Kuldunic Sorcery


Tzimisce

Many Tzimisce are accomplished sorcerers, though the clan as a whole lacks the Tremere prowess in the magical arts. Tzimisce who practice Thaumaturgy are known as kuldun and earn respect from their peers. Paths commonly practiced by Tzimisce include Lure of Flames, Spirit Thaumaturgy, Elemental Mastery and Conjuring. Surprisingly, Tzimisce rarely practice the Path of Corruption, preferring to rely on alchemy and Blood Bonds to achieve similiar results.
Tzimisce magical practices differ from those of their Tremere rivals. Tzimisce emphasize the spiritual and the reverential as opposed to the Tremere's occult pragmatism. Chants, litanies and paens to all manner of entities accompany Tzimisce rituals. Many parties, including Mages, Tremere, Lasombra and the Sabbat Inquisition would be very interested in obtaining information about the specifics of Tzimisce magic.
(ClB Tzimisce pg 26)

 

Long before the blood magics of the Tremere appeared, the Tzimisce wielded the mystical art of Koldunic Sorcery. Unlike the arcane paths of Thaumaturgy, Koldunic Sorcery is a spiritual magic that manipulates the elements in nature. From the magically rich and diseased soil of their ancestral demesnes, the Tzimisce drew demonic power. Now, through the proper rites of contrition and binding, a koldun can summon forth the elemenal correspondences that shape natural forces.
In tonight's world, only a few, very ancient Tzimisce practice Koldunic Sorcery. Those surviving koldun are very territorial, rarely surfacing long enough to make their presence known, an prefer to keep to themselves. With the mysterious disappearance of the Tremere antitribu, knowledge and philosophy of Koldunism is more frequently shared with anyone willing to learn of its existence, and has begun to spread among the ranks of the Sabbat's youth. Some suspect that enterprising Fiends have leaked a bit of their wisdom to the sect in order to keep the old ways in practice. More cynical Sabbat, though, believe that a clever Cainite or pack managed to steal a few secrets from a lax Tzimisce and passed them on to whoever wanted to learn.

Kindred intent on learning Koldunic must also study the unique knowledge of Koldunism.
Koldunism
* Student: Knowledge of major spirits and placations
** College: You know much of the old ways and are recognized as a koldun
*** Masters: You rank among the most powerful of the present-night koldun
**** Doctorate: The spirits quake when you are angry
***** Scholar: A potent and eldritch master of the spirits of the land

Unlike Thaumaturgy, there is no primary path that must be learned. Any of Koldunic Sorcery's ways are accessible at the standard cost of paths, provided the koldun can find a teacher or suitable text. This is a rare form of spiritual magic, no characters are likely to possess it unless they are part of the Sabbat or otherwise have a reason to research Koldunism. And as it has only just begun to circulate within the Sabbat, it is a certainty that a member of the Camarilla or Independents isn't going to be searching out this art, if she is aware of it at all.
Blood Magic:Secrets of Thaumaturgy

 

The Ways
Way of Earth
Way of Fire
Way of the Spirit
Way of Water
Way of Wind

 

Koldunic Rituals Like Thaumaturgy, Koldunic Sorcery grants its wielder access to rituals of various sorts. These rituals, though magical, are not Hermetic, having no connection to the Egyptian/Latin tradition. Many rituals (not surprisingly) require blood to be spilled (a Blood Point’s worth per level of the ritual, from either the caster or a sentient sacrifice); some also require clumps of sacred earth (from a caern, node, barrow, graveyard or similar site). Koldunic rituals are rarely written down; practitioners rely on mnemonic cues.
System: Unless described differently below, these rituals are invoked in a manner similar to Thaumaturgical rituals. Typically, only one success is needed for the ritual to be successful.

One bloodpoint per level must be spilled, whether it is the koldun's or someone else, doesn't matter. Only a few rituals are presented here. (Storytellers and players are encouraged to come up with their own rituals, to reflect the unique bond between the Tzimisce sorcerers and their home soil. (BMST pg 133))

Hospitality Level One
This is a simple Koldunic ritual, but an important one. This ritual, enacted nightly, allows the Tzimisce to "awaken’ the spirits in his haven. These spirits "manifest" themselves in objects, which assume sentience and individualism, often displaying unique personalities in the process. Thus, a Fiend’s gate might speak to the vampire in a dull, grating voice, complaining about the weight of the castle on its keystones; a mirror might slyly praise the vampire, while a knout might cackle with glee and beg to be laid across a victim’s hack. The Tzimisce may command any such house-spirit to silence, and the spirits generally display servility and obsequiousness. However, if ill treated (or if treated politely by an intruder), the spirits may fail to warn the Fiend of intruders in his domain (which is the primary function of the spell).

Conjure Lesser Demon Level Three
Simply put, this ritual allows the sorcerer to evoke one of the lesser demons that haunt the Slavic lands. These "demons" have no connection to infernal beings; they are most similar to the spirits revered by werewolves. Nor do the demons attempt to make a pact; the relation between sorcerer and demon resembles that between a master and vassal (albeit a highly malicious, intractable vassal). All Slavic demons have names, which must be learned by the sorcerer, and all must be "sworn" to the sorcerer by accepting a point of her blood. A koldun may "retain" a number of demons equal to her Charisma or Intimidation score (whichever is higher). Demons are not "bound" to the sorcerer; she must coax or (more likely) cow them into performing services.
A lesser Slavic demon can appear in virtually any shape; many take the shape of normal animals, though some appear freakish indeed.

The Inmost Tug Level Five
Unlike most Koldunic rituals, this requires no blood sacrifice or other dross; it can be activated with a single word and a gesture. This ritual allows a voivode, to manipulate the emotions of a being bound in the Blood Oath. For example, the love instilled by a Blood Oath could be debased to lust, or refined to fraternal devotion. This ritual can even be used to warp a Blood Oath into fear, hate or other negative emotions.

Conjure Greater Demon Level Five
This ritual is similar to Conjure Lesser Demon, except a mighty entity of the Old Country appears. Such a being is not generally subject to intimidation; it must be coaxed to serve, and has no qualms about destroying the sorcerer should the offer not be to its liking. For this reason, koldun rarely use this ritual.
Like lesser demons, greater demons have individual names and can appear in any shape.

Create Vozhd Level Six
This ritual, combined with Vicissitude, enables its practitioner to create a vozhd war ghoul. The Tzimisce must gather a sizable number of ghouls at least 15, though 20 or more are commonly employed. The ghouls may be human or animal, and all must be force-fed a concoction of each other’s blood (a Blood Point of the mixture will suffice). Once this is done, the ritual begins.
The ritual consists of a continuous chant, which the Fiend must utter while using Vicissitude to mold the ghouls into a composite creature. The casting Tzimisce does not have to be the "sculptor" of the vozhd, though most prefer at least to participate in the flesh-shaping. The ritual takes (the number of ghouls used - 7) hours to cast, and the caster must maintain the chant without interruption for the duration of the casting.

Dracul Level Nine
Besides the obvious prerequisite (Koldunic Sorcery 9+), the caster must have a Vicissitude score of 6+ to employ this ritual; only two Tzimisce, including the Dracon of Byzantium, are known to have used it. This ritual imbues the Fiend with the primordial energies of the Old Country, transforming the vampire into a hideous dragon.
System: The Fiend’s Strength rating triples, his Stamina rating doubles, and he sprouts a scaly hide equal to Class 4 Armor. The dragon may drink blood normally, and may also choose to consume the flesh of slain foes; an entire human corpse (12 Health Levels) may be chewed up and eaten per turn, provided the dragon does nothing but eat. For each Health Level of flesh "digested," the Fiend may regurgitate a fiery acid inflicting one Health Level of aggravated damage per "point" invested in it (maximum of six Health Levels vomited per shot). The Fiend gains an additional five "Bruised" Health Levels, but all difficulties to hit him are reduced by one (he’s enormous).

(LS pg 62-63)

Reawakening the Dead Water Level One (BMST)
With the destruction of the Tremere antitribu and as Koldunic Sorcery was rediscovered, new koldun searched for a means to spiritually reconnect themselves to their ancient predecessors. In accords with the fables of "dead water," many of these new koldun begin their nights by performing this ritual, cast by dripping some of their blood into a lake, river or ocean and then ingesting the liquid. A koldun must drip one point of blood into the water source from which she intends to drink, then ingest an equivalent of one blood point’s worth of in water. This liquid mystically evaporates through the vampire’s body soon after being ingested. After successfully performing this ritual, akoldun regains one point of temporary Willpower. This can only replace spent Willpower points and cannot exceed the koldun’s maximum Willpower pool. Reawakening the Dead Water can be performed only once per night.

Ties That Bind Level Four (BMST)
Before an ancient koldun could learn a new way, he performed this ritual and removed one of his ribs (through Vicissitude or other means). A mystical symbol representing the particular way the koldun intended to learn was inscribed onto the bone, then implanted back into the body. Koldun cast this ritual to symbolically lend part of themselves to the essence of the land. In return, they were granted the ability to practice the spiritual magic that is Koldunic Sorcery. In the present night, Sabbat koldun revised this ritual to serve a more practical purpose with less torturous requirements. Performed as often as weekly, this ritual reconnects the koldun with the eldritch magic of the Old World.

System: After spilling four points of blood onto a patch of dirt then ingesting this soil, a koldun may lower the difficulty of any Koldunic Sorcery rolls he makes over the next three nights by one. Multiple uses of Ties That Bind have no effect — the koldun gains no greater benefit if he uses this ritual more than once in three nights.

Dark Ages
Tzimisce have long been renowned (or feared) as master sorcerers, though their preeminence has been eclipsed by the rise of the Tremere. Most Fiends have forgotten the elder magic of long-ago nights, and few who remember teach it to their childer. Nonetheless, there are a few ancients who still practice the magical Discipline of Koldunic Sorcery.

System: Koldunic Sorcery resembles Thaumaturgy (and is cast in the same manner), though it has no connection to the Hermetic practices of the Tremere. It has its own paths and rituals, which are incompatible with the magic of the Tremere though recent cooperation with House Tytalus has allowed certain Fiends to develop Koldunic equivalents of the Paths of Blood, Spirit and Flames. This power is not considered a clan Discipline, though Tzimisce with an appropriate mentor may learn the power using the experience point costs for an outside-of-clan Discipline. No Fiend would ever instruct a non-Tzimisce in the Discipline.

Koldunism survives into the modern age, but is exceedingly rare. The Fiends of the Oradea League are known to practice the Discipline, as are certain Sabbat elders and their childer.

Koldunic Paths
Koldun learn a path equivalent to Spirit Thaumaturgy, known as Spirit Ways, as their first Path. Other Paths practiced by koldun include Koldunic equivalents of Creo Ignem (Fire Ways), Rego Elementum (Natural Ways), and Rego Aquam (Water Ways).

(LS pg 62)

 

 

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