Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines II: With the Tremere, there will be blood (magic)
For any vampire, blood is life. It’s history. But for one group in the Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing series, a mere drop of blood is so much more — it’s unlocks true power. These vampires are the Tremere Clan, and they practice blood magic — the power to manipulate blood.
And the Tremere are coming to Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines II, publisher Paradox Interactive announced today. As a Thinblood, you’ll be able to join this sect of warlocks. Vampire: The Masquerade is part of White Wolf’s “World of Darkness” RPG setting, where werewolves and other monsters live among us. Bloodlines II is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2020, and it’s a continuation of the excellent 2004 cult-classic from the defunct Troika Games.
“We manipulate the blood. It obeys our command. I can make it turn on you, become your worst enemy,” a voice says in the Tremere Clan announcement trailer. “We seek knowledge. And knowledge is true power.”
And it’s because these warlocks can turn blood into a weapon that makes the rest of vampire-dom distrustful of the Tremere. And they’ve only recently come to Seattle, the setting for Bloodlines II.
Arterial arcana
Blood magic is different from the spells you know from other fantasy RPGs. Bloodlines II senior product manager Florian Schwarzer explains how it works.
“In Vampire: the Masquerade, the blood in a vampire’s veins — called ‘Vitae’ — has supernatural powers. For one, it animates these undead; for another, it allows them to perform extraordinary feats, like lightning speed or superhuman strength. The Tremere have taken a quasi-scientific look at Vitae and discovered some of the principles by which it works its miracles,” he said over email. “This in turn allows them to create and come up with new supernatural effects using their own, or others’, Vitae.”
Above: A warlock of the Tremere Clan wields great power with their blood magic.
The Tremere’s blood magic comes in two forms. The first is Thaumaturgy, sorcery that uses blood to destroy. Using it in front of witnesses is a big no-no in the Vampire universe, violating the rules of the Masquerade (in which the vamps hide among humans, doing their best not to reveal themselves). Three of its powers are, according to Paradox:
The other is Auspex, and this opens the warlocks’ minds and expands their senses. This is where history, secrets, and knowledge plays into blood magic. Its use does not violate the Masquerade (these aren’t so flashy and thus easier to hide). Two of its powers are:
- Skewer: This launches a small portion of the vampire’s blood at the feet of their enemies, where it erupts in a patch of razor-sharp spikes. Once they dissolve, a stream of blood flows back to the caster.
- Purge: This enables the vampire to make their victims vomit blood, damaging them heavily. A stream of blood flows back to the caster.
- Blood Boil: A master of Thaumaturgy may cast Purge for a second time on an affected NPC, causing the blood in their veins to sear. The wretch explodes within moments; bystanders in a large area are damaged. Blood from each victim streams back to the caster.
The Tremere-style warlock isn’t like what we’ve seen from other franchises like Dungeons & Dragons, in which otherworldly patrons provide the magic user their power.
- Aura Sense: This enables the vampire to spot NPCs even through walls, read crowds at a glance, and mark individuals to keep them in their sights over long distances. It also enables the vampire to spot the weaknesses in a marked NPC’s attack and defense.
- Psychic Projection: This detaches the vampire’s mind from their body. Untethered, they can explore the area in astral form, remaining free to use Aura Sight to mark any character they spot. Beyond that, the vampire’s mastery of their own senses has grown to such an extent that they can telepathically overwhelm the senses of others for a short while.
“Very often, the ‘dark wizard’ is an outsider and loner, exiled to some sinister tower far away. Playing as a vampire, as a monster among monsters, flips that on its head,” Schwarzer said. “The Tremere are often one of the centers of vampire society. It’s exchanging the dank dungeons and craggy mountain tops for old-school reading rooms and scientific conferences.
“Of course, the subjects discussed in those gatherings might unsettle even a hardened sword-&-sorcery warlock.”
Where they fit
The Tremere were in the first Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines. And the clan was involved in one of the so-called “good” endings, Schwarzer said.
“That game introduced you to L.A. in an uneasy peace after a civil war among vampire factions. In that world of wary fighters, ambitious upstarts and broken monsters, the Tremere’s chantry was a place of stability and purpose. Of course, you could never be quite sure what that purpose really was — they’re vampires, after all. … ” Schwarzer said.
The traditional role of the Tremere in Vampire: The Masquerade is of a power behind the scenes, one that could be more foe than friend.
“One of the things that make the clan interesting to me is that the Tremere have changed over time. When you go back to the very beginning of Vampire: the Masquerade, the Blood Sorcerers felt a bit like antagonists: the soft-spoken, cultured ones that you’re never quite sure haven’t already decided which arcane experiment to bleed you dry for. Add to that the rigid, inscrutable organization — the ‘Pyramid’ — that backs them up, and you’re looking at a real menace even among vampires,” Schwarzer said.
But this resonated with players. So the Tremere evolved (which kinda fits their kit).
“Thing is: That also made them really interesting to players. So things shifted a bit,” Schwarzer said. “The Tremere are still distrusted — arguably for pretty good reasons. At the same time, they’re too powerful (and useful) to ignore: In many cities, they’re advisers or the proverbial power behind the throne. Very recently, the leaders of the Pyramid were assassinated. Suddenly, unlife as a Tremere has become a lot more dangerous — but also more free than ever before.”
pink hair, american mcgee's alice steampunkish outfit - look more like malkavian than
tremere.
I'ma say Celerity and Presence, and Presence will actually be comparable to Dominate in terms of dialogue.
Ultimately the thing with Trems that doesn't really make them work in this sense is that they are basically run as a parallel society within the Camarilla (or rather, they were, before Kwan secret services did a drone strike that leveled the Vienna Chantry and made the Pyramid collapse), that is primarily interested in its own security, part of which is provided by their work as sole in-house blood sorcerers of the Camarilla, and secondly to keep their own secrets secret. After all, they'd really prefer the whole matter of their origins to just be dropped and memory holed. They also don't really do longterm and deeply rooted mortal society infiltration the way Ventrue and Lasombra have done, in secular institutions (business and politics) and Catholic Church respectively.
pink hair, american mcgee's alice steampunkish outfit - look more like malkavian than
Absolute territory.pink hair, american mcgee's alice steampunkish outfit - look more like malkavian than
Those stockings though.
Only the old and experienced Tremere. The young kindred fuck around just like they were humans.
Were. They changed this in recent events of V5. Short version: The big thing that Kwan intelligence services, after cracking ShreckNET, did when they formed the core of the secret Second Inquisition (short version is that they're going pseudo-rogue with other intelligence agencies around the world, keeping the breakthrough in "blankbodies" to themselves and Vatican contacts, since from what they know vampires are embedded in political structures around the world so everything is "nobody outside of this room will be told anything" stuff) was that they managed to track down the Vienna Chantry... And then orchestrate a drone and elite black ops strike (involving USSOCOM and Society of Leopold) to wipe out the place and frame it as a terrorist attack. So basically, the Tremere Pyramid's top echelons suddenly learned that magic missiles don't beat Hellfire missiles, and now the entire bloodline's thrown into chaos on, well, blood level. Tremere can no longer make vampire Blood Bonds (though they can be subject to Blood Bonds of other Clans and Bloodlines), and the Pyramid's authority has collapsed practically overnight when the top was wiped out because Chantries were a TERRIBLE idea in hindsight.
hall clan vampireYep. After this it's going to be Toreador, Ventrue, and whatever the heck this is:
Yep. After this it's going to be Toreador, Ventrue, and whatever the heck this is:
TREMERE
Tremere were not allowed in significant numbers throughout Seattle's history, though that has changed recently. After the fall of the Pyramid, Tremere have sought allies wherever they can find them, offering services and secrets that were once only kept to themselves. At least a few Tremere have managed to settle in the Pacific Northwest. However, not all Kindred in Seattle warmly welcome the warlocks into their city, citing historical precedent and general distrust of their ways. Still, the blood magic of the Tremere cannot be denied as a force to be respected. Whether or not the Tremere are here to stay is another matter entirely…
In nights long before Seattle, the Tremere were something else. Back then, as occultists seeking immortality, they found a way to live forever - but not on their own terms. The heavy price they paid bound their magic to blood, with it becoming both the focus of their powers and the cost for using them. The mostly forgotten origin of their curse still colors their interactions with other Kindred, who mistrust them instinctually. History repeats itself for the Tremere, with war, suspicion and grudges marking both their origin and their modern nights.
THAUMATURGY
Few secrets are guarded more jealously by the Tremere than their signature Discipline: Blood sorcery. Followers of the Path of Blood gain almost unparalleled destructive power.
• Skewer (Blood Cost: 3), the first active Thaumaturgy power, launches a small portion of the vampire’s Vitae at the feet of their enemies, where it erupts in a patch of razor-sharp spikes. Once they dissolve, a stream of blood flows back to the caster. The • • slot upgrades Skewer.
• • • Purge (Blood Cost: 3), the second active power, allows the vampire to make their victims vomit up blood, damaging them heavily. A stream of blood flows back to the caster. The • • • • and • • • • • slots enhance Purge, until it reaches its ultimate potential.
• • • • • Blood Boil (Blood Cost: 2 x 3). A master of Thaumaturgy may cast Purge for a second time on an affected NPC, causing the blood in their veins to sear. The wretch explodes within moments; bystanders in a large area are damaged. Blood from each victim streams back to the caster.
Use of Thaumaturgy in front of witnesses is a Masquerade Violation.
AUSPEX
Nothing stays hidden to those who master the Discipline of Auspex. By expanding their own senses beyond the boundaries of their bodies, these Kindred inch ever closer to their personal idea of perfection.
• Aura Sense (Blood Cost: 2), Auspex’ first active, allows the vampire to spot NPCs even through walls, read crowds at a glance, and mark individuals to keep them in their sights over long distances. It also allows the user to spot the weaknesses in the marked NPC’s attack and defense. The • • and • • • • • slots enhance Aura Sense.
• • • Psychic Projection (Blood Cost: 2), the second active, detaches the vampire’s mind from their body. Untethered, they can explore the area in astral form, remaining free to use Aura Sight to mark any character they spot. Beyond that, the vampire’s mastery of their own senses has grown to such an extent that they can telepathically overwhelm the senses of others for a short while. The • • • • slot enhances Psychic Projection.
Use of Auspex is not a Masquerade Violation.
