Shadowrun:SITS - Blood Magic

Blood Magic

Blood Magic is both a magical tradition and a specific set of spells, rituals, qualities, and metamagics based entirely around bloodletting, blood sacrifices, and powering magic with metahuman lifeforce. Blood magic is widely seen as a dark path of magic, associated with more twisted and evil magicians than most.

In less westernized traditions such as Aztec, Druicic, Voodoo, Theurgy, and Wicca, blood magic is simply another form of magic and not a seen as inherently evil. Despite this, Blood Magic is illegal in most places with the exception of a few countries; Aztlan being the most notable exception.

Blood Magic and Addiction

The use of Blood Magic has a high potential for addiction. The psychological effects of receiving such a rush of magical power with no cost to onself is a temptation that only the strongest-willed individuals can resist. However, benign blood magic is possible. It is sometimes called 'martyred blood magic' as opposed to 'sacrificial blood magic.' When Blood Points are generated in martyred blood magic, no Addiction test is necessary.

The addictive potential of Blood Magic is purely psychological. It has an Addiction threshold of 2, but if more Blood Points are spent on a single effect than the character's Magic, the Addiction threshold increases by 1.

Mild Addiction still feels like having total control of oneself, but they feel the urge to turn to the power without questioning if they need to. They also begin to lose the perspective of the cost others pay for their power.
Moderate addiction marks an increase in the desire to use the power and doubt that they can function effectively without it. The pain and deaths they've caused mean less to them, and they feel increasingly disconnected from the rest of humanity. They can begin to act cruel and vicious towards their allies, suspecting them of being envious of their power.
Severe addictions represent the stereotypical maniacal blood mage. They kill without hesitation or compunction. They see themselves as superhuman and other metahumans are just fuel for their addiction. Using any of their magic without blood magic is just unthinkable.
Burnout blood magicians are an out-of-control freight train of death. They cannot go a day without killing and do not hesitate to dump as much power as possible into every spell.

Blood Magic use triggers an addiction roll under the following conditions:

Overcasting while expending Blood Points.
Expending more than twice your initiate grade in Blood Points toward one effect.
Killing a sapient being purely for the purpose of generating Blood Points or as part of a ritual.
Inflicting damage to a sapient victim unable to defend themselves in order to generate Blood Points.
Generating Blood Points from a victim and using them on a spell to harm that same victim (you gain a +2 Dice Pool Modifier to the Addiction test if you are defending yourself from the victim).

Spell Descriptions

Range

Touch: The target needs to be touched - succeed on an additional unarmed Close Combat attack that deals no damage prior to casting the spell or make contact with a willing target to heal them, award them a sense, or otherwise connect a magical effect to an individual. If the Close Combat test exceeds the target's Defense or meets it with a tie, the spell takes effect.

Line of Sight: The caster needs a physical line of sight to the target - optical lenses such as binoculars count as physical line of sight; magical effects and digitized images such as thermographic goggles do not.

Line of Sight (Area): This means the spell has a line-of-sight range and also has an area effect which starts at a 2 Meter radius sphere.

Special: The range is defined in the write-up for this specific spell.

Duration

Instantaneous: These spells take effect immediately, then dissipate.

Sustained: These spells last as long as the caster keeps it in operation. Dropping a sustained spell requires no use of an action; the magician simply stops holding it. Each Sustained spell incurs a -2 Dice Pool Modifier as long as it is Sustained.

Limited: These spells have set endpoints that they cannot be sustained beyond but can be dropped earlier than that if desired.

Permanent: These effects do not dissipate and stay in place without any effort or focus on the part of the caster. Permanent spells simply become a full part of the world.

Type

Mana: Mana spells interact solely with the astral plane; they may affect living beings, as living beings have an astral component, but they have no effect on nonliving, non-astral entities such as drones, streetlights, or glass.

Physical: Physical spells only affect the physical realm, which means they cannot be used on the Astral, and do not affect anyone astrally projecting or spirits that have not manifested. They do, however, affect anything on the physical plane.

Drain Value

This is the base value that casters must resist to avoid experiencing Drain. It can be increased if casters use Amp Up or Increase Area to adjust their spells.

Combat Spells

Simply put, Combat spells bring the pain. They're what you cast to make enemies scared, unconscious, or dead.

There are two essential kinds of Combat spells: Direct and Indirect.

Direct Combat Spells

Direct Combat Spells are when you shape mana in a way that it directly pummels the opposition - the magic is the damage. When you cast a Direct Combat spell, roll Sorcery + Magic opposed by the Willpower + Intuition of the target. Net Hits over Drain become damage in addition to any Amp Up damage the character chose. Damage from Direct Combat spells is not resisted.

Indirect Combat Spells

Rather than having the magic do the pummeling, Indirect Combat spells create an effect that causes the damage - igniting a fireball, sparking a lightning bolt, creating an icicle. To cast an Indirect Combat spell, roll Sorcery + Magic vs. Reaction + Willpower. Damage is the caster's Magic divided by 2 (rounded up) + net hits + Amp Up damage. Targets roll their Body to resist this damage, as they would in physical combat. Indirect Combat spells frequently come with elemental effects.

Blood Magic Points

All spells with Blood in the descriptor require the use of at least 1 Blood Magic Point, or Blood Points. These are generated by the Sacrifice metamagic to cast. The spells themselves do not expend the Blood Magic Point, but a point must be spent to either increase the Damage Value of the spell, increase the spellcaster's Magic rating, or reduce the amount of Drain inflicted by the spell.

Boil Blood

(Blood, Direct Combat)

Range: Line of Sight

Type: Physical

Duration: Instantaneous

Drain Value: 4

Damage: Physical.

If even 1 point of damage is unresisted, the target receives the Burning status effect.

If the target has taken Physical damage previously that left open wounds, the blood ignites on contact with the air and may ignite flammable materials it touches. The spell has no effect on targets without a circulatory system.

Description: By exciting the blood in the body of a living host, this spell causes the target to suffer from a burning from within their very own body.

Corpse Explosion

(Blood, Direct Combat)

Range: Line of Sight

Type: Physical

Duration: Instantaneous

Drain Value: 6

Damage: Physical.

The radius of the effect is equal to the corpse's Body in meters.

Damage from this spell is resisted.

Hits on the spell must be equal to or greater than the Body rating of the corpse affected. If the caster mistakenly targets a living being, the spell fails.

Description: The most brutal (and gross) of the Corpse-related spells, this spell targets a corpse and violently excites its blood and causes the body to explode, throwing super-heated flesh, organs, broken bones, and gear fragments with the force of a frag grenade.

Embolism

(Blood, Direct Combat)

Range: Line of Sight

Type: Physical

Duration: Instantaneous

Drain Value: 4

Damage: Physical.

Roll 1d6 to determine where the embolism occurs:

1: Head. Target must succeed a Body + Willpower (4) test or they receive a -10 penalty to Initiative Score.
2: Right Arm. Broken Grip. Unable to maintain a grip at all, drops any item in their hand for a # of Combat Rounds equal to the Damage Value of the attack.
3: Left Arm. Right Arm. Broken Grip. Unable to maintain a grip at all, drops any item in their hand for a # of Combat Rounds equal to the Damage Value of the attack.
4: Right Leg. Hobbled Status Effect.
5: Left Leg. Hobbled Status Effect.
6: Torso. Winded. Target is unable to perform Major Actions for a # of Combat Rounds equal to the Damage Value of the attack.

Description: By breaking the steady flow of blood, the caster causes the target to suffer damage and crippling pain in the affected body part.

Giger Spit

(Blood, Direct Combat)

Range: Touch

Type: Physical

Duration: Instantaneous

Drain Value: 4

Damage: Physical. Causes Corrosive.

The spellcaster deals 1 Physical damage to themselves, generating the Blood Point required to cast this Blood spell.

This attack has a range of the magician's Magic in meters.

Description: Biting their tongue or cheek, the magician spits a gob of acidic blood.

Ice Veins

(Blood, Direct Combat)

Range: Line of Sight

Type: Physical

Duration: Instantaneous

Drain Value: 3

Damage: Special.

Targets take Stun damage and suffer a -2 Dice Pool Penalty to all actions performed with their extremities. Along with the normal uses of Blood Points, the spellcaster may spend 1 point to add the following effects to the spell:

Make the damage Physical, and cause the Hobbled status effect.

The spell has no effect on targets without a circulatory system.

Description: By lowering the target's blood temperature, the magician causes the target to slow down and take damage.

Pyrohemetics

(Blood, Indirect Combat)

Range: Line of Sight

Type: Physical

Duration: Instantaneous

Drain Value: 3

Damage: Physical. Fire.

This attack has a range of the magician's Magic in meters.

The spellcaster deals 1 Physical damage to themselves, generating the Blood Point required to cast this spell.

Description: The magician flings a spatter of ignited blood, doing fire damage not unlike a flamethrower.

Rupture

(Blood, Direct Combat)

Range: Touch

Type: Physical

Duration: Instantaneous

Drain Value: 2

Damage: Physical.

The damage caused by this spell can be used with the Sacrifice metamagic and to charge an athame.

The spell has no effect on targets without a circulatory system.

Description: With this particularly traumatic spell, the spellcaster seizes control of the blood of a target and forces it to evacuate the body by whatever egress it possibly can.

The target begins to bleed from their eyes, ears, nose, and so forth while thinner patches of skin first contuse, then split open as blood shoots out in a scarlet geyser.

Health Spells

These spells allow magic to flow from the hands of a spellcaster to the body of their target, mending damage or otherwise improving their health. Low Essence often makes healing more difficult, since magic and technology generally don't mix and the type of magic used to fix biological beings does little to metal, plastic, and electronics. The effects of Essence are generally noted in each spell description.

Clot

(Blood)

Range: Touch

Type: Mana

Duration: Sustained

Drain Value: 2

Effect: Anytime the target would take 2 or more boxes of damage to their Physical Condition Monitor, reduce the damage by 1 box.

Hits on this spell must be equal to or greater than the Body of the target.

Any attempts to stabilize a character who is into Overflow damage while under the effect of the spell gains a +1 Dice Pool Modifier for Net Hits on the spellcasting test.

Description: A simple spell that modifies the blood's clotting ability, Clot causes the improved stabilization of bleeding wounds which can greatly assist in stabilizing a dying target who is bleeding out.

Share Damage

(Blood)

Range: Touch

Type: Mana

Duration: Sustained

Drain Value: 3

Effect: Divide all Physical damage taken by 2, splitting it evenly between both individuals.

In the event of an uneven number of boxes of damage, Physical damage gives the extra point to whoever directly received the damage, but magical damage always gives the odd point to the caster of this spell. Stun damage is taken normally and cannot be shared.

Damage already received by the target or the caster of the spell before the spell is cast is unaffected by the spell.

Description: With this sympathetic spell, the blood magician joins their life force to another willing person, causing all damage either individual takes to be shared between them, diluting the severity for the receiver.

Somatic Healing

(Blood)

Range: Touch

Type: Mana

Duration: Permanent

Drain Value: 3

Effect: The target heals a number of boxes of Physical damage equal to the spell's hits from the Spellcasting test, while the spellcaster takes the same amount of boxes in damage.

This damage cannot be healed magically and must be recovered with mundane rest and medical care.

Description: The noblest of uses for Blood magic, the spellcaster transfers some of their life essence into the target, taking their wounds for them.

Sympathetic Reprisal

(Blood)

Range: Line of Sight

Type: Physical

Duration: Sustained

Drain Value: 5

Effect: This spell is cast with a Spellcasting + Magic vs. Body + Willpower test.

Any successful melee attack the target makes against the caster has a number of points of damage equal to the Net Hits of the spellcasting test immediately removed from the caster and transferred to the target.

If both Stun and Physical damage are deal with one attack, Stun is transferred first.

Description: A more dangerous version of Share Damage, Sympathetic Reprisal curses a target so their melee attacks against the caster cause the target to take damage in kind.

Manipulation Spells

Manipulation spells are about shifting reality, bending and twisting it to your will. The world is an untidy, unwieldy place, and this set of spells helps you re-arrange it to something much more amenable to you. Sadly, the world often resists your attempts to make it what it should be. That, of course, just means you have to work harder.

Manipulation spells target either living or non-living things. The resistance rolls for each spell are specified in the spell descriptions. Spells targeting nonliving things are resisted with their Object Resistance (see p. 129).

Net hits on the Spellcasting test determine the duration of the spell, and for nonliving objects, it also determines how much material is affected. Many Manipulation spells have limited durations and last for a number of minutes equal to the net hits on the Spellcasting test. The default amount of nonliving material affected is one-half cubic meter per net hit. See the Volume Reference table for information on how to translate cubic meters of material into common objects

Blood Puppet

(Blood)

Range: Line of Sight

Type: Physical

Duration: Sustained

Drain Value: 5

Effect: Roll Sorcery + Magic vs. Willpower + Logic.

The magician uses the same actions to command the individual as the action they are telling them to take. So having a target move is a Minor Action but having one make an attack is a Major Action.

If the target of the spell successfully resists your control with a Willpower + Logic test, they take the original spellcasting test's Net Hits in Physical damage, resisted with a Damage Soak as veins tear and capillaries burst under the stress.

This spell can only affect targets with a circulatory system.

Description: Similar to the Control Actions spell, the magician is able to control the physical actions of a target like a puppeteer pulling the strings by seizing control of the blood in their body.

Corpse Spikes

(Blood)

Range: Line of Sight (Area)

Type: Physical

Duration: Instantaneous

Drain Value: 6

Effect: Characters crossing the frozen blood must make an Agility + Reaction test with a threshold equal to the hits scored by the spellcaster.

A character failing this test falls prone and takes Net Hits in damage, resisted as normal.

The sheet melts at a rate of 1 square meter per minute at room temperature.

Hits on the test must be equal to or greater than the Body of the corpse affected.

The Increase Area affect can be applied to this spell.

Description: Targeting a dead body, this spell draws the blood out of the corpse and freezes it into a slippery sheet studded with sharp, almost crystalline spikes that jut out violently, forming a dangerous obstacle to those around it and potentially impaling anyone who slips on the ice.

Corpse Lash

(Blood)

Range: Line of Sight (Area)

Type: Physical

Duration: Instantaneous

Drain Value: 5

Effect: Characters within or trying to cross the affected area have their Agility reduced by every Net Hit on the spellcasting test.

If Agility is reduced to 0, the target gains the Immobilized status effect. Bound targets may still defend and dodge against attacks, but are unable to use their Reaction attribute on those tests due to the Immobilized status effect.

While bound, the target may attempt to crawl at 25% of their movement rate.

Breaking free of the entanglement is a Strength + Body vs. Net Hits on the initial spellcasting test.

Hits on the test must be equal to or greater than the Body of the corpse affected.

The affected area has a radius in meters equal to the Body of the corpse, with the corpse at its center.

Description: Targeting a dead body, this spell causes the blood to burst forth in a swarm of tentacles, violently lashing out and grappling at anyone nearby.

Blood Whip

(Blood)

Range: Touch

Type: Physical

Duration: Instantaneous

Drain Value: 5

Effect: The magician deals 1 Physical damage to themselves, generating the Blood Point required to cast this spell.

The blood whip functions similarly to Bullwhip exotic weapon.

For every Net Hit on the spellcasting test, the lash gains +1 Physical damage.

The whip persists for the Net Hits on the spellcasting test in minutes. When wielded by the caster, attacks are made with Sorcery + Agility.

Any other person using a blood lash uses the Exotic Weapon (Bullwhip) + Agility skills.

Description: With a slice of the blade across the wrist, the magician causes some of their blood to erupt out in the form of a magical whip.

Blood Blade

(Blood)

Range: Touch

Type: Physical

Duration: Sustained

Drain Value: 4

Effect: One hit on the spellcasting test produces a small blade that deals damage as a knife. Three hits produces a medium-sized blade that acts like a sword, and five hits on the spellcasting test produces a large blade that deals damage as a combat axe.

The blade persists for a number of minutes equal to Net Hits on the spellcasting test.

Description: Slicing open their palm or conjuring from a "donor," the magician crystallizes blood into a blade - anything from a knife to a long sword.

Viscera Web

(Blood)

Range: Line of Sight

Type: Physical

Duration: Sustained

Drain Value: 9

Effect: The magician must succeed a Sorcery + Magic vs. Body + Willpower test.

Additionally, the test must succeed the target's Body rating.

Non-living material including clothing, gear, and cyberware, are not affected.

The target's Agility is reduced by every Net Hit on the spellcasting test and if Agility is reduced to 0, the target becomes fused to the nearest solid surface and is unable to move their limbs without causing further damage to themselves.

The target may painfully rip themselves free, though this causes additional damage equal to the Net Hits on the spellcasting test, in addition to 1 box of Physical damage every (Body) minutes until they receive medical attention to stop bleeding.

Description: A horrific spell, this causes widespread rupturing across the target's body as their veins shoot out to adhere to the environment surrounding them. This incapacitates them with extraordinary damage and pain, plus the fact that their living veins stick to the floor, walls, and ceiling.

Any damage caused cutting them down may cause them to bleed out - assuming they even survived the initial spell.

Blood Rituals

If the leader of a spell being cast with ritual spellcasting knows the Sacrifice metamagic, they may use it during the ritual to generate Blood Magic Points and expend Blood Points generated in place of drams of reagents on a one-for-one basis.

If a group of magicians all know the Sacrifice metamagic, they can perform the Blood Rite ritual to collectively generate and store power in their athames, distributing Blood Points around their foci as they see fit.

Blood Bath

(Adept, Blood)

The blood adept knows that the blood within is life, and the blood without is protection. Every scar was a wound that has grown tougher. But not all such armor need come from them. Adepts covered in blood can cause it to harden into a natural armor. The more blood, the tougher the armor. This armor stacks with standard armor, but only if it coats the same regions covered by armor.

To perform this ritual, the adept makes a Sorcery + Magic. This ritual takes the adept's Magic rating in minutes to complete. The adept paints themselves with fresh blood from a sapient being. Each hit on the test grants +1 Armor or Astral Armor (either one or a combination of both can be chosen). The benefit ritual decreases by 1 every 2 hours as the blood degrades until it offers no further benefit.

Washing off the blood ends the effect prematurely. Needless to say, walking around covered in blood is quite conspicuous and may draw unwanted attention.

Blood Oath

(Material Link)

In this ritual, the subject swears that they will perform a specific task and receives greater ability to achieve that goal in return. Appropriate oaths would include swearing to defend a specific individual or to find a specific object. This oath must be taken freely, or the ritual fails. As part of the ritual, the leader inflicts a number of boxes of Physical damage to the subject equal to or less than the positive Dice Pool Modifier of the ritual.

For every 2 boxes of Physical damage inflicted, the subject chooses one skill that they will use to achieve the goal of their oath. They receive a +1 dice pool to the chosen skill. This modifier only applies when the subject is directly working to fulfill their oath. For example if a player chose Firearms as a skill for an oath to protect an individual, they would get the benefit of the oath if they were attacked while guarding the individual but not if they were attacked while alone.

Once the ritual is complete, the leader may spend Karma equal to (2 + Willpower of the subject) to make the oath permanent; otherwise it lasts for (Dice Pool Modifier) days.

If the subject achieves the goal of their oath, the effect of the ritual ends. If the subject of the oath intentionally betrays that oath, they suffer twice the damage they had inflicted on them during the casting of the oath ritual. Even if the subject survives this damage, the injuries leave severe scars, forever marking them as an oath breaker to those who know the signs. This damage only occurs if the subject breaks their oath, not if they fail to achieve its goal. The leader can hold active oaths with up to his Charisma in subjects. The ritual takes (Dice Pool Modifier) hours to complete. An individual can only have one active oath at a time. A blood oath does not require a blood magic Addiction Test, as it is purely voluntary and the required damage represents commitment rather than suffering.

Death Curse

(Material Link)

This ritual allows the magician to exact final vengeance on anyone who slays them. If the subject of this ritual dies, they burn all their Edge, and a blood spirit is automatically summoned from their corpse. The Force of the blood spirit summoned is equal to the hits on a Magic + (number of Edge burned) test.

Because the ritual does not actually use the Summoning skill, any Awakened individual can be the subject

The spirit has no master, but it has a burning desire to destroy the one who killed the subject of the ritual. The violence of the death is enough to create a brief metaphysical link between the subject and their killer, allowing the blood spirit to recognize them on sight.

Once the blood spirit exacts its revenge, it is free to return to whatever dark metaplane it came from, or more likely to continue on a killing spree. Because of the high potential to set a rampaging blood spirit loose, this ritual is taboo even in areas where blood magic is tolerated.

Blood Metamagics

The reasons and motivations of a magician turning to the study of blood magic are as varied as the individuals who practice them. No one, save the truly mad, who practices blood magic can be blind to the inherently harmful nature of its practice, so the motivations for beginning to practice it must be strong enough to override any moral objections the individual may have.

The first step in becoming one of the few loathed practitioners of blood magic in the Sixth World is to take up blood metamagics - and from there, they can now collect Blood Points, and access to blood magic spells.

Sacrifice

Prerequisite: N/A

Sacrifice is the metamagic technique that defines a magician as following the path of Blood. In essence, it is the ability to draw magical power from the act of inflicting harm on another living being, with sentient beings generating the most amount of power. Blood magic in all its forms is universally derided by other practitioners of magic. Sacrifice is an exclusive metamagic technique that can only be learned from another magician of the same tradition who already knows it, or from a spirit that knows it. It can never be self-taught. In order to use Sacrifice, the magician must inflict Physical damage on another living thing, using a melee weapon that draws blood.

The drawing of living blood is the powerful symbol that generates raw magical power referred to as Blood Magic Points. To do this the magician makes a standard melee attack using the weapon. If the target is able to defend themselves they may do so, but if they cannot resist (due to being restrained, for example) then the attack is unopposed. Additionally, if the victim is restrained and unable to defend themselves, the magician receives a +4 dice pool bonus on their attack.

While any living creature can be used, the magic is more powerful when harm is inflicted on sapient creatures, especially the unwilling. If damage is inflicted on a living creature without the Sapience power or the victim is willing (such as the magician themselves), then every 3 boxes of Physical damage inflicted generates one Blood Magic Point. If damage is inflicted on a Sapient critter or unwilling metahuman victim, then every 1 box of Physical damage generates one Blood Magic Point. Spirits can never be used as victims, even if they possess a living body.

If not used, Blood Magic Points are lost after the following Combat Round. Blood Magic Points generated by the act of Sacrifice can then be used in any of the following ways, in any combination:

Increase the Net Hits of a spell being cast by 1 per point; this can exceed up to twice the spellcaster's Magic rating.
Reduce the amount of Drain a spell inflicts by 1 per Blood Point to a minimum of 0.
Store any number of Blood Points in an athame focus.
Summon a Blood Spirit.

Cannibalize

Prerequisite: Adepts only

Adepts and mystic adepts who follow the path of blood may learn a unique metamagic technique related to Sacrifice. When using Cannibalize, the adept draws blood from a victim and then consumes it to gain a measure of power.

The adept inflicts physical damage on a willing or unwilling victim exactly as per the Sacrifice metamagic to generate Blood Magic Points. The adept can then increase a physical attribute by 1 for every 3 Blood Points they spend, up to the individual's augmented maximum in that attribute.

The same or different attributes may be increased in any combination with one Minor Action. This increase lasts (Magic x Initiate Grade) Combat Rounds, but if the adept immediately spends Karma equal to the total number of attribute points increased, the duration is increased to (Magic x Initiate Grade) days.

Power Bleed

Prerequisite: Adepts only

Power Bleed is an advanced metamagic technique that builds upon the Cannibalize metamagic. Power Bleed functions the same as Cannibalize except that instead of generating 3 Blood Magic Points, the adept can siphon one critter or adept power possessed by the victim (if they have one) and may use this power as if it were their own.

The effect lasts for (Magic x Intitate Grade) Combat Rounds, but the adept may immediately spend 3 Karma to extend the duration to (Magic x Initiate Grade) days.

Predator Feast

Prerequisite: Cannibalize, Adepts Only

The adept has tasted the flesh of its own kind and found it appealing. The life force, blood, bone, sinew - all are the same components which compose the adept's body. By committing cannibalistic acts, they can gain temporary regeneration of their own wounds.

Note that corporations and other groups will gladly hunt down such an aberrant individual for the DIMR bounty, and DNA from their saliva and dental patterns from multiple victims can be used to hunt them down - being a cannibal in the Sixth World isn't easy.

Predator Feast is an advanced metamagic technique that functions the same as Cannibalize, except that instead of generating 3 Blood Magic Points, the adept gains the Regeneration critter power.

The effect lasts for (Magic x Initiate Grade) Combat Rounds, but the adept may immediately spend 3 Karma to extend the duration to (Magic x Initiate Grade) days.

Soul Tether

Prerequisite: Sacrifice

Instead of absorbing the life energy of a slain opponent, the blood mage channels the energy into a kind of temporary battery to power a sustained spell.

In addition to the usual uses of Blood Magic Points, they may now be used to sustain a spell, much like a sustaining focus. The Blood Magic Points used to power this ability must have been drawn from a victim that died in the process.

A number of Blood Magic Points equal to the Drain of the spell must be spent to sustain a spell in this way. However, the process slowly eats away at the bound soul, consuming it to fuel the spell. Each hour, the spell loses one point of spend Blood Points until the soul, screaming, is snuffed out completely. This kind of magic is incredibly destructive on a spiritual level.

Assensing tests against a blood mage sustaining a spell in this way receive a +2 dice pool modifier to recognize the nature of the mage’s magic. Spirits react in an especially negative way. If a blood mage with a spell sustained through soul tether attempts to summon any type of spirit other than a blood spirit, the spirit gains a +4 dice pool bonus to resist the Summoning test. Other spirits encountering the blood mage will act with hostility, including attacking them preferentially if free to do so.

Spiritual Sacrifice

Prerequisite: Sacrifice

This technique was thought lost around the time of Crash 2.0. A blood mage has learned to tap into the inherent link between the flesh and a possessing entity.

Invested flesh forms, ally spirits that have a living physical body, such as an animal familiar, and possessed hosts (loa, shedim, etc.) may now be used in sacrifice. This can be used as a kind of violent exorcism in the last instance - ejecting a malevolent power from it's host so that it's time on Earth is numbered.

Foci

Magicians following the path of blood are classically power-hungry and will often use foci to enhance their abilities. They can use any of the foci available to any other magician, into addition to the one exclusive to blood magicians: the athame.

Athame

Cost: Force x ¥12,500

Availability: (Force + 4) Forbidden)

Athame is the name given to a kind of metamagic focus used exclusively by blood mages. Traditional athames were ceremonial daggers or knives, and the first modern foci took this form. Aztec blood mages were among the first to be seen using them since the Awakening, in the form of sharpened daggers made from obsidian. Lately, blood mages of other traditions have been making athames in forms more keeping with their own traditions, such as the razor-edged flint axes of the Native American blood shamans or a sickle used by some blood mages in India.

An initiate must know the Sacrifice metamagic to bond or craft an athame. An athame must take the form of a melee weapon that can inflict Physical damage, and it functions the same as a weapon focus of the same Force. However, athames have an added element that weapon foci do not have: They can be used to store Blood Magic Points. To store BMP in an athame, the focus must have been activated (and is thus active in the astral plane) at the time the magician uses the Sacrifice metamagic to generate BMP. The initiate can choose to store up to the athame’s Force in BMP, and they can transfer the points at any time before they expire by taking a Minor Action on their turn. This one action can transfer as many points as the athame can hold.

Blood Magic Points stored within the athame last for as long as the focus is active; if it is disrupted or deactivated, any BMP are lost. The points within the athame can be used at any time by the initiate as per the normal rules for using BMP. It is possible to determine whether an athame is charged using assensing. Once a magician has identified that another Awakened has an athame, they can assense the focus’ aura specifically to learn more about it. With one or two net hits on an Assensing test, the magician believes it to be a normal weapon focus; three net hits lets the magician know it is an athame; and four net hits tells the magician if it’s charged - that is, if any BMP are stored within the focus (but not how many). This is in addition to the usual information obtained from a focus’ aura when assensing.

Blood Crystal Qualities

Blood crystal qualities do not count as standard qualities. They do not count against your maximum quality limit at character creation, nor does their Karma cost double after character creation.

These qualities come in two forms: one representing the implantation of a blood crystal and another representing growing mastery over an implanted crystal, allowing enhanced abilities related to it.

Like cyberware and bioware, implantation of a blood crystal reduces the character's Essence. Normally this would result in a reduction of the character's Magic rating, but the blood crystal replaces the lost Essence with a magical enhancement in the same amount, keeping the Magic attribute unaffected. The enhanced Essence only prevents Magic loss: use the lower value for all other purposes.

If the blood crystal is removed, the augmented essence supplied by the crystal is removed as well, and the individual suffers the effects of Essence loss on their Magic rating as normal. During bonding, the blood crystal grows and takes the shape of any missing or severely damaged limb or organ, replicating its natural function perfectly.

Magical enhancements such as an adept's Improved Agility power or a mage's Improved Strength spell still function normally, but mundane enhancements such as muscle replacement cyberware are not replicated.

Anyone bonded to a blood crystal has their Physical and Stun tracks reduced by 1 box for as long as the crystal is bonded to them. Additional implantations increase this loss further. Implanted blood crystals can be damaged almost as readily as the flesh it replaced, but it can also heal just as it were a natural body part. Mundane medical techniques cannot aid in this healing, but magical healing works normally.

In spite of their highly magical nature, blood crystals are relatively difficult to notice on the astral. The inherent nature of their bonding and the replication of essence only shows slight disturbances in an individual's aura. It is about as difficult to detect a blood crystal through astral perception as it is to detect alpha-grade cyberware.

Crystal Breath

Karma Cost: 5

Essence Cost: 1

Description: Your lungs have been replaced by blood crystal. You receive a +2 Dice Pool Modifier against inhalation-based toxin resistance tests and a +1 Dice Pool Modifier to resist fatigue.

Crystal Eye

Karma Cost: 10

Essence Cost: 1

Description: One or both of your eyes have been replaced with blood crystal. Essence loss is the same whether it is one or both eyes and later replacement of a second eye would require further Essence loss.

You can see as well as the average individual of your metatype, but you lose any special vision types granted by your metatype if both eyes are replaced. In addition, you receive Low-Light Vision and a +1 Dice Pool Modifier per eye on any visual Perception tests which is not cumulative with any technological vision enhancement.

You can no longer wear contacts, as your eyes have become faceted gems.

Crystal Gut

Karma Cost: 5

Essence Cost: 0.5

Prerequisite: With this Blood Crystal, you must have had your liver, kidneys, stomach, or intestines replaced.

Description: One or more of your internal organs has been replaced with a crystal that assumes the function of the organ perfectly.

When the liver is replaced, you gain a +2 Dice Pool Modifier to ingestion-vector Toxin Resistance tests.

When the stomach is replaced, you gain a 10% reduction in Lifestyle costs.

When the kidneys are replaced, you gain a +2 Dice Pool Modifier to injection-vector Toxin Resistance tests.

When the intestines are replaced, you no longer defecate or urinate and can go twice as long without water.

For each gut organ replaced, you gain a +1 Dice Pool Modifier on all tests to resist fatigue.

Multiple damaged or failing gut organs can be replaced at one time with the application of one inert blood crystal, though the Karma and Essence cost must still be paid for each gut organ.

Crystal Jaw

Karma Cost: 10

Essence Cost: 1

Description: A bonded crystal rarely found among particularly vicious blood adepts, the crystal jaw supplants the jaw bone and replaces the teeth with sharp crystal shards.

Attacks with the crystal jaw use the Close Combat skill, count as an unarmed natural weapon, and do (STR + 2)P damage.

Crystal Limb

Karma Cost: 10

Essence Cost: 1 (per limb)

Description: Bonding crystal in this manner will allow for a functional replacement of a damaged or lost limb. It will match the Strength and Agility of the individual's normal limb.

The limb will benefit from any magical enhancements to Strength or Agility, but not any bonuses originating from cyberware or bioware augmentations.

Limbs replaced by a blood crystal provide +1 Armor.

Limbs that are severed can regenerate with time, provided at least 50% of the blood crystal remains. Such regeneration takes (6 - Body) weeks (minimum of 1 week). During the time when the crystal limb regenerates, the limb's ability to augment the player's Essence is hampered, increasing all Drain values by 2.

Crystal Spine

Karma Cost: 10

Essence Cost: 1

Description: Able to cure paralysis from a wide range of spinal injuries and neurodegenerative disorders, this type of blood crystal is often seen as a miracle for mages who struggle with the decision whether or not to cripple their magical capability to regain the ability to walk.

The bonded crystal replaces the spine itself, as well as core of the central nervous system. Though the body system being replaced is naturally fully internal, this type of crystal bonding grows to show small crystalline protrusions on the back running along the spine.

Upon bonding this blood crystal, you gain a +2 Initiative Dice bonus and +1 Armor.

This initiative bonus does not stack with any other initiative enhancement, whether it's magical, chemical, or mundane.

Individuals with this type of blood crystal are particularly prone to hearing voices.

Crystalline Blade

Karma Cost: 10

Essence Cost: -

Prerequisite: Crystal Limb (Arm), Crystal Claws

Description: You have gained greater control over your blood crystal arm, allowing you to shape it into a formidable blade.

As a Minor Action, you can shape your entire forearm into a long, sharp crystalline blade (Damage Value: (Strength + 3)P.

If you have more than one blood crystal arm, this ability can be used with either.

Crystalline Claws

Karma Cost: 5

Essence Cost: -

Prerequisite: Crystal Limb

Description: You have consciously learned to exert a small degree of control over the shape of your crystal limb.

You can freely shape the fingers or toes of your crystal limb into sharp claws that do (Str / 2 + 1)P damage.

If you have more than one blood crystal limb, this ability can be used with any limb you possess.

Crystalline Diver

Karma Cost: 10

Essence Cost: -

Prerequisite: Crystal Breath

Description: You have realized that your lungs are no longer flesh and blood and are not held to the limits of the flesh.

You can breathe underwater as well as you can in the open air, but you still suffer penalties for pressure and cold.

Crystalline Grace

Karma Cost: 10

Essence Cost: -

Prerequisite: Crystal Limb (both legs)

Description: You have learned to push your new legs beyond the capabilities of flesh and bone.

You gain a +2 Dice Pool Modifier to jumping tests and can run for twice as long before suffering from fatigue.

Crystalline Reflexes

Karma Cost: 15

Essence Cost: -

Description: The blood crystal has further integrated into your central nervous system, facilitating rapid innervation of major muscle groups. You receive a +2 Dice Pool Modifier to all Defense tests.

Crystalline Shards

Karma Cost: 10

Essence Cost: -

Prerequisite: Crystal Limb (Arm)

Description: By learning to harness some of the innate regenerative and shape changing capabilities of your crystal arm, you can cause the growth of needle-like crystalline shards and fling them in a hail of deadly projectiles.

This counts as using a thrown weapon with a damage of (STR / 2 + 3) with the same range as a shuriken.

The rapid growth of these crystals is taxing on the body as the crystal draws on your blood to fuel itself. Each time this ability is used, the bearer takes 1 Physical unresisted damage that cannot be healed by magic.

Crystalline Vision

Karma Cost: 15

Essence Cost: -

Prerequisite: Crystal Eye

Description: Further attunement to your blood crystal eye (or eyes) has allowed you to peer beyond the mundane world. You gain the ability to perceive astrally, and you may attempt Asssensing if you were not already able.

Blood Spirits

A magician who knows the Sacrifice metamagic may summon blood spirits. Summoning a blood spirit follows all the normal rules for summoning except that the magician must use the Sacrifice metamagic as part of the summoning. The amount of Blood Magic Points generated sets the maximum Force of blood spirit that can be summoned. All other rules for summoning and commanding spirits apply normally. Blood spirits can be bound in the same manner as other spirits, if the magician is brave enough.

Blood Spirit

Blood spirits always take a twisted, painful appearance. They can be an unsettling cloud of red mist from which tortured and dying faces seem to swim and shift, or a kind of hideous animal amalgamation with claws and a bird-like beak dripping with gore. Most frightening of all is when they take a form very much like a metahuman, with gaping, bleeding mortal wounds on their neck, wrists, head, or abdomen. A blood spirit is a transient thing that slowly degrades after the magical energies of its initial violent summoning begin to fade. As a result, blood spirits need to use their Essence Drain power to replenish themselves in order to stay on this plane. A blood spirit whose Essence reaches 0 immediately departs for its native metaplane - generally howling with an inhuman hunger as it does so.

Powers

Astral Form, Binding, Energy Drain (Essence), Fear, Materialization

Optional Powers

Concealment, Confusion, Guard, Movement, Natural Weapon, Noxious Breath

Weaknesses

Essence Loss (1 point per day)

Bone Spirit

If blood is passion, then bones are reliable. Bone spirits must be assembled from a great pile of raw material; they never drop with gore and gristle but always appear clean and polished. They have no particular opinion regarding anything at all, lacking the rapacious appetite of blood spirits, and even the desire for freedom that normal spirits exhibit. A bone spirit is happy enough to perform any service it is able without complaint, though it makes for a poor conversationalist. They are not stupid; they simply appreciate simple directives. Its form depends on the bones it’s made from: if it consists of the large skeletons of bulls, metahumans, and similar ilk, it takes a stable, firm form. Made from the bones of smaller animals, such as alley cats and devil rats, the bones rustle and rattle as they shift around one another in an almost amorphous, roiling mass. Larger bones, such as those from elephants, may break to conform to the spirit’s size, while exoskeletons such as those from giant insects like the wyrd mantis will shift about over the others, sliding over the mass. Note that bone spirits will not possess the bones or exoskeletons of bodies that have been used by other blood spirits, bug spirits, or have served as corps cadavres. If asked, they will say, “Those bones have earned their rest.”

Bone spirits have no incorporeal form; they are always formed from a mass of bones as per a possession spirit (use the same quantity rules as for a homunculus). Less prone to escaping control than other types of spirit, it can be maintained with a steady diet of bones added to its roiling form. These spirits act much like a homunculus in this way, showing little initiative or free will of their own, simply doing their duty until they run out of power, are destroyed, or their summoner is killed. Left to their own devices, these spirits simply sit and wait. If attacked, they will simply look at their attacker without offering resistance. If they are questioned, they simply reply, “I wait to rest."

Powers

Astral Form, Engulf, Natural Weapon, Possession (Bones), Sapience

Optional Powers

Enhanced Senses (Hearing, Low-Light Vision, Thermographic Vision, or Smell), Guard, Noxious Breath

Special

A bone spirit can consume the bones of a dead creature to heal itself. The total Body of creature whose skeleton being consumed determines the healing; the spirit restores 1 Physical damage box per 2 Body worth of bones consumed.

Blood Shade

A horrific specialization of a blood spirit, this entity is siphoned exclusively from the blood and spirit of a single individual. The blood spirit binds with the body, much like a “good merge” bug spirit, gaining access to all of the sacrifice’s skills, memories, and mannerisms. They can take the form of the host as they were when they were alive, passing all physical tests to determine their identity and masking their aura to fool cursory assensing. They can offer their summoner any secrets the sacrifice had and can get close to their victims with ease.

Its true form is the same shape as its host, but composed entirely of blood, with eyes that appear to be pitch-black pits and perfectly white teeth. It often smiles when it anticipates feeding, and it will play mind games with its prey, enjoying their fear when it feeds. If/when it goes uncontrolled, it will usually stalk and kill those related to the victim, finding their blood and Essence sweetest. For every six points of Essence it draws from genetic family, it gains one Force.

Powers

Astral Form, Aura Masking, Deathly Aura, Energy Drain (Essence), Fear, Magical Guard, Mimicry, Possession (Blood), Realistic Form, Sapience

Optional Powers

Accident, Banishing Resistance, Compulsion, Paralyzing Touch, Search

Weaknesses

Evanescence