Against the Dark - The Transylvanian Tribunal Chapter Nine: Hedge Traditions
Hedge Traditions
Transylvania, a land of mixed cultures, has representatives of hedge traditions from many parts of Mythic Europe. This chapter focuses on two traditions not found elsewhere: storm wizards and monster hunters. Players desiring hedge wizard character from any other supplement may find local representatives of nearly any group. The local law, which forbids trying practitioners for witchcraft, has also attracted settlers from many lesser magical traditions.
Storm Wizards
For thousands of years, in the isolated communities of Transylvania, children who are born with deformities, seem to be mad, or are the issue of incest have been left to die of exposure on the barren slopes of mountains. This sacrifice, it is hoped, will exorcise whatever devils or sins cursed the sad parents. Usually, the screaming baby quickly grows quiet and blue with cold, and within a season, only his cracked bones and torn swaddling cloth remain, scattered by beasts warring over his flesh.
However, a few of these dismal, unwanted children have The Gift. Their cries do not echo in vain down the wooded valley walls. Above the churning roof of storm clouds that roll down the sky and crash against the jagged Transylvanian mountains, stride giants, with thick beards that sparkle with ice, pluck the Gifted babies from the slopes.
Such is the manner in which the Transylvanian hedge tradition of storm wizards both finds and opens The Gift of its new apprentices. The Transylvanian storm wizards are an old but lonely Gifted tradition. Almost exclusively male, these bearded giants make their solitary homes in caves well above the snowline.
Storm Wizards and the Order
Most magi know little about storm wizards, apart from the fact that they summon and manipulate storms, and that there are supposed to be fewer than half a dozen storm wizards haunting Transylvania. Many common folk believe that all storms are called by storm wizards, but magi can plainly see that only a small fraction of the storms which wrack Transylvania have magical origins. Of course, as the storms created by storm wizards actually appear to be natural storms, the magi could be wrong (and the common folk could be right). There may be many more storm wizards than suspected by magi.
As storm wizards are Gifted, the “join or die” provisions of the Code technically apply to them. However, storm wizards have so far managed to dodge this danger, largely because they are rare enough and apparently non-threatening enough that few magi have had the opportunity or desire to find out that the storm wizards are actually Gifted.
Several storm wizards did, in fact, join the Order of Hermes (as members of House Ex Miscellanea) during the Schism War, and fought alongside the Tremere. However, this fact has been forgotten by the wider Order, and there are apparently no surviving texts about their powers. One possibility is that (as the storm wizards’ non-Hermetic magic was useful to baffle and surprise Diedne forces during battle) the Tremere are deliberately trying to keep knowledge about the storm wizards’ powers obscure for use again as a tactical surprise in a future conflict.
Quite what the storm wizards’ goals are (if any) is a mystery.
Appearance: The storm wizard Thietmar is a tall, shy man. He hides his face deep within a wild, unkempt beard, and he dresses in fetid, poorly cured, ice-jeweled furs and hides. He has an uneasy relationship built on mutual fear and distrust with the villagers scattered about the foot of the mountain. Thietmar and the villagers have arrived at a complex routine of caches and paths, whereby they leave “gifts” of food for him, and he moves storms away from their settlements, all without needing to meet. |
Storm Wizards and Giants
Storm wizards all have the Supernatural Virtue Giant Blood (see ArM5, page 43). If you are making a storm wizard character, this Virtue is free. Storm wizards do not gain this Virtue by being literally descended from giants. Instead, at the end of their appren ticeship, storm wizards undergo a mystery initiation in which they must slay a true giant and eat his heart. Tracking down a giant and acquiring a suitable Arcane Connection to him (to aid Penetration) can take the young storm wizard several seasons.
Undergoing this ritual marks a true storm wizard and gains him the Giant Blood Virtue. Note that this initiation merely marks the end of the storm wizard’s apprenticeship, much like a Hermetic apprenticeship ends with his gauntlet. A storm wizard can use his full powers as soon as he has had his Gift Opened, although obviously he will not have the Giant Blood Virtue until he has slain a giant.
Story Seed: The Largest Prey
While traveling in the mountains, an unexpected storm falls upon the magi and their grogs. As the group shivers together through the cold night, a flash of lightning illuminates the figure of a man. At first, the grogs are startled as the man seemed very close, but a further lightning strike reveals that he is, in fact, a distant giant. Subsequent flashes of lightning show that he seems to be actually pursued by the lightning; several spears of jagged light even hit the giant as they watch him. The party has stumbled upon a storm wizard initiation. Do they interfere in the ritual and save the giant? Might they decide to help the storm wizard? Depending on the outcome, either the giant or the storm wizard may become an ally (or enemy) of the covenant.
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The storm wizard initiate gains Giant Blood Major Virtue. Initiation Ease Factor: 21 Initiation Total: Presence + Organization Lore: Storm Wizards + Script Bonus Script Bonus: +15 (+3 Quest, Hunt and eat the heart of a giant; +9 Major Ordeal, Gain Feud (Giant Tribe) Major Flaw; +3 Sympathetic Bonus) |
Storm Wizard Magic
Storm wizards are exclusively Gifted, and their powers are derived from the Magic realm. Their magic consists of three favored Supernatural Abilities: Storm Calling, Storm Riding, and Storm Fighting. Storm wizards also have an Arcane Ability, Organization Lore: Storm Wizards, and access to a new seasonal activity called ice harvesting.
Penetration with Storm Wizard PowersWhen required, the Penetration of a storm wizard Power is calculated as:
The Penetration Bonus is calculated in the same way as for a Hermetic magus (see ArM5, page 84). Storm wizards have access to the Penetration Arcane Ability. Magnitude of EffectThe magnitude of Storm Wizard Powers may be required (for example, to determine Warping, or whether an effect can be dispelled).
Realm InteractionStorm wizard powers are Magical Supernatural Abilities. The storm wizard receives the appropriate bonus or penalty to his powers depending on the local aura as indicated on the Realm Interaction Table (see ArM5, page 183). Storm Trance: WarpingWhenever a storm wizard gains two or more Warping Points from a single event, or sufficient Warping Points to reach a new Warping Score, he must make a Storm Trance Roll against the indicated Ease Factor. If this roll is failed, the storm wizard himself becomes a local-sized storm (see insert) that lasts for a duration of Moon. While he is a storm, the storm wizard may not use his Storm Wizard supernatural powers, but he can speak by manipulating the winds. The storm wizard may try to reform his body once each day, by making a Storm Trance Roll. If this is successful, his body coalesces out of the storm immediately, at a chosen point. If the storm wizard does not successfully form his body before the storm dissipates, then he is apparently killed, or possibly enters the Magic Realm. The storm itself is natural and so cannot be dispelled, but it can be destroyed by supernatural means (such as Perdo Auram effects), which kills the storm wizard too.
Inside the StormSome storm wizard powers affect characters who are “within a storm,” or “at any point in a storm.” This means a character (or other target) who is either on the ground, or in the air, and is affected by the storm. In some cases, this will be clear, but in others the troupe will need to use their best judgment. A good quick test is: is the character getting wet from the rain, snow, or sleet borne by the storm, or are they blown about by the wind of the storm? If so, then they are sufficiently “within the storm”. Characters inside buildings are not normally considered to be within a storm (even if the building is), unless there are large openings in the roof or walls or the storm itself is inside the building! |
Storm Calling
Supernatural Ability
This Supernatural Ability allows the storm wizard to either create or move a storm.
To create a storm, make a Storm Calling roll against an Ease Factor that depends on the size and duration of the desired storm (see insert). The storm wizard must also sacrifice a number of pawns of Auram vis (see Ice Harvesting) that depends on the size of the storm (see insert). The storm is centered on the location of the wizard at the time of casting, but if he subsequently moves, the storm will stay in place. It takes a number of rounds equal to the required Ease Factor for the storm to manifest. If the storm wizard calls a storm while indoors, the storm will appear outside, above and around, his location.
Creating a storm is a Supernatural effect, so the Storm Calling roll is affected by the aura like any other Supernatural Ability. However, once created, the storm is entirely natural; it does not need to Penetrate to cause damage to characters who have Magic Resistance, or to enter an Aegis of the Hearth effect. Any character with a Score in Magic Lore (or Wilderness Sense) who witnesses the creation of a storm can automatically identify that the storm is being created artificially, but unless he is familiar with storm wizard magic, he will be unable to identify the specific form of magic.
To move a storm, make a Storm Calling roll against an Ease Factor that depends on the size of the storm (that is, the Ease Factor for moving a storm does not depend on the storm’s Duration). A storm can be moved at rate of about 1 mile per Diameter, and the storm wizard must be able to see the storm while it is moving. Moving a storm does not cost any vis, but while it is being moved, the storm is considered to be under a supernatural effect. If the storm wizard wishes to keep a storm moving for an extended period of time, make a new roll to keep the storm moving every Diameter. The speed at which the storm wizard moves the storm is not unnaturally fast, but the storm wizard may move the storm in an entirely unnatural way, for example, he can move the storm against the wind, or even inside through windows and doors.
A storm wizard may move any storm, regardless of whom (if anyone) created it. If two (or more) storm wizards wish to move the same storm, then the storm moves according to the direction of whomever rolls the greatest Storm Calling roll (which also exceeds the required Ease Factor). Storm wizards cannot usefully work together to move a storm.
| Storm Calling Roll | Communication + Storm Calling + Stress Die vs Ease Factor |
| Storm Creation Vis Cost | Depends on Storm Size |
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The Base Ease Factor for creating and moving a storm is 0. The storm creation Ease Factor is modified by both the Duration and Size of the storm. The storm moving Ease Factor is modified by only the Size of the storm. Storm Size
Storm Duration
Example Storm Calling UsesTo create a storm that covers an entire province and lasts for 1 hour, the Storm Calling Ease Factor is 12 (6 Hour + 6 Provincial), and this costs 2 pawns of Auram vis. To move this storm, the Storm Calling Ease Factor is 6 (6 Provincial), and costs no vis. |
Storm Riding
Supernatural Ability
Storm Riding allows the storm wizard to either sense or travel to any point covered by a storm. The storm wizard must be able to see the storm to use this Supernatural Ability, and he receives a +3 bonus to the Storm Riding roll if he is actually inside the storm when he uses the Ability. As it is a Supernatural Ability, the Storm Riding roll is affected by the aura.
| Storm Riding Roll | Perception + Storm Riding + Stress Die vs Ease Factor |
The Ease Factor for Storm Riding depends on what the storm wizard wants to achieve:
- Ease Factor 9
- The storm wizard may use his senses from any point in the storm. Note that such magical senses need to Penetrate to “see” characters with Magic Resistance. A successful roll allows the character to see from a specified vantage for Concentration duration. Using any other storm wizard Supernatural Ability while concentrating on seeing is simple (Concentration Ease Factor of 3).
- Ease Factor 12
- The storm wizard may travel instantly to any point in the storm. If the storm wizard can see the destination, he arrives at the precise location; otherwise, he must estimate the relative distance to the destination (“500 feet, east,” for example). If required, the troupe can make another suitable roll to determine the accuracy of this estimate.
- Ease Factor 15
- The storm wizard may cause another character to travel instantly to any point in the storm. The storm wizard must be touching the target character, and the effect needs to Penetrate the target’s Magic Resistance. Characters who are sent to a high altitude take damage when they hit the ground (see ArM5, page 181).
Storm Fighting
Supernatural Ability
Storm Fighting allows the storm wizard to use the fury of a storm to attack other characters and structures, such as houses, castles, forests, etc. The storm wizard must be able to see both the storm and the target of the attack, and the target must be within the storm. As it is a Supernatural Ability, the Storm Fighting roll is affected by the aura. Template:Storm Fighting Roll
The Ease Factor depends on the type of attack used:
- Buffet
- Ease Factor n/a. The Storm Fighting roll is treated as a normal melee Attack Total against a target character. Shields and weapons can be used in a defensive roll against this attack. The storm wizard may make a number of Buffet attacks equal to his Storm Fighting Ability Score in a round. These attacks may all target the same individual, or can be spread without penalty among multiple targets within the storm. If an attack is successful, the target takes +10 damage from being torn and thrown about by strong winds. In a round where this attack is used, the storm wizard may also make a Storm Fighting roll as a Defense Total. Storm Fighting has an Initiative modifier of 0. This attack type has no Penetration, and so a target with Magic Resistance cannot be affected by a buffet attack.
- Deluge
- Ease Factor 3. This attack affects everyone within an area no more than 30 yards across. All mobile characters must make a Dexterity roll against an Ease Factor of 6, or lose their footing and fall. This attack is Aimed, and thus bypasses Magic Resistance (see ArM5, page 86).
- Hail
- Ease Factor 6. This attack affects everyone within an area no more than 30 yards across. All characters take +3 damage (which can be soaked as usual). This attack is Aimed, and thus bypasses Magic Resistance (see ArM5, page 86).
- Erosion
- Ease Factor 9. This attack affects a single Structure or a part of larger Structure. Examples include: a tree, a house, a small tower, or part of a castle wall. If this roll is successful, the storm washes away the dirt beneath the foundations of the structure, causing it to collapse. As the erosion actually attacks the earth beneath the structure, the quality of the built structure is largely irrelevant. However, the storyguide can elect to increase the required Ease Factor to represent, for example, a structure which is directly anchored to the bedrock by deep foundations. Such well-secured structures are very rare in Mythic Europe, especially among mundane architecture.
- Lightning
- Ease Factor 12. This attack strikes a single target with a jagged arc of lightning, which causes +20 damage. Assuming the Ease Factor is met, this attack cannot miss, but it must Penetrate the target’s Magic Resistance.
Ice Harvesting
Storm wizards require special magical ice that does not melt in order to use their Storm Calling Ability to create storms. The magical ice comes from special mountain peaks and mountain caves, and requires a complicated ritual which lasts for an entire season to harvest correctly. The location of these special sites is a closely guarded storm wizard secret.
Hermetic magi would, of course, identify this magical ice as Auram vis, and from the perspective of Hermetic magic storm wizards seem able to extract Auram vis from mountainous magical auras. In fact, any Auram vis will serve to power the Storm Calling Ability, but a storm wizard would be unlikely to believe a Hermetic magus who made this suggestion.
| “Ice” Harvesting | (Intelligence + Organization Lore: Storm Wizard + Magic Aura) / 3 (round up) pawns of Auram vis per season |
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Storm wizards are Gifted and so actually acquire their Supernatural Abilities (at Score 0) when they have their Gift Opened (if needed the storm wizard Opening Total is generated as Intelligence + Organization Lore: Storm Wizards; see Hedge Magic: Revised Edition, page 7). Storm wizard characters thus do not normally have the Virtues associated with their Supernatural Abilities. Nonetheless these Virtues might be acquired by other characters. Storm CallingMinor Supernatural Virtue The character has a Score of 1 in the Supernatural Ability, Storm Calling. Specialties: storm creation, storm moving. Storm RidingMinor Supernatural Virtue This Virtue gives the character a Score of 1 in the Supernatural Ability, Storm Riding. Specialties: seeing, traveling (self), traveling (others). Storm FightingMinor Supernatural Virtue This Virtue gives the character a Score of 1 in the Supernatural Ability, Storm Fighting. Specialties: specific attack targets (giants), specific attack types. Storm WizardFree Social Status The character is a storm wizard. Organization Lore: Storm WizardArcane Ability This Arcane Ability is an Organization Lore that concerns the magic, personalities, and special locations (such as magical ice sites) of the storm wizard tradition. It is also used in ice harvesting and storm wizard initiations. Specialties: ice harvesting, initiations, history, locations, personalities. |
Story Seed: The Ice CaveThe player characters stumble upon a cave high in the mountains. The icy surfaces of the cave are carved with strange runes and depictions of hazy figures striding over stormy mountains. There is a strong magic aura in the cave, and the walls of the cave are imbued with a number of pawns of Auram vis, which the magi could extract using spells similar to Gather the Essence of the Beast. The cave is a site used by storm wizards for ice harvesting, and if the player characters remain in the area for long enough, they will surely encounter one or more storm wizards. If the player characters utilize the ice cave as a vis source, they will need to compete for the resource with the storm wizards. The storm wizards are initially alarmed and angered at the discovery of their sacred site, but if they can be placated, they might consider trading or allying with the magi. |
Vampire Hunters
Vampire hunters are almost as common as vampires in the Mythic Balkans and Romania. They are a special class of human: touched in some way to make them particularly effective against the blood-drinking creatures that terrorize peasants at night. What is less well-known is that their magic can be turned against all supernatural creatures, not just vampires. Traditionally there are two ways in which one can become a hunter: through particular circumstances surrounding one’s birth, and through having a vampire as a parent. However, in recent years, a third type of vampire hunter has come into existence: the Hermetically trained hunter or fector (see the Laniena section in Chapter 3: Hungary).
An Inauspicious Birth
The circumstances around a character’s birth can make him particularly suited to slaying vampires and other supernatural creatures. Throughout the Balkans, there are a number of unlucky circumstances and taboos regarding one’s birth — both when and how it occurs. An individual who breaks one of these taboos, through no fault of his own, is set apart from society, and occupies a liminal role in his community. This makes him the target of much supernatural activity, but also gives him a greater capacity to combat it.
The Sabotnik
A common taboo on vampires is an inability to go abroad on Saturdays, or harm those born on a Saturday. Anyone born on a Saturday is therefore immune to the direct powers of such vampire. In Bulgaria, such an individual is called a sabotnik (pl. sabotnici), whereas in the rest of the Balkans he is called a vaperar (pl. vaperari), and further south in Greece, he is called an alaphroiskiotos (see The Sundered Eagle, Chapter 5: Customs).
A sabotnik can also arise from being born during one of the Unclean Days (Mrâsnite dni) between Christmas and Epiphany, or during the Wolf Holiday (Vâlèite praznici) in November. These sabotnici are fated to become vampires upon their death, and those born during the Wolf Holiday are often capable of turning into wolves (and become a type of vampire called pricolici after death).
Not all sabotnici become vampire hunters, but all benefit from the protective effect of their day of birth. You can either randomly determining the day of birth of all characters, or assume that only those with specific powers of the sabotnik had that auspicious day of birth. Sabotnici often have an instinctive sense of the unseen, and can detect the presence of a vampire even if it is immaterial. They can sometimes also detect the presence of magicians and witches. Most sabotnici who develop magical powers are men, but the rare female sabotnici are usually more powerful, and possess powers of dream interpretation. Not all sabotnici are human; dogs can also be a sabotnik, and can be easily identified as having black marks over each eye, leading to them being known as “four-eyed dogs.”
Zuban, a Four-Eyed Dog
Appearance: A medium-sized dog with an erect tail. His coat is tawny, although his chest and feet are white, and he has a black muzzle. He has two black marks above his eyes. He is always bumping into things, perhaps because his eyes are focused on other things no-one else can see. Zuban is suitable as a Magical Animal Companion, or perhaps as a grog character. In the latter case, his Cunning should be made into Intelligence. |
The Glog
The glog (pl. glogove) is a character who is born feet first, or with teeth or red hair. The glog is named after the black hawthorn, which is also called glog, a potent defense against vampires. Unlike the sabotnik, who are usually skilled at finding vampires, the glog’s special skill usually revolves around protecting people from vampires, or occasionally destroying them. Glogove usually craft weapons such as staves or swords from the wood of the black hawthorn, although these are mainly used defensively rather than offensively. Glogove are often aggressive and argumentative; they are known to have a fearful temper, which often gets them into trouble in the community. It is also common for them to excel in physical pursuits.
The Taltós and the Kresnik
The taltós is a Hungarian magician born with special powers to fight off evil creatures. They are marked at birth by being born with a caul, or with extra fingers and toes. At the age of seven, a taltós enters a deep sleep, and is visited in his dreams by an elder taltós in animal form. The two fight, and if the younger taltós wins, he is initiated into a society of nightwalkers who leave their bodies at night to do battle with evil creatures to secure the safety of their villages.
The kresnik is similar to the taltós, but is found in the Balkans, particularly in Serbia and Slovenia. Kresnici are specifically opposed to a group of sorcerers and vampires called the kudlaci. A kresnik is born with a clear or white caul and has powers to promote fertility, whereas a kudlak is born with a red or black caul, and works to kill livestock and sap the vitality from crops. When a kudlak dies, he becomes a type of vampire (see the Vampires section of Chapter 8: Creatures).
The powers of the taltós and the kresnik are fully described in the Nightwalker chapter of Hedge Magic Revised Edition.
Black HawthornBlack hawthorn is a slow-growing wood that twists as it grows, and has little use in carpentry since it can’t be made into planks. It has these Shape and Material Bonuses: Shape and Material Bonuses Protection from vampires +7 Protection from evil +4 Prevent disease +4 |
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Over 1000 years ago, a powerful tradition of hedge wizards walked the Balkans. They were called the taltós, and they possessed many varied powers, from shapeshifting to spiritwalking, from potion making to vampire slaying. The taltós were the wise men of the Hun tribes. However, the taltós were a fractious and argumentative people, a personality that was exacerbated by The Gift. Soon, factions arose within the taltós community, and battle lines were drawn up. As the tribes warred with one another, so did the taltós. The turning point in the war came when one side adapted their vampire-slaying magic to the slaying of other taltós. The other side was quick to ape the technique, and the war transformed from one of dominance to one of extermination. Within a few short years, the taltós were virtually extinct. A few souls survived the pogroms, and managed to transmit scraps of their knowledge to others; and there are surviving fragments today who continue to practice taltós-derived magic, but they are pale shadows of their forebears. |
A Dark Parentage
Many vampires make their former family home their first stop after rising from their graves. If the deceased’s widow still lives there, the vampire seeks her out and impregnates her with a child. This posthumous child grows up to be a powerful vampire-hunter.
The Dhampir
Throughout most of the Transylvanian Tribunal, the child of a vampire is called a dhampir (pronounced “DUM-pier;” fem. dhampiresa; pl. dhampiri). Dhampiri are inheritors of vampire-slaying magic, and attract a fair amount of fame for their actions. The names of some are a matter of legend, such as Obrad of Niš, who is both priest and dhampir; and Murat of Terezin, who single-handedly dispatched over 200 vampires.
A dhampir usually charges a fee for his services, which by tradition cannot be bargained down, and he is often given gifts of livestock, clothing, and food — above and beyond his fee — by grateful villagers. However, dhampiri carry a dark secret: that they themselves will become vampires following their death. They ensure that another is prepared to take the necessary precautions to destroy this vampire before it can do any harm; this task is usually entrusted to the dhampir’s son.
The Vampirdzhi
A vampire’s son is called a vampirdzhi (pl. vampirdzhia) in Bulgaria, and a vampijerovik (or in Bosnia and Albania, a lampijerovik) in the rest of the Balkans. Only men are believed to be vampirdzhia; the daughters of vampires become witches instead.
Unlike the dhampir, the vampirdzhi usually becomes a hunter out of necessity, and has no strong tradition of vampireslaying lore or magic. Nevertheless, some might discover an innate talent, or be trained by an experienced hunter and become a great boon to a community in the grips of a vampire plague. In the Sanžak region of Serbia, there is a whole district of lampijeroviki, all descended from the same vampire, and these have become experts on their prey, available for hire and for training.
Like dhampiri, the vampirdzhia are liable to rise as vampires after death, unless appropriate precautions are taken. Untrained vampirdzhia may be unaware of this, and a village may have a perpetual vampire problem, thanks to the propagation of the curse through family lines.
Hunters’ Arts
The Hunters’ Arts are the remnants of a shattered hedge tradition of magic. For nearly 1000 years, these Arts have not been passed on as a coherent whole, but instead as fragmentary knowledge deriving from the taltós of old. There are three Practices that are akin to Hermetic Techniques: Scry, Ban, and Slay. Each of the Practices is coupled with a Foe Art that is analogous to a Hermetic Form, although much smaller in scope than a Form. Practice Arts are bought as Major Supernatural Virtues, whereas Foe Arts are Minor Supernatural Virtues, but a character buying his first Practice Art as a Virtue gets one free Foe Art at no additional Virtue point cost. A character taking more than one Practice Art does not gain additional Foe Arts. Experience points in the Hunters’ Arts can be gained from Exposure, Adventures, Practice, Teaching, and Books (ArM5, Chapter 10). However, there are very few texts on the Hunters’ Arts, and most have been written by Hermetic practitioners (see the Laniena section in Chapter 3 on Hungary).
Most hunters are entirely unaware of the existence of the Foe Arts, and never gain experience in them, due to the splintered nature of their magical tradition. They are therefore unable to apply the Practice Arts to any other type of supernatural creature other than the Foe that comes free with the first Practice Art, which is most often the Vampire Foe.
The Hunters’ Arts and Mortal FoesThe Hunters’ Arts are most effective against supernatural creatures, but they can also affect applicable humans and creatures who are aligned to a Supernatural Realm — that is, have one or more Supernatural Abilities or Arts, but who are not members of that realm and therefore lack a Might Score. Against such mortal foes, the levels of all effects are 10 higher. |
New Virtues
These new virtues are designed for vampire hunter characters.
Dhampir
Major, Supernatural
This is a variety of Strong Faerie Blood (ArM5, page 49). A dhampir has the Second Sight Virtue at no extra cost, and can see normally in darkness. Their eyes are a peculiarly vivid color. They do not start making aging rolls until the age of 50, and get –3 to Aging Rolls, cumulative with any other bonuses. Dhampirs may learn Faerie Lore during character creation, and they are so in tune with their faerie nature that they gain a +1 bonus to all Faerie Lore rolls. If a dhampir dies, he becomes a vampire after death unless the correct rituals are performed on his body. This Virtue was first described in Houses of Hermes: True Lineages.
(Foe) Art
Minor, Supernatural
There are many different variants of this Virtue, each one specific to a particular supernatural foe. The foe chosen must be a distinct type of creature, or else a specific tradition of humans aligned to a Realm. A foe must have some supernatural power: wholly mundane groups cannot be foes. A foe can span Supernatural Realms as long as they have a unifying feature which identifies them. For example, Dragons can belong to any realm, but are clearly identified as a group. Other examples include Vampires, Ghosts, Aerial Powers (an Order of Demons), Witches (both folk witches and infernal witches), and Shapeshifters (humans with the Shapeshifter Virtue or similar intrinsic power). The storyguide is the ultimate arbiter of the breadth of a Foe Art. Choosing this Virtue gives the character the (Foe) Art with an initial score of 0. (Foe) Arts are Difficult Arts, meaning that they are treated as any other Art except that they use the Ability Advancement Table rather than the Art Advancement Table. (Foe) Arts must be combined with a Practice Art to be used.
Scry Art
Major, Supernatural
Choosing this Virtue gives the character the Scry Art with an initial score of 0. Scry is a Difficult Art, meaning that it is treated as any other Art except that it uses the Ability Advancement Table rather than the Art Advancement Table. The Scry Art must be combined with at least one (Foe) Art to be used.
Slay Art
Major, Supernatural
Choosing this Virtue gives the character the Slay Art with an initial score of 0. Slay is a Difficult Art, meaning that it is treated as any other Art except that it uses the Ability Advancement Table rather than the Art Advancement Table. The Slay Art must be combined with at least one (Foe) Art to be used.
Ban Art
Major, Supernatural
Choosing this Virtue gives the character the Ban Art with an initial score of 0. Ban is a Difficult Art, meaning that it is treated as any other Art except that it uses the Ability Advancement Table rather than the Art Advancement Table. The Ban Art must be combined with at least one (Foe) Art to be used.
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Some Arcane and Sympathetic Connections are commonly used in the Hunters’ Arts are given here, in addition to those in ArM5, page 84. Arcane Connections
* See Realms of Power: Faerie, pages 11–12, for more details. Note that the faerie also gains the same Arcane Connection as the hunter. ** Includes a dhampir himself. Sympathetic Connections
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Hunter Characters
Sabotnici and glogove characters should have the Second Sight Virtue, and possibly the Magic Sensitivity Virtue in addition. If they have developed their vampire-hunting abilities, they are most likely to have the Scry Art, or, for the glogove, the Ban or Slay Art. A female sabotnik might have the Dream Interpretation Virtue (Realms of Power: The Divine Revised Edition, pages 136). A glog typically has experience as a Warrior, skill with a weapon (represented by an Affinity or Puissant Single Weapon), and all too often, the Wrathful or Fury Flaws. Characters born during the Wolf Holiday might be Skinchangers or Lycanthropes, and have the Animal Ken Virtue.
Both the kresnik and the taltós are described in Hedge Magic Revised Edition, pages 114 and 115 respectively. They are Nightwalkers, but may have other supernatural powers. If they know any of the Hunters’ Arts, it is most likely that they have the Scry or Ban Arts.
Dhampir and vampirdzhi characters should take the Dhampir Virtue (see earlier) to represent their vampire ancestry. If trained, they are likely to know the Slay Art. These characters may have the Enemy Flaw, if their parent vampire is cognizant of its status; if not, the character may bear the Plagued by Supernatural Entity Flaw.
All hunter characters can benefit from knowing Arcane Abilities, particularly Faerie Lore, for the best ways of warding against and killing the most common types of foes, and Penetration; the Virtues Wise One or Arcane Lore are therefore useful. Hunters do not require The Gift, but a Gifted hunter can be more potent than an unGifted one (see the Laniena section of Chapter 3: Hungary).
Scry
The Scry Art allows a character to track a creature for which she has an applicable Foe Art by forming a mystical connection with it.
Forging the Initial Connection
The scryer must either touch or see a foe to make the initial connection, or else touch an Arcane Connection to the foe. It takes a single round to attempt this action. She can then attempt to make a connection to her prey:
| Scry Total | Perception + Scry + (Foe) + Aura bonus + stress die |
The Level is determined by the strength of the connection to the foe:
- Scry Level 3
- Strength of Connection: Determine direction and distance to the foe. No sympathetic connection bonus gained.
- Scry Level 4
- Strength of Connection: Smell what the foe smells, and can hear muffled sounds that may give clues as to its whereabouts. No sympathetic connection bonus gained.
- Scry Level 5
- Strength of Connection: Hear everything that the foe hears, and also receives a vague impression of what is occurring in its vicinity, as if seeing through fog. Provides a sympathetic connection bonus to the foe of +1.
- Scry Level 10
- Strength of Connection: See and hear everything that takes place within five paces of foe. Provides a sympathetic connection bonus to the foe of +2.
These levels assume that the target is at Range: Touch when the connection is first made; add 1 magnitude for Range: Sight, and 2 magnitudes for Range: Arcane. Add 10 levels (not magnitudes) if the foe lacks a Might score. To forge a connection to a mortal foe at Range: Sight that can only detect direction and distance is Level 14 (Base 3, +1 Sight; +10 levels mortal foe).
This magical roll must penetrate the foe’s (Mentem) Magic Resistance to be successful.
As indicated in the table, a Scry connection to a foe may act as a sympathetic connection if of sufficiently high level. This sympathetic connection can be employed by the hunter in any Supernatural Abilities, Arts, or other powers he has that require Penetration Totals (ArM5, page 84) against that individual foe.
If the Scry roll botches, the foe is connected to the scryer instead; the magnitude of the botch determines how much the foe can tell about his would-be hunter (as earlier). Thus a double botch might grant the foe muffled sounds and sense of smell (as per the Level 4 guideline). The foe is always able to determine direction and distance at least.
A scryer can have a single connection to a foe at a time, and each has an indefinite duration. He cannot simply cancel a connection once forged; instead, he can attempt once, at each dawn or dusk, to make a Scry Total to the same foe. If he can achieve a higher Scry Total than he made to forge the connection in the first place, he can choose to cancel the original connection or replace it with the stronger one. Canceling a connection to a foe is typically needed after a botched Scry attempt, or if the foe becomes aware of the connection (see later). The connection is automatically broken with the demise of the foe.
Using the Scrying Connection
Once established, the connection between his prey has an indefinite duration and an unlimited range. He must simply concentrate on the foe for a round, and make a Stamina + Concentration stress roll. The Ease Factor is determined by the strength of the foe. This roll to sense a foe is not a magical roll. Consequently the aura does not add to this total, and it does not need to penetrate the foe’s Magic Resistance.
| Sense a Foe | Stamina + Concentration + stress die |
| Ease Factor | 6 + (foe’s Might/5) |
If successful, the scryer receives sensory information about the foe determined by the Scry Level (as described earlier), and can indicate the direction to the foe, and an approximation of distance (a week’s travel, an hour on foot, just around the corner, etc.).
Exploitation of Scry by a Foe
A foe that is aware that a scryer has made a connection to it can sometimes exploit that connection through its powers. A foe is not automatically aware of a connection unless the scryer botched her Scry roll. If it is spying on the scryer, the foe might witness the connection being made. Otherwise, make a Perception + Awareness roll for the foe every time the scryer attempts to find the foe through the connection she has forged. The Ease Factor starts at 12, but decreases by 1 every time the scryer uses her connection to find the foe. If the roll succeeds, the foe is aware it is being tracked. A Hermetic magus can detect a Scry connection with Intellego Vim spells; the level of the spell to be detected is equal to the Scry Level. Other magicians may manage a similar feat.
Once the foe is aware of its tracker, it can employ any power or spell that has a Range of Eye, Sight, or Arcane on the scryer whenever she attempts a roll to sense the foe. The foe must be waiting for the scryer to make contact, and it must be active and capable of spending Might (so some types of vampires cannot do this during the day) or using the power. The foe is assumed to have an Arcane Connection to the scryer with a multiplier of +2, and can exploit any sympathetic connection provided by the Scry effect. Scryers are usually very careful about over-using their powers against a powerful foe.
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Most of the Hunters’ Arts need to Penetrate Magic Resistance to have an effect; where they do not, this is noted. The Penetration Total is calculated in the same way for all Arts:
The Penetration Bonus is computed in the same way as for a Hermetic Magus (ArM5, page 84). Hunters rely on gathering Arcane Connections and sympathetic connections to their foes. |
Ban
The Ban Art allows a character to protect himself or others against the physical or supernatural powers of a foe through the creation of warding amulets.
A character with the Ban Art and a Foe Art can create three types of amulets that are proof against that foe: Physical Bans, Supernatural Bans, and Weakening Bans. The first two protect individuals, whereas the last affects an area. A character cannot be protected by more than one Physical or Supernatural Ban; only the one with the highest Ban Total takes effect. If a character with Magic Resistance dons a Ban amulet, it only has an effect if its Penetration Total exceeds his (Vim) Magic Resistance.
Creating a Physical Ban
A Physical Ban consists of an amulet that lessens the effects of any wounds caused by a foe, whether those wounds are directly caused by magic or by the physical attacks of the foe. Indirect damage — for example, a tree toppled by the foe — is not affected. It takes twelve continuous hours to create a Physical Ban, and it has a Sun Duration. This duration commences as soon as a character dons the amulet by hanging it around his neck or wrapping it around his left hand. Should he remove it or lose it then the effects cease immediately and the amulet becomes non-magical. A Physical Ban becomes inactive three days after it was made whether or not it has been used.
| Physical Ban Total | Presence + Ban + (Foe) + Aura modifier + stress die |
| Level | 5, or 15 against a mortal Foe |
| Physical Ban Strength | Physical Ban Total – Level |
A Physical Ban does not need to Penetrate the foe’s Magic Resistance to have its effect. It is capable of absorbing wounds inflicted by a foe. Make a note of the Physical Ban Strength, the excess by which the Physical Ban Total exceeds the Ease Factor. The amulet does nothing until a character has taken a wound from the designated type of foe. If there is a positive Ban Strength, the Ban absorbs the blow and negates the damage; the point value of the Ban is then reduced by the amount shown on the following table:
| Wound | Cost |
|---|---|
| Light | 3 |
| Medium | 5 |
| Heavy | 10 |
| Incapacitatin | 15 |
| Deadly | 20 |
Once the Ban Strength is exhausted, the amulet loses all power. Note that a Physical Ban always absorbs a blow if there is Ban Strength remaining, even if it is insufficient to ‘pay’ for the wound severity.
For example, a hunter has a Physical Ban Strength of 14 against vampires. He takes two Medium Wounds (5 points of Ban Strength each) and a Light Wound (3 points of Ban Strength) from a vampire in the fight, reducing the Ban Strength to 1. The vampire then delivers a Heavy Wound. The Physical Ban absorbs this, but is then exhausted and can prevent no additional wounds.
If there are secondary effects from a physical attack, such as poison, those effects are also negated, but Supernatural powers delivered by a touch are not prevented.
Creating a Supernatural Ban
A Supernatural Ban is an amulet that partially protects the wearer from any supernatural powers used by a foe. It takes twelve continuous hours to make a Supernatural Ban, which has a Duration of Sun. This duration commences as soon as a character dons the amulet by hanging it around his neck or wrapping it around his left hand. Should he remove it or lose it then the effects cease immediately and the amulet becomes nonmagical. A Supernatural Ban becomes inactive three days after it was made whether or not it has been used.
| Supernatural Ban Total | Intelligence + Ban + (Foe) + Aura modifier + stress die |
The Level depends on the effect that the amulet has, determined when it is created:
- Level 10 Effect
- Reduce the Duration of a power by one quarter; Cause the foe to make an extra Concentration roll to maintain a D: Conc power.*
- Level 15 Effect
- Reduce the Duration of a power by one half; Cause the foe to make an extra Concentration roll to maintain a D: Conc power at +3 to the Ease Factor.*
- Level 20 Effect
- Reduce the Duration of a power by three quarters; Cause the foe to make an extra Concentration roll to maintain a D: Conc power at +6 to the Ease Factor.*
* Roll is made once per round.
Add ten levels for Bans affecting the powers of a mortal foe. A Supernatural Ban works only once, and activates as soon as an applicable power affects the warded character. Supernatural Bans do not need to Penetrate the foe’s Might to work. If the wearer of a Supernatural Ban is part of a targeted group, or enters a location affected by a power, then it immediately activates and can cause the foe to lose concentration or the power to end early.
Creating a Weakening Ban
Unlike the other two varieties of wards, a Weakening Ban affects an area rather than an individual. The character prepares the area to be warded by clearing it of loose debris, then demarcates the area with at least four stakes. These stakes must be prepared specifically for this ward: each one must be at least foot long, made of hawthorn, and decorated with specially-blessed ribbons tied in a specific manner. They must all be made personally by the same hunter, although this needs no separate Ability. The stakes must be placed at most 50 paces apart around the perimeter, so the size of the area protected determines how many stakes are needed, and how much time — each stake takes about 15 minutes to prepare. The minimum number of stakes is one per 16 paces of the diameter of a circle, rounded up. So an area 50 paces across needs 4 stakes, an area 100 paces across requires 7 stakes, and an area 500 paces across requires 32 stakes. Non-circular areas may need more stakes. A Weakening Ban does not have to be an unbroken circle, just a clearly defined area.
When the last stake is put in place by the warder, and the last spell is sung, the ban becomes active, and remains active for three days. The ban can be put into place any time before, and then activated by the warder at the last minute, but if there is any movement or alteration of the ban stakes between erecting them and activation, the ban will fail. A warder can check the ban before activating it; this takes just one minute per stake. If two Weakening Bans affect the same area, only the stronger one takes effect.
| Weakening Ban Total | Intelligence + Ban + (Foe) + Aura bonus + stress die |
| Level | The number of Might subtracted by the Ban |
A Weakening Ban must Penetrate the foe’s (Vim) Magic Resistance to have an effect. Weakening Bans cannot affect foes without a Might score.
A foe finding itself within the warded area has its Might Score reduced by a number of points determined by the power of the Ban; if its Might pool is now higher than its Might Score, it loses Might points equal to the difference. This suppression of Might Score affects Magic Resistance, Penetration, ability to cross wards, and any other effect that targets Might Score. However, the suppression in Might Score is temporary; if the foe leaves the warded area, its Might Score returns to its former value, but any Might points lost do not come back. The ban does not impede the movement of the foe. A foe is not dissipated or killed if its Might Score is suppressed to zero or below; this simply means that it can no longer use any of its supernatural powers, and has a zero Magic Resistance while within the warded area.
Slay
The Slay Art allows a character to craft a magical weapon designed to kill a specific foe designated by one of his applicable Foe Arts. When correctly prepared, this weapon can fell an opponent in a single blow.
Making the Slaying Weapon
Before a slayer can embark on the creation of a tool that kills his prey, he must find out as much as he can about his foe. Each foe is unique, and the weapon designed to slay it is similarly unique. The more the slayer can uncover about his foe, the more potent the weapon is; but he must also take care, for erroneous information about the foe can mar the weapon’s effectiveness. What is more, some foes know this, and make a point of spreading disinformation about themselves.
The slayer must start with a freshly-made weapon that has not been used before. Most slayers have the skills to make this weapon themselves, and have several ready-made to imbue with the power to slay foes. The weapon must be of standard quality or better (City & Guild, page 67), requiring a Workshop Total (Dexterity + Craft) of 6 or more. The type of weapon varies: some slayers have a particular preference, and some foes are only vulnerable to certain types of weapon. It is not always a weapon; some Romanian vampires, for example, are slain with a hemp brake (a tool used in the preparation of linen). It is common to make a slaying weapon out of black hawthorn wood, which is most potent against vampires.
It takes one day (24 hours) of continuous work to turn a normal weapon into a tool of foe-slaying, and costs the slayer one Long Term Fatigue level. The slayer places the weapon in a circle of chalk or flour, and must chant ancient songs over the weapon, burning various incenses and meditating over the weaknesses of his foe. Once done, the weapon is magically charged, and remains that way indefinitely.
| Slay Total | Dexterity + Slay + (Foe) + Aura + stress die |
| Level | 25 or less (see later), or 35 or less for mortal Foes. |
The Level is decreased by five points (to a minimum of 5, or 15 for mortal Foes) for every correct fact about the foe that the slayer has been able to discover. This represents the slayer’s ability to attune his weapon to a particular foe. See the nearby insert for examples of the type of facts that are relevant. However, incorrect facts included about the foe increase the level by five; it is better to omit information in the Slay ritual than to include potentially erroneous information.
The slayer is generally unaware of the validity of the information he has used, so the storyguide should keep the final Level a secret from the player. Only when used does the slayer learn how deadly his weapon is. Note that the Aura bonus applies to the Slay Total, and uses the aura where the weapon was made, not where it is used.
When the weapon is used against its designated foe, it must strike the foe to have an effect; this normally requires an Attack Total that is higher than the foe’s Defense Total, although the blow does not actually need to inflict any damage. If the hit is successful, and the Penetration Total is higher than the foe’s Magic Resistance, then the foe immediately takes an Incapacitating Wound. Slay is usually a Corpus effect, but can be any Form appropriate to the foe’s Might.
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Some examples of what constitutes relevant facts include:
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After Slaying
Once a slayer’s weapon has been successfully used against a foe, it loses all magical powers and cannot be used to slay a second foe, even if the powers of the second foe are identical to the first. If the foe for which it was designed is killed by a different means, the weapon also loses its magic. An expired weapon made with the Slay Art is magically inert. While it can still be used as a normal weapon of its kind, it cannot henceforth be used again for the Slay Art, or in fact, be enchanted using any other magical procedure. |}
Tibor of Borša
Appearance: An unassuming man wearing a peasant’s smock. He only dons his leather hauberk when expecting trouble, but usually wears leather vambraces. He carries a spear carved from a single piece of wood, and a strip of cloth tied around his head conceals a gaping eye socket. Tibor was conceived when his father came back unexpectedly from a war; it was only afterward that his mother discovered that her husband had died in battle a month before. At the age of 11, Tibor left his home in the Transylvanian grain-lands to hunt down his father’s vampire. Since then, Tibor has been a ruthless hunter of vampires. A few years ago he finally met his father’s vampire, who put out his eye and left him for dead. He was mourned by the nearby village; but, since they did not know the correct rites, they were unsurprised when his corpse returned from death to haunt them. Tibor was not dead, though, and the vampire who had appropriated his form still dogs his steps. The rumors of his death have spread far, and he often has to compete with his conflicting Reputations. |
Hunting Vampires
While other applications of the hunters’ Arts are known, the majority of hunters in the Transylvanian Tribunal turn their powers toward the destruction of vampires.
Preventing Vampires
If a person is suspected of being liable to becoming a vampire, then precautions may be taken to prevent this. Broadly speaking, precautions fall into two categories: those performed on the corpse, and those on the place of death of the deceased.
The corpse might be mutilated in some fashion. Such preventions are directed against the feet to prevent the vampire from walking, against the corpse’s hands to prevent it from seizing its prey, or against the devouring maw of the corpse.
Alternatively, the place of death might be transfixed in some fashion, either by imbedding or burying something on the spot where the corpse lay, or strewing it with some protective substances.
The efficacy of these measures varies, according to the type of vampire that is generated from the deceased. Most remedies only work on some vampires rather than being universal solutions, and it is common for the rituals involved in the prevention of vampires to be ridiculously elaborate with many ineffective elements. Regions that have had persistent plagues of vampires might perform these precautions on every corpse they bury, but this is unusual, and the Church usually raises strong objections to routine mutilation of the dead.
A list of preventative measures against vampires can be found in Chapter 8: Creatures.
Killing Vampires
If precautionary measures are not used, or the wrong ones are used, then a vampire may rise to stalk the area. Each vampire has a very precise manner in which it can be killed; if mistakes are made, then the vampire can reform and continue its predation on the region. As a consequence, the slaying of the vampire is often left to the professionals.
The first task is to determine whether a vampire really is responsible for the depredations, and what type of vampire it is. The vampire’s daytime resting place must then be discovered. A character with the Scry Art proves very useful for this stage; many vampires do not reside in their graves, but do leave the corpse of their most recent victim inside, leading to the mistaken impression that the vampire has been found and dealt with. Hunting a vampire on a Saturday is a common tactic, taking advantage of the frequent limitation on vampires that prevents them from spending Might points on a Saturday.
The Scry Art is not without its perils. A scryer can be lead into a trap by a cunning foe who has subverted the bond between hunter and vampire. A vampire’s resting place can be confirmed using certain animals: neither a white stallion nor a gander will step over a vampire’s grave.
If the vampire is seen, then a sabotnik or dhampir (or anyone with Second Sight) can confirm that it is a vampire, as can anyone looking through the arms of a sabotnik’s shirt, or looking at the corpse from under his arm or leg. The latter two methods are very dangerous; should the vampire see the character doing this, then it can immediately use one of its powers on the character. Physical inspection of the corpse can also sometimes reveal the vampire; it might be red in the face or lips, turned downwards or lying on its side, or have a foot crammed into one corner of the coffin.
Before the body is exhumed, the grave is usually banned in some fashion to weaken the vampire, should it suddenly animate before it can be killed. This usually requires exploiting a weakness of this particular vampire, such as the inability to touch thorns, or an obsession with counting millet seeds. The Ban Art is particularly useful when combined with these precautions, weakening the vampire as much as possible.
Once the grave site has been warded, and the body exhumed, the vampire must be destroyed in the correct manner. Failure to use the precise method to dispatch the vampire can cause it to reform and return. While the body is immobile or incapacitated, the vampire must be laid to rest usually through some form of destruction of the body. If there are people who are sickening thanks to the activities of the vampire, then eating the ashes of its burnt heart or breathing the smoke of its burning body can restore them to health.
Examples of appropriate methods to ward and dispatch a vampire can be found in the Creatures chapter.
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The various hunters described in this chapter work particularly well if they combine their powers and work as a team. The sabotnici are often immune to the powers of a vampire, and are therefore best employed researching their foe, gathering Arcane and sympathetic connections, and using the Scry Art to track them. This can be particularly effective if the connection with the foe can be made under a Weakening Ban. The glogove and dhampiri are strongest in a direct fight against their foes thanks to the Slay Art. Being able to draw a foe into an area protected by a Weakening Ban, and equipping one’s allies with Physical or Supernatural Bans is an important role of the glogove, kresnici, or taltós on the team. Hunters also have a role working in concert with Hermetic magi. The Ban Art is particularly good for weakening foes, making Hermetic destructive and warding spells more likely to Penetrate. The Scry Art can perform feats that are difficult with Hermetic magic, and the Slay Art does not destroy the vis in a creature’s body like some Perdo Vim spells can. |
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