Thaumaturgy - The Hearth Path
db-DG-Stabe-081.jpg

For those Tremere who maintain private havens, secrecy is paramount. The Hearth Path seems to have evolved from a collection of rituals designed to protect the integrity of a vampire’s sanctum sanctorum. Havens protected by these powers often acquire reputations as “haunted” houses and the like. The Tremere are quick to point out, however, that these reputations help to strengthen the Masquerade rather than jeopardize it. When people find out that the house is just a house with a spooky atmosphere, they chastise themselves for being so foolish as to believe in ghosts.

Clarification: This Path functions only with the thaumaturge's primary haven; their home, as it were, which contains their sanctum sanctorum.

Guest's Herald

This power, when used on a door or other portal, creates an audible or visual effect that notifies the Tremere that someone has crossed it. In this way, the vampire knows when someone has entered her haven and can deal with the interloper as she sees fit.

System: This power lasts for 24 hours. The signal may be anything of the thaumaturge’s choosing - a particularly noisy creak, a tendency to stay ajar or even something wholly unconnected, like the rotation of a decanter in another room. In all cases, the effect is static - it looks or sounds exactly the same every time it happens. Any point at which someone other than the thaumaturge crosses a warded area, the effect takes place. Whether or not the vampire is present to observe it is a different matter.

Note that complex chains of events are outside the purview of this power. The ritual will not trigger an elaborate Rube Goldberg-style “trap” (though it may set off the first part of one), nor will it aim and fire shotgun at the door. These are simple, subtle, brief effects.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License