Thaumaturgy - Path Of Curses
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Mankind learned early in history to hate, envy, lust and wish malice upon itself. In such spitefulness curses were born. Most were just plain words and gestures, but some, spoken with such vehemence and spite, became tangible and formed true curses. In the dark depths of passionate hate, curses gained more weight, more substance, until people could use the evil eye or a spoken word to afflict such banes upon their fellow men. Early in the history of Thaumaturgy, the Path of Curses was developed and refined. It is still known by its early names in certain circles: Makficium, Hexen-Kraft, the Evil Eye. Victims of this path, often called accursed, are subject to extreme treatment and psychological feelings of inadequacy, often to the point of becoming social outcasts. When accursed are afflicted, friends and society tend to distance themselves from the victim, creating a social schism and driving the accursed toward alienation.

When cursing a victim, the thaumaturge is obvious - curses must be spoken aloud and directly toward the target of their ill effects, although the curse itself is often comprised of dead languages and sounds like gibberish. In modem, industrialized countries, many tend to discount the verbal telltales of being cursed, while some areas of the world might see a witch who acts so brazenly outright assaulted. Additionally, the thaumaturge requires some essence of the victim to curse him. This essence can be hair, blood, flesh or any other part of the victim. This link binds the mystic energies bringing the malison to the accursed.

Because of the severe psychological effects on a victim, the target may attempt to resist all the powers of this path with a Willpower roll (difficulty 7, unless stated otherwise). This is the victim asserting his own strength of will and personality to throw off the yoke of anathema. The thaumaturge can lift the curses that she brings down at any time she wishes, which makes an excellent bargaining chip.

Stigma

The most basic of curses, the victim is stricken with an invisible stigma that manifests only in the eyes of those around them. Few can describe its actual form. People shy away from interacting with the marked victim, and will have a hard time taking him seriously. Social interaction becomes difficult, and frustration
quickly follows for the accursed.

System: The stigma lasts until the next sunset, during which time the victim is doomed to frustration when performing any Social actions. All of the victim’s Manipulation, Charisma and Appearance rolls are at +1 difficulty (maximum 10) during this curse. Unlike the Ritual Devil’s Touch, this power also works on Kindred.

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