Spiritus
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Spiritus
Wielding enigmatic and secret shamanistic magics, Ahrimanes transcend the limitations of their thaumaturgical powers, giving them a greater connection and control over the world of spirits. As an Ahrimane learns Spiritus, she can not only interact with the spirit world, but she can harness its power to aid her own physical form. The most powerful practitioners of Spiritus are said to have been able to use spirits as conduits to cross fully into the realm the werewolves referred to as the Umbra.
“This place is open to all who come seeking a higher path. But I know your heart and your intentions. You will leave, quickly, or my companions and I will teach you a lesson on ignorance.”
— Muricia, Gangrel Ahrimane
While the shamanistic practices of Spiritus do not grant an Ahrimane direct knowledge of spirits or the realms they inhabit, it does allow them to undergo a spiritual awakening that bestows the practitioner with an awareness of the umbral realms. As a practitioner advances in her mastery of Spiritus she becomes unable to view her surroundings in quite the same way. As she becomes enlightened to other worlds and spiritual creatures, an Ahrimane feels burdened by how the mundane world appears banal by comparison. This awakening has caused those rare Ahrimanes who interact with other vampires to serve as guides or teachers, acting as intermediaries to the world beyond the dark and lonely existence of most vampires. While the Ahrimanes find comfort and solace in the insight granted by this power, most other vampires find the knowledge disturbing and unsettling as they realize how limiting and stale their reality is.
Learning Spiritus: This discipline may only be learned by Ahrimanes who take the Ahrimane merit Seekers of the Hidden (see VTM Volume 2 Issue 1, page 32). This is due to the extraordinary amount of spiritual journeying involved which requires having undergone the Ahrimane creation rites. As an addendum to the original text of the Seekers of the Hidden merit, you may only teach Spiritus to other Ahrimanes who purchase this merit. This discipline may not be learned through the Sabbat setting rules for diablerie.
SYSTEM
Beast Spirits: Spiritus often refers to Beast Spirits. These spirits have some similarities to Umbral spirits but are different in several ways. Thematically, Beast Spirits are the spirits of animals that have been magically awakened by the Spiritus power Tame Spirit. Once an Ahrimane learns Tame Spirit, she obtains a Beast Spirit. Beast Spirits have some commonalities with traditional spirits but have several notable differences. Beast Spirits are created using the Animal Retainer rules with the following additions that represent their spiritual nature:
Beast Spirits have the following properties:
Beast Spirits are considered supernatural creatures, not mortals. Powers that have an increased effect on mortals do not have those increased effects when used on a Beast Spirit. Powers that affect Umbral spirits affect Beast Spirits.
Beast Spirits are the same size as the animals they represent. Their habitat is most often limited to that of their counterparts in the real-world, but this is not a strict rule. It is perfectly feasible for an Ahrimane in North America to have a tiger, pangolin, or narwhal follower.
Beast Spirits do not have access to Garou Gifts; they instead employ bestial spiritual powers more similar to Disciplines (see the Types of Beast Spirits below.)
Beast Spirits are immune to Subsume the Spirit and all other powers intended to act solely on animals; however, they are treated like animals for the purposes of Feral Whispers or similar communication powers.
Beast Spirits cannot see across the Gauntlet, but instinctually remain near you in the Umbra. Beast Spirits can understand you without assistance but cannot understand others unless the speaker is using Wild Eyes, Feral Whispers, or a similar power. As such, their ability to relay information as spies is limited. The Storyteller will portray your Beast Spirit if it is employed as a spy.
Beast Spirits utilize Gnosis to fuel disciplines and may spend Gnosis to heal in the same way a vampire uses Blood. Beast Spirits have a Gnosis pool equal to twice their Stock NPC rating. Beast Spirits begin each night with their Gnosis pool refreshed.
Unless they have manifested, Beast Spirits are invisible to anyone that does not possess the ability to see into the Umbra.
Beast Spirits can manifest in the physical world by spending a point of Gnosis as a simple action. While manifested they appear as normal specimens of the animal their spirit form represents and can interact with others and can be attacked and killed.
If a Beast Spirit dies while manifested or is destroyed in the Umbra, it reforms in one month. If a Beast Spirit is dismissed by a Spiritus user, it cannot be summoned again.
Types of Beast Spirits: There are three types of Beast Spirits. They are:
Aggressive Animals: These animals are strong and formidable, typically predators. For example, the Beast Spirits of alligators and grizzly bears would be considered Aggressive Animals. When building an Aggressive Animal Beast Spirit, you may purchase one discipline specialization for the Beast Spirit in either Celerity or Potence and the Beast Spirit gains the Strength attribute focus. This is an exception to the rule preventing Stock NPCs from possessing attribute focuses.
Curious Animals: These animals are clever and perceptive. They are often smaller, but not necessarily so. Some examples are a fox or a pigeon. When building a Curious Animal Beast Spirit, you may purchase one discipline specialization for the Beast Spirit in either Auspex or Obfuscate and the Beast Spirit gains the Perception attribute focus. This is an exception to the rule preventing Stock NPCs from possessing attribute focuses.
Defensive Animals: Stalwart, brave, and resolute are some of the qualities of defensive animals. These creatures do not need to be robust but are often animals known for their loyalty. A turtle or a dog are some examples of Defensive Animals. When building this Beast Spirit, you may purchase one discipline specialization for the Beast Spirit in either Celerity or Fortitude and the Beast Spirit gains the Stamina attribute focus. This is an exception to the rule preventing Stock NPCs from possessing attribute focuses. In addition, Defensive Animals may utilize the Assist Defender mass combat tactic as an exception to the rules prohibiting Stock NPCs from doing so.
TEST POOL
The Spiritus practitioner uses her Social attribute + Occult skill versus the target’s Social attribute + Willpower.SOURCE BOOK
MET - VTM - V2 (2021)
Vampire the Masquerade
POWERS
The natural world extends beyond the limits of what most vampires can perceive. Through your studies you have developed the ability to see things that even the most mystical and potent elders cannot. By chanting in shamanistic tongues and smearing your own vitae over your eyes, you can extend your senses into the spiritual realm of the Umbra. You can see to the other side of the gauntlet and even converse with willing spirits and Beast Spirits.
SYSTEM
Spend 1 point of Blood and use your simple action to open your eyes to the spirits and the Umbra. You can now see and converse with any spirit that happens to be active near you within the Penumbra. However, if they realize that you can see them the spirits can attempt to supernaturally hide from you by using gifts such as Blur of the Milky Eye. With concentration this power also gives you the ability to see fully into the Umbra from the Material Realm.
Wyld Eyes lasts 1 hour, although it may be reactivated at the conclusion of its duration by spending an additional point of Blood and a simple action. This power allows you to see spirits, but not wraiths or other types of supernatural creatures. Wyld Eyes does not pierce supernatural powers of concealment, such as Obfuscate or Blur of the Milky Eye, but it may be combined with other sensory powers such as Heightened Senses.
While most spirits will hide from or ignore a Vampire, Beast Spirits are generally interested in those that practice Spiritus, having rarely encountered a vampire that can truly interact with spirits and their world. As such, Beast Spirits are the most receptive to attempts at communication, often choosing to speak in a tongue akin to feral whispers. In this manner an Ahrimane can communicate with a willing Beast Spirit. Other spirits rarely communicate or interact with the undead.
Focus
Your skill and demeanor when interacting with spirits puts them in a more favorable disposition. By spending a simple action to converse with a spirit and succeeding on an opposed challenge, you can automatically learn the spirit’s name, stock rating, and its native affinity (Weaver, Wyld, or Wyrm). For more information on affinities see Mind’s Eye Theater: Werewolf the Apocalypse.
COST
1 BloodSOURCE BOOK
MET - VTM - V2 (2021)
Vampire the Masquerade
All things, especially the living, have spirits; however, not all spirits find a home in a creature or object of the physical world. Whether a Beast Spirit is bound in the physical world or roaming the Umbra, you have the ability to coax it out. By performing a series of shamanistic rituals, you can form a bond with a Beast Spirit. If successful, the Beast Spirit becomes your companion; a constant and often formidable reminder of the unique existence of the Ahrimanes.
SYSTEM
By spending a downtime action, you can draw out a Beast Spirit, converse with it, and begin the bonding process to form a companionship. The Beast Spirit companion you gain can either be the spirit of a real animal that exists within your line of sight or a roaming Beast Spirit from the Umbra that is not native to your lands. The Beast Spirit manifests within one step of you in either the physical realm or the Umbra, and it is willingly bound to you. The spirit is your ally and is built using the Animal Retainer rules. The stock level of this Animal Retainer is equal to the number of Spiritus powers the Ahrimane possesses, including techniques and elder powers. The spirit can understand you and will attempt to fulfill your verbal requests. You may only have one active Beast Spirit at a time through the use of this power.
Alternatively, you may spend a point of blood and your standard action to give an order to any Gaffling spirit within your line of sight. If you succeed in an opposed challenge, you can force the spirit to answer one question or perform a singular simple task. The spirit answers basic questions truthfully, but unfamiliar concepts may confuse it. You can reasonably expect answers to the following types of questions:
What is your purpose?
Has anything interesting happened around you?
What did the person who ran by moments ago look like?
Has anyone been fighting here recently?
Exceptional Success
If you achieve an exceptional success to compel a Gaffling spirit, the spirit must answer all your questions for the next 5 minutes; however, it cannot be compelled to perform more than one simple task.
Focus
If your Beast Spirit is destroyed while manifested or while in the Umbra, and you still require its services, it reforms in one hour instead of a month.
COST
1 Blood OR 1 DT actionSOURCE BOOK
MET - VTM - V2 (2021)
Vampire the Masquerade
As an Ahrimane advances in her study of Spiritus, she learns that the Umbra is home to more hostile and terrifying things than Beast Spirits. Your knowledge of such creatures coupled with your spiritual evolution has granted you predatorial dominance over two worlds. No longer limited to mundane prey, you may hunt the creatures of the Umbra, feeding from your supernatural quarry just as you would a mortal.
SYSTEM
Once purchased the following benefits are always active: your brawl and melee attacks can damage spirits in the umbra even if they have not manifested (though you must still be able to see them through powers such as Wyld Eyes); and you may feed on the Gnosis of spirits in the same way you can feed on the blood of humans. For every Gnosis drained you gain a Blood point.
In addition, you may spend 1 Blood and a simple action to imbue your brawl attacks with spiritual energies. This manifests as a set of spiritual claws made of brilliant glowing moonlight. These claws do aggravated damage and stack with the Feral Claws’ Wits focus if you have that Protean power. When striking spirits, the claws do one additional level of damage. This ability lasts for one hour or until you end its effects.
Focus
You can imbue your weapons with spiritual power causing them to glow with the brilliance of moonlight. While Umbral Huntress is active, your throwing, firearms, and melee attacks inflict aggravated damage, and cause one additional level of damage to spirits.
COST
1 BloodSOURCE BOOK
MET - VTM - V2 (2021)
Vampire the Masquerade
At this level of power, an Ahrimane’s bond to the spirit world is very strong, enabling her to draw life and strength from the Umbra and its denizens. You have the ability to draw from the essence of a Beast Spirit, giving you a portion of its power.
SYSTEM
Spend 1 Blood and a simple action to attune yourself to the Umbra. Doing so allows you to touch the spirit realm and call upon a Beast Spirit and the life of the Umbra to enhance your physical form. Select two of the following qualities when activating this power:
In addition, as long as your Beast Spirit remains within 10 steps of you, she also benefits from the qualities you selected.
Bear Strength: You receive an additional +1 bonus to Brawl-based attack test pools.
Stride of the Gazelle: Increase your movement by 1 step for each action spent on movement.
Falcon’s Eye: Gain a +1 bonus on all challenges involving your Investigation Skill.
Speed of the Hare: Gain a +1 bonus to your initiative.
Agility of the Fox: You gain a +1 bonus to Dodge-based defensive test pools.
Chameleon Camouflage: Gain +1 bonus on all challenges involving your Stealth Skill.
Focus
You may double the bonus of your chosen qualities. For example, if you choose the qualities Bear Strength and Stride of the Gazelle, you gain +2 to your Brawl based attack pools and increase your movement by up to 2 steps for each action spent on movement.
INTERACTIONS
Mantle of Atira is a major transformative power and cannot be combined with other transformative powers. However, you may combine it with Spiritwalker as an exception to the rules governing major transformations. You may end this transformation at any time by spending a simple action.
COST
1 BloodSOURCE BOOK
MET - VTM - V2 (2021)
Vampire the Masquerade
An Ahrimane with this level of expertise fully understands the spiritual limitations and capabilities of her own vampiric vessel and her companion’s spiritual form. You can now join in symbiosis with your Beast Spirit, gaining both the benefits of a corporeal and spiritual entity. You can also traverse the Gauntlet and travel in the Umbra for a limited time, hunting your prey no matter where it flees.
SYSTEM
Spend a Blood and a standard action to wholly bond with your Beast Spirit. Your physical form merges with the Beast Spirit into a singular spiritual entity. Thereafter, you appear as an anthropomorphic version of your Beast Spirit and you have a faint glowing aura displaying your spiritual symbiosis. While in this form you gain 3 Healthy wound levels, the benefits of any Animal Retainer qualities your Beast Spirit possesses, and the Attribute focus it possesses. You may continue to spend your blood to power your disciplines and techniques. While bonded with your Beast Spirit you are still considered a vampire (and not a spirit or animal), but you only take normal damage from sunlight.
In addition, while bonded with your Beast Spirit you may spend 5 full turns in chant and spend one of your Beast Spirit’s Gnosis to cross the Gauntlet travelling into or out of the Umbra. This power can only be maintained for one hour. When the power ends the vampire is ejected into the physical world and the Beast Spirit coalesces back into the umbra.
Focus
You can spend the Gnosis of your Beast Spirit to fuel any of your disciplines instead of spending blood, subject to your normal limit per turn.
INTERACTIONS
Spiritwalker is a major transformative power and cannot be combined with other transformative powers. However, you may combine it with Mantle with Altria as an exception to the rules governing major transformations. You may end this transformation at any time by spending a simple action.
COST
1 BloodSOURCE BOOK
MET - VTM - V2 (2021)
Vampire the Masquerade
For some, hunting a mundane is a sport; for others, it is a spiritual experience. An Ahrimane who hunts does so for two reasons: either in search of sustenance or to destroy her prey. With intense focus, you can fixate on your target thereby diminishing its ability to flee with every strike you land. Those lucky enough to survive your assault would do well to escape before succumbing to the weight of impending death. After all, an Ahrimane rarely loses track of her prey.
SYSTEM
Spend your simple action and 1 point of Blood as you ritualistically prepare yourself for a hunt. For the next hour your Physical attacks against that target gain the Accurate and Brutal qualities. In addition, you may choose to employ either the Harrying or Encumbering Fetish Quality to all unarmed attacks.
Encumbering: When you successfully strike a target, she receives a -2 penalty to her next turn’s initiative for each point of blood you spend. Multiple applications of this effect are not cumulative.
Harrying: A target successfully struck takes one fewer step the next time she uses an action to move per point of Blood you spend. Multiple applications of this effect are not cumulative; a target can move again normally after she spends one penalized action for movement.
If you succeed in striking a target while under the effects of Killer Instincts, that target becomes supernaturally marked by fiery blue vengeance spirits. Only you and those who can see across the Gauntlet can see these vengeance spirits. While so marked, she cannot hide from you using mundane or supernatural means nor can she hide from others who can see across the Gauntlet. As part of this effect, your target cannot benefit from concealment in total darkness or from supernatural sources, such as Shroud of Night, as the flames give away her location to any who can see them. In such cases, she may be targeted without the need for the Fighting Blind combat maneuver. If she escapes the combat, you receive a +3 wild card bonus to any challenge to track her down. This benefit lasts until the next sunset or sunrise, whichever is longer.
COST
1 BloodSOURCE BOOK
MET - VTM - V2 (2021)
Vampire the Masquerade
While shared blood is typically insufficient to grant the use of elder powers, the potency of spiritual abilities mixed with your elder Blood allows you to evolve your Beast Spirit into the ultimate predator. Not only do its spiritual energies and stamina increase, but it can also learn a second discipline for its type and can unlock its own version of an elder power.
SYSTEM
You have unlocked the full potential of your Beast Spirit companion. Your Beast Spirit companion gains 3 Healthy wound levels, 5 additional Gnosis, and it may choose an additional discipline specialization from its available choices. In addition, if your stock rating 6 or higher Beast Spirit companion has a discipline specialization, it may gain a single elder power from that discipline. The elder power available depends on the type of Beast Spirit as set forth below.
Aggressive Animals: Potence: Force; Potence: Flick; or Potence: Reckless Fury.
Curious Animals: Obfuscate: Phantom Hunter; Auspex: Psychic Drain; or Auspex: Clairvoyance.
Defensive Animals: Fortitude: Personal Armor; Fortitude: Repair the Undead Flesh; or Fortitude: King of the Mountain.
SOURCE BOOK
MET - VTM - V2 (2021)
Vampire the Masquerade
Your hunting and spiritual prowess are legendary and are regarded highly even among the spirits. When you call for a hunt, your howl echoes into the Umbra and all spirits who hear it answer. Nearby Beast Spirits big and small manifest in a swarm of spiritual wrath that your prey has no hope of overcoming. Like the foolish Actaeon from legend, your quarry is hounded as it flees; weakened and rendered unable to communicate.
SYSTEM
Spend 3 Blood and your standard action to call out to all nearby spirits as you command your quarry to flee, designating up to 3 targets. Make an opposed challenge using the Spiritus test pool. Should you spend 1 point of Willpower to retest any of these opposed challenges, you also gain that retest for the remainder of the opposed challenges, without the need to spend further Willpower. If you spend the Willpower to retest after some challenges are already resolved, you cannot go back to previous challenges that you lost and apply the Willpower retest retroactively. If you succeed, your targets become marked by the spirits of the hunt. Those marked immediately lose the ability to communicate, which includes the ability to speak or produce sound, send text messages, or use sign language, and any telepathic links they are a part of immediately sever. They cannot initiate or relent to Telepathy or similar powers of communication for as long as this power is in effect. Further, they cannot benefit from any beneficial powers from others, such as Cloak the Gathering, Corpore Sano, or Madrigal, and may only use their own powers until they have successfully fled the area. In addition, your opponents are unable to be targeted by the Assist Defender or Assist Attacker mass combat tactics. These effects last for 15 minutes or until the target successfully fair escapes.
As you activate this power, you must designate the area the target is to withdraw from. You may designate an area as small as the room or the building you are in, an area up to 4 square blocks in an urban setting, or an area up to 1 square mile in a wilderness setting. Once your target successfully leaves the area, the effects of this power cease. However, if your target returns to the designated area within the duration of the power, the effects take hold once again, persisting until she either leaves or the power’s duration ends.
Finally, you may give the target some amount of time to leave, choosing to deliberately delay the onset of this power. For example, you may wish to give your target to the count of 10. If you do, the power’s duration begins immediately, but has no effect until you may spend a simple action to enact its effects; this applies even if your target is not within your line of sight.
Exceptional Success
COST
3 BloodSOURCE BOOK
MET - VTM - V2 (2021)
Vampire the Masquerade