an effort to have them spare him and his undead family. This terrible rite is unknown to the Pisanob beyond Pocthli and his most trusted lieutenants. Should any Giovanni outside the Pisanob branch hears wind of this, it is possible that the entire Pisanob branch would be extinguished.

To perform this ritual, the Necromancer mmust force a captured vampire or even tricked him to the summit of the Temple of Pochtli (which happens to be in Mexico). There, lying face up on the temple's altar, the kindred has the victim's limbs held by 4 camozotz ghouls. The Necromancer then cuts open the victim's chest with an obsidian dagger, reaches inside and tears out the heart, visiting Final Death on the victim upon sacrifice. The heart is then preserved in a specially prepared vessel, referred to as a chac mool. This is an automatic procedure unless interrupted.

It is also possible to diablerize the sacrificed Kindred at a later date by drinking the heart's blood, with all the practice's concomitant benefits and drawbacks. It's also possible that the elder Pisanob might use the power inherent in the hearts to fuel even more potent necromantic castings

Typically, many Pisanobs do not know of this ritual and is kept as a hidden secret. This rite is used mainly as a gruesome mean to end a character's life.

Necromancy Rituals

The secrets of Necromancy are not confined to the paths alone. Skilled Necromancers create rituals, forms of magic desgined to go beyond the basic capabilities of Necromancy. Some of these rituals are created by the Giovanni while others seemed to be taught by the wraiths themselves for whatever twisted reasons they may be. With the appropriate materials, training and time, a necromancer can use rituals to create wide ranging or long lasting effects that would otherwise be difficult to do with simple paths.

On learning Necromancy, the necromancer learns one basic ritual (level 1). For each level of Necromancy learned, another ritual of the appropriate level is also learned. For example, A necromancer with advanced Necromancy knows at least 2 Basic levels, 2 Immediate levels and 1 advanced level (all 5 levels). There is an automatic level raising in Rituals that is similar to Sepulchre.

Note: The Rituals has been updated to accomodate the new rituals that has been specified in the Giovanni clanbook. Thus each level has 2 rituals.

Level 1 : Call of the Hungry Dead
This Ritual only takes 10 minutes to cast and all is needed is hair from a target's head. The Ritual climaxes with the burning of the hair in the flames of a black candle which sebsequently causes the target to hear inexplicable moans and snatches of conversation from the Shroud. If the target is not prepared, the voices come as a confusing welter of howls and unearthly demands. The target cannot really discern what are the words and can sometimes causes the target to go briefly mad. This usually lasts for an hour.

Level 1 : Minestra Di Morte (Soup of Death)
The Necromancer obtains a piece of a dead body (usually a chunk so obvious reasons which will be explained later), and simmers it in a pot with half a quart of vampiric vitae. However, that is not the only thing that is added. Although they are used in everyday cooking, the significance of the ingredients are important. The other ingredients are rosemary (for remembrance), Basil (The funerary herb) and salt (the alchemic principle of clarification). After bring the grisly concoction to a full boil, the Necromancer eats it. The reason why a Necromancer uses a chunk because the meat might shrink or melted away and the Necromancer needs to eat some of the meat.

If the ritual is a success, the necromancer can learn whether the individual (whose meat was used in the cooking) became a spirito or a spettro after death. Unfortunately, this information is only about the person whose flesh happens to be the stew meat.

The blood component is spend progressively through the ritual. If the Necromancer uses the blood from another kindred, he doesn't become partially bond from drinking it and does not heal him since the blood has been boiled, thus killing any healing values. Similarly, if the Necromancer uses his own blood, it decreases his own blood points but does not increase if he consumes it. The blood usage is about 2 pints of blood which is equivalent to 2 blood points. Kindred without the Eat Food merit cannot keep the food down but can still use the ritual and gain the information.

NOTE: This is not to promote cannibalism or to promote any of Hannibal Lector's movies. It is just a representative !

Level 2 : Eyes of the Grave
This ritual requires a pinch of soil from a fresh grave and takes over two hours to cast. Once completed, the Necromancer can project visions of death and horror to any target by concentrating on the victim. The Victim will encounter these visions for over a week, and the visions usually lasts for up to a minute. These visions can be random or even called up by the Necromancer. The Necromancer cannot see what the victim sees in the visions but it is usually of gruesome death of the victim it self. The Victim doesn't understand why he is seeing this or comprehend them and it is a hinder to their everyday activity. IT can occur during driving, conversation, sleeping and even in combat. Thus the Necromancer has an edge over the victim in this ritual.

Level 2 : Hand of Glory
This ritual has its origins dated back of about a hundred of years that was developed by thieves to enter homes undetected. The Giovanni seeing such potency in this ritual, decided to adopt the ritual as part of their own for its effective usage. This ritual is used to ensure that the mortals in a home will be asleep letting the Giovanni to enter their home undisturbed, assuring that the mortals in the home are not disturbed by them, regardless of how much noise they make.

The creation of the Hand of Glory is a gruesome ritual that dates back a hundred of years. The necromancer wraps the severed hand of a condemned murderer (preferably hung in the gallows as its punishment) in a shroud, draws it tight to squeeze out any remaining blood and preserves the hand in an earthenware jar with salt, saltpeter and long peppers. After a fortnight, the Giovanni removes the hand and dries it in an oven with vervain and fern. If successful, the hand will take on the appearance of a mummified hand, bony and thing and stiff.

To use the Hand of Glory, the Giovanni coats the fingertips of the mummified hand with a flammable substance derived from the fat of a hanged man and sets the fingers alight. This usually happens before the Giovanni is ready to enter the house, taking only a few minutes to recite the phrase and lighting the fingertips. The phrase is "Let all those who are asleep be asleep, and let those who are awake be awake." All mortals within the household who are affected fall into a deep sleep and cannot be roused. This, however, do not affect on supernatural creatures or Hunters. For each unaffected occupant, one finger of the hand will refuse to light, thus serving a suitable warning to the Giovanni. However, sometimes all fingers may be lit but the household is still awake, thus choosing an appropriate time when all mortals be asleep is a good idea.

The flames on the Hand of Glory can be extinguished by the Necromancer normally, but if anyone else tries to do it, will fail unless they used milk (no other method can be used). Once made, however, this grisly itme can be used again indefinitely.

Level 2: Occhio d'Uomo Morto (Eyes of the Dead Man)
This disturbing ritual requires an eye from a corpse whose absent soul became a spirito or a spettro. The eye is then ritually prepared in a process involving incense, the new moon and a period of midnight chanting. The chanting climaxes when the Necromancer removes one of his own eyes and replaces it with the one from the corpse. (FRESH IS GOOD!). The vampire will then heal the eye by securing it into socket.

IF Successful, the necromancer will gain an extra ability called ShroudSight (Ash path) and it is always on with no further rolls or tests. Furthermore, if the eye was from a spettro corpse, the Necromancer can hear vague murmuring of any spettri in the area. This ability is not precise, since it takes on the situation as overhearing a low-voiced conversation in the next room. With enough concentration, the Necromancer can glean a very vague impression of what area the spettri might be up to. Failure in doing this, will result in a derangement of the Giovanni since listening on the evil dead is not really a good habit. This derangement lasts one night.

Moreover, there are further drawbacks. The Necromancer will be hideously ugly since having a corpse eye is not attractive. Unless the Giovanni is wearing glasses or find some way to conceal the eye, his appearance is not readily suitable in mortal meetings and such.

Dead or rotting tissue is not the best for normal perception, thus giving the flawed trait Bad Sight to the Necromancer. The sight becomes even worse should the corpse has bad sight when it was alive. On the other hand, this will prove useful because it lessen the effects of Dominate or Eyes of the Serpent.

To Further add to this problem, the spettro or spiriti, whose body has been desecrated, knows what happened and will VERY likely hates it. Therefore the wraith can find the Necromancer possessing his eye anywhere, and all wraithly powers used against the Necromancer is increased substancially.

Level 3 : Ritual of the Unearthed Fetter
This ritual requires a fingerbone from a skeleton of a particular wraith that he is interested in. This ritual takes 3 hours to cast, as well as a chip knocked off a gravestone or a marker (it doesn't necessarily be from the bone's former owner). Over the course of the ritual, the stone will crumble to dust, allowing the necromancer to sprinkle the dust over the fingerbone. Once the ritual is completed, the fingerbone becomes attuned to something vitally important to the wraith, the possession of which by the Necromancer makes the casting of Sepulchre Path much more effective. In other words, the finger bone becomes a spirit locator that finds any fetters that are of importance to the wraith. This can be done with a thread tied to the bone and letting the bone point to the direction like a dousing method. This however does not help to find other fetters of other wraiths saved for the owner's.

Level 3 : Spirit Beacon
Casting this ritual over a severed human head, A necromancer can turn it into a supernatural beacon for ghosts. Although in the living world, it is just a severed head, in the Underworld, the head acts like a supernatural beacon for spirits to be lured. The head appears to glow with an unearthly radiance, emitting light from its mouth, ears and eyes. Any wraith in the Underworld that spots this light, will have to resist from becoming drawn to it. If failed, the wraith will locate the source of the light and be drawn to it for a full hour. The head loses its light with the next sunrise BUT it can be recharged again in the next night.

Level 3 : Tempesta Scudo (Storm Sheild)
This ritual is different from most of the ritual simply because of short length of time to perform it. This is a good thing too since this ritual is used against Risen. The Necromancer performs a short and awkward dance that ends with him biting his own lip and spitting the blood in a circle around himself. Spirits in this circle finds it more difficult to perform their actions against the Necromancer and the Risen too is affected by this as well. Failure will result in a foolish mockery of himself and the waste of a blood point.

Level 4 : Cadaver's Touch
By chanting hideous paeans while melting a wax figure of his victim over a three hour ritual, the necromancer can cause the target to resemble walking corpse. Once the wax doll starts to melt, the target starts to become cold and clammy. The mortal target of this ritual becomes much like a vampire, with a weak pulse, cool skin and a pale countenance. In all respects a reasonable facsimilie of the walking dead. This has a very adverse effects on social situations but the main use of this ritual is to send a mortal (ghoul preferably) into a vampiric haven unnoticed, or even a distraction for Hunters who might mistake the mortal as a vampire.

As long as the wax is not melted off or resolidify, the mortal will remaing in this form.

Level 4 : Bastone Diabolico (Diabolical Stick )
Casting this ritual is VERY tricky as it requires the removal of a leg bone from a living person. The Donor must survive the removal (at least for a short period time which will be explained later). The bone is then submerged in a molten lead. Once it cools, the thin lead coating is inscribed with various runes. The Necromancer completes the ritual by beating the donor to death while droning a Greek chant.

IF Successful, the Necromancer has created a Bastone Diabolico or the Devil Stick. The stick can be held by anyone and be activated with a spendage of a willpower trait. The stick is activated for a whole night and proves to be a very useful weapon against wraiths. Wraiths that are damaged by this stick will lose a point from its Passion Pool as well as aggravated damage. This is also useful against the walking dead (not including vampires) causing them aggravated damage.

Unfortunately, as formidable a weapon it is, it also serves a warning to other spirits. Spirits or wraiths can sense that the bastone diabolico is bad news and stays VERY far away from any person holding one, even if they do not know what it does. As a result, a necromancer that has the stick in his presence will have much more difficulty in summoning wraiths.

The Giovanni clan stores many of these crude cudgels in their Venice vaults, and are actually more likely to lend one out to a neonate than teaching him the ritual. This is due to the fact that it was easier to kidnap, mangle and then kill him back in a hundred years ago than now. Most of the devil sticks are made of tibias (for individuals wanting a thinner and faster club) or femurs (for the type that like to bludgeon with a knot on the end)

Modern Necromancers however as just as likely to use a patella to create a ghost punishing weapon that is far easier to conceal.

Level 5 : Grasp the Ghostly
This ritual is tedious, requiring a full six hours of chanting. Once completed however, the Necromancer can go into the Underworld and return with an object that would not exist in the living world. This does not include Ghosts, vampires and people, ONLY objects. However it is not that simple. The Necromancer has to replaced the ghostly item from the Underworld with another item of roughly equaled mass and the Necromancer has to worry about attacks from the wraiths who don't appreciate their items being taken.

Once the item is brought back to the living world, the item will maintain a physical existence, although it tends to fade away to nothing after a year. The item in question vanishes forever and cannot be used again. This ritual only works on objects that once existed in the real world and has a ghostly relic equivalent. In other words, Items that were destroyed in the real world. Artifacts that are created by wraiths are not affected by this ritual as they were never meant to exist in the living world, this vanishing on contact with the living world.

Level 5 : Esilio (Exile)
Like Tempesta Scudo, Esilio is a VERY quick and dirty ritual. All the necromancer has to do is simply speak the 5 syllables. No one knows what kind of casting lanaguage (at least no Giovanni has told about it), but according to the ritual's history, this power came from the bloodline that preceded the Giovanni, and the langauge is what God gave mankind before the confusion of Babel. The legend persists that the particular meaning was lost, but they are what Caine's father said to him while exiling him to Nod.

Whatever truth it is, the Words of Exile is not to be treated lightly. Upon succession, the words opens a hole within reality itself - a rip between the lands of the living and the darkest depth of the Underworld. This rip is invisible to the normal vision, but to Shroudsight, it looks like a pitch black vortex opening within the vampire's own body. Yes, the tear is on the vampire's body. Some unfortunate kindred that has high levels of Auspex are generally unwilling or unable to discuss what they had seen, some even driven to madness at what they had seen.

This is used to defend and attack any wraiths. By tackling the wraith, the wraith is instantly torn to shreds and is banished to the Underworld for at least a month, if ever. A spirito destroyed in this fashion tends to return as a spettro if it ever returns.