The Path of Elemental Mastery
“Fear is fertile soil for magic, one whose bountiful harvest is obedience and supplication. One merely needs to know when to turn the earth and reveal the darkness beneath.” — Ashanti Beachum, the Demon Dreamer, Tzimisce Koldun
The ancient Greeks believed that the four elements – earth, water, air, and fire – were the fundamental building blocks of the universe. Using the techniques of the Path of Elemental Mastery, you can communicate with these primal forces and other inanimate objects and command them to do your bidding. The Path Elemental Mastery can only be used on inanimate matter.
Contents
• Elemental Strength
By drawing on the timeless strength and endurance of the surrounding earth and stone, you can force your body to take one of those properties for a short period of time.
System: Spend 1 Blood and use your simple action to activate Elemental Strength. For the next five minutes, you gain either the Strength or Stamina focus (your choice). You can only benefit from one application of Elemental Strength at any given time.
Focus [Intelligence]: While Elemental Strength is active, you receive a +2 bonus to grappling challenges.
•• Wooden Tongues
You have the ability to listen to the wild spirits that live inside of an inanimate object. Such spirits are often pedantic and concerned only with that which interests them. If you can convince them to pay attention, you can learn a good deal of information about activities that the spirit has witnessed. Keep in mind that the experiences that interest you might not interest a coffee maker.
System: Spend 1 Blood and use your standard action to activate Wooden Tongues. For the next five minutes, you have the ability to communicate with the spirits that live inside everyday objects and can bid them to communicate with you. The nature of the object determines the personality of the spirit; a knife will have a sharp personality, whereas a coffee maker might be very excited.
A spirit will answer basic questions truthfully, but unfamiliar concepts may confuse it. You can reasonably expect answers to the following types of questions:
- What is your function?
- Has anything interesting happened around you?
- What did the person who ran by moments ago look like?
- Has anyone been fighting here recently?
Inanimate objects accessed by this power cannot detect characters hidden by supernatural powers.
Focus [Perception]: Your use of Wooden Tongues lasts for an hour, rather than five minutes. Additionally, you can overhear the mumbled conversations of inanimate objects all around you, which provides warning when another individual approaches. As long as you are able to hear, you are aware of anyone who comes within five steps of you. Even if you cannot directly see a character, you can approximate her location by listening to the ambient chatter surrounding you. This effect cannot be used to detect characters hidden by supernatural powers.
••• Animate the Unmoving
You have the power to animate objects and command them for a limited time to act according to your wishes. These objects bend and move as commanded, but their functions are limited by their forms.
System: Spend 1 Blood and use your standard action to animate an object within your line of sight. The object gains limited mobility and obeys your commands to the best of its ability for the next hour. You can give those objects simple commands, such as "Chase that man", or "Attack anyone who enters". Objects aren't very smart and have extremely limited reasoning. Animated objects cannot use weapons or benefit from weapon qualities. A command stating "Bring me the gun when you see a red car drive past outside", could result in an extremely confused bar stool.
You have the ability to animate and simultaneously control a number of objects equal to your dots of the Occult skill, but each object must be animated separately. They remain animated as long as they are within your line of sight, for up to an hour.
Treat objects animated by this power as 2-point Stock NPCs. Animated objects with wheels or legs move at normal speeds. Objects without wheels or legs move at a rate of one step per action. Animated objects cannot be targeted by Mental and Social powers, but cannot attack anyone the thaumaturge cannot attack herself. For example, if the thaumaturge is successfully affected by the Presence power Entrancement, her animations are unable to attack the vampire who entranced their master.
Focus [Perception]: The duration of your ability to animate an object extends to the end of the evening. Additionally, you have a vague idea of what your animations are doing and what is going on within two steps of each animation. You might know that someone is attacking your animated bar stool with a hatchet, but you cannot tell exactly who is swinging the axe.
•••• Elemental Form
Ancient legends describe wizards with the ability to transfigure their shapes into the form of ordinary objects. You have the power to transform your body into any inanimate object with a mass roughly equal to your own.
System: Spend 1 Blood and use your standard action to assume the shape and form of any object that is of a size roughly equal to your own. You retain your senses, but are unable to move under your own power. The object you become functions exactly like a real object of its type; becoming a television means you can be plugged in and turned on, with no harm inflicted to you. This power lasts for the remainder of the night.
You do not have access to disciplines while in this form. While using Elemental Form, your attributes and health levels remain the same, but you may be more difficult or easier to harm at the Storyteller's discretion. If you turn yourself into a glass vase, a blow from a hammer might inflict 10 points of normal damage instead of the standard 1. Conversely, if you turn yourself into a boulder, you're probably immune to a dagger-wielding Toreador's attack. Transforming into an inanimate object provides no protection against Mental and Social powers.
Characters using Elemental Form have no mystic ability to remain cohesive. If an individual transforms into dust, air, or water, she will probably be dispersed and die within a few turns.
Elemental Form is a transformative power and cannot be combined with other transformative powers. You can end this transformation at any time by expending a simple action.
Focus [Intelligence]: When you assume Elemental Form, you can become an object as small as half of your normal size, or as large as twice your normal size.
••••• Summon Elemental
You have the power to summon and command one of the elemental spirits of the world. These elementals are spirits animated by one of the primary elements: fire, earth, water, or air. Such creatures are not friendly allies, but slaves to your will.
System: Spend 1 Blood and use your standard action to summon an elemental. Once summoned, the elemental spirit follows the thaumaturge's mental commands for the next three turns, acting on the summoner’s initiative. After the duration expires, the elemental peacefully returns to its homeland, unless it was abused during its summoning. Abusing the spirit causes it to attack you once the duration expires. A summoned elemental is not subtle and represents a huge potential Masquerade breach. By default, an elemental spirit is a 6-point Stock NPC with no powers or skills. When you summon your elemental, you may choose one of the following special abilities:
- Fire Elemental: Your elemental has the skill focus “Ranged Attack: Fireball” and can throw balls of fire, which inflict 2 points of aggravated damage to anyone they hit. Anyone touching your elemental takes 1 point of aggravated damage. Anything flammable that touches your elemental is lit on fire.
- Earth Elemental: Your elemental has the Brawl skill focus and has 5 dots of Fortitude.
- Water Elemental: Your elemental is immune to Physical damage. Anyone struck by your elemental takes no damage, but is knocked prone. Your elemental moves at double speed while in the water.
- Air Elemental: Your elemental can fly at normal speeds and is immune to Physical damage. Anyone struck by your elemental takes no damage, but is knocked prone.
You can control only one elemental at any one time. If you use this power again before its duration expires, your control transfers to the new elemental, and the previously summoned elemental is set free to act on its own. Released elementals often attack their summoners before returning to their own plane of existence.
Focus [Intelligence]: Duration extends to 5 minutes.
