Vampire the Requiem Homebrew Bloodlines

Homebrew Bloodlines for Vampire: The Requiem.

Leucocytes: Fucking with yo Liquids

Blood is extremely similar to water. 60% of all the volume of blood in the human body is plasma, which is basically almost completely water with some proteins floating about.

The theory behind the bloodline is a simple one: Plasma is as much of a component of human blood as the red cells and the hemoglobin and the whatnot, but, if it were separated, could it be just as nourishing? Imagine, drinking the blood of your ghoul and taking only his plasma. He would suffer no lethal damage, and the only downside would be a slight thirstiness!

To that end, the bloodline studies liquid in all its forms, and no better way to do this then by turning themselves into living blood cells? When daytime comes, they merge with the water, going with the flow, whereever it takes them. In doing so, they They're not a nomadic clan, though. Their ties with the Ordo Dracul is too strong to move them too far, so these kindred usually keep to localized streams that and lakes that dump their corpses into local reservoirs, so they don't awaken miles from their colleagues. The Blood changes them, though. Vampires are parasites, through and through, and though their clan weakness is merely a facsimile of traveling through the vein, it seems as though the rivers recognize them as intruders and actively repel them, fish and plant life semi-activally attacking the vampire as he floats by. For that reason, most Leucoytes take the Haven of Soil discipline, so they can examine how fish react without having chunks of their bodies bitten off bit by bit, in the same manner that the body sends white blood cells after the countless bacteria spawning among the dark, sweeping tunnels of the human body.

Though the bloodline has ties to the Ordo Dracul, their founder was, in reality, an adherent of the Circle of the Crone. A surgeon in germany during the middle ages, his embrace was pierced with his mortal knowledge of circulation. His own logic became twisted as years passed. He saw vitae as stagnant blood that needed to flow. He became crazed, obsessed with his understandings of the lymphatic system, obsessed with following flowing water to the vampiric equivalent of the fountain of youth, the "Heart of the World". He wanted to find revolution. He would swim and swim, hoping in his insanity that he could trick the world into believing he was blood himself, fool reality into allowing him access to this forbidden realm. He was driven by the analogy he had become, so much so that it transformed him into the founder of his own bloodline. He told his childer of his theories: That it would flow into the Garden of Eden, where humanity had been spawned. Maybe it would lead him to a massive lake of purest vitae. Maybe it led to Golconda. He himself fervently believed that the heart was the Crone herself, and he arrogantly bragged about how he would diablerize her and become an unliving god. In fear that their crazed sire had broken the rule of Amarath, his childer killed him, lest discovery and punishment fall on their heads as well. The founder was soon forgotten by the bloodline, which had, since then, been more or less absorbed into the Ordo. They had, since then, grown a reputation as some of the finest scholars in the Coils of Blood for their unique insight on the transformation of mundane human blood to that of magical vitae, an embrace that happens on a molecular level. However, on a occasion, one of these vampires suddenly has a notion to go for a swim, as if he were looking for something...

Plasmapheresis Discipline

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Cardiac Delivery: •

Cost: -

Duration: One Scene

The Vitae in the vampires body recognizes its place among the rivers, and instinctively follows the flow. The vampire takes a deep breath (Though vampires do not need to breathe, the gasp is ritualistic, as the point of blood is to deliver oxygen to various parts of the body), and begins to swims at twice his regular speed every turn, and receives 9-again to all rolls related to maneuvering in water. He cannot swimming against the current unless it's slow enough for a regular person to be able to go against without any problems. The discipline ends when he exhales. While the discipline is active, local fish tend to become slightly more aggressive towards the vampire, which serves his needs just as well, as their tendency to swim withing arms reach to nibble at him makes them an easy meal for a fledgling. However, unless the vampire is swimming in the rivers of South America or Africa, the damage he takes is probably trivial, maybe a bashing damage per scene at the very worst.

Aphairesis: ••

Cost: -

The vampire can drink the Plasma of a victim, rather then his blood. This plasma is stored among with vitae, but is to be marked with a P. This means you can only store Plasma and vitae in your vampires body as your Blood Potency allows you to.

>A vampire with BP 4 can store 13 vitae in his body. If he has 8 already, and drinks 3 Plasma, he has 11 slots filled up. If he drinks 6, then he would have 14, meaning that the final point of plasma is lost.

Every victim has plasma in their body equal to half the amount of blood rounded up. The victim takes no damage from having his plasma drunk, until this threshold is reached. After that, the vampire begins drinking vitae, and the target takes one aggravated damage per vitae taken, and suffers from Anemia for as long as it takes for him to heal the aggravated damage. Vitae is what vampires crave, what their every essence calls out for, so drinking excess vitae replaces Plasma within the body.

Plasma just barely magical, having just a tiny fraction of the properties of vitae. Plasma dissipates from the vampires body in a number of hours equal to his Blood Potency and cannot be used to activate disciplines other then those in Plasmapheresis.

Humourism: •••

Cost: 1 Plasma

Dice Pool: Plasmapheresis + Occult + Wits vs. Composure + Blood Potency

Cost: 1 Plasma

The Ordo Dracul is no stranger to the methodologies of the ancient Hippocratic medicine. The concepts of various humours in balance controlling the moods of mortals is a quaint theory, but tests done by masters of the Blood, practitioners of Majesty and Nightmare and general alchemists centuries ago proved it to be a falsehood, though a falsehood with a grain of truth. The reality is that while mundane blood does not produces emotions, vampire Blood very much instills an attitude of optimism and courageousness among those who ingest it. Ghouls are seen as evidence of this. As these scholars can't find supernatural beings with an emphasis on Bile or Phlegm, they cannot replicate these tests and ultimately, the Humourism theory is considered inconclusive. Even so, among the theories, the Leucocyte notices that all the various fluids that determine emotions in this theory need plasma, so several Plasmapheresis Alchemists rationalize that in a vampire, the plasma itself is the tool to unlocking emotion. It just has to be tweaked in just the right way...

Humourism is incredibly similar to Majesty, Nightmare and Dominate, as it falls under the same principles of using a hypnotic stare to change the subjects behavior. Most Leucocytes don't even recognize the first time they use this ability, though they definately feel the surge of plasma boiling away when they exert their willpower. Humourism doesn't affects the glands of the subject, black bile and yellow bile and blood and phlegm is not released in quantity. Even so, the subject begins to fixate on a particular emotion. He begins sobbing, becoming cripplingly depressed. He becomes irritable and attacks those who stare at him. He tries to rape the first person he sees. All in all, the subject acts in a self-destructive manner for an amount of turns equal to successes, as the emotion most relivant to the situation takes over him.

Tunica intima et media ••••

Dice Pool: Plasmapheresis + Medicine + Intelligence - Subjects Composure + Blood Potency (If resisting)

Cost: 1 Vitae, 1 Plasma

Named for two types of veins in the body, Tunicia Intima Et Media is a manipulation of the Blood using the plasma it's suspended in. Technically, the discipline is three different effects. However, the method of utilizing the traces of magic in Plasma is essentially the same, merely subtle manipulations of the plasma that controls the flow of the blood, leading scholars of the discipline to categorize it as one. By spending a point of Plasma, the vampire can bestow one of three effects on either himself, a mortal, or a vampire with which he is physically touching.

On another vampire:

The vampire burns a point of vitae without dissipating the liquid, leaving behind Plasma in the wake of vampire magic. "Tunica intima et media" does not allow the Leucocyte to force the vampire to burn it, the vitae must be spent either activating a discipline, waking up, or any other method of expending vitae magically. One success rolled turns one vitae into Plasma, which is stored in the foreign vampires body. Plasma within another vampire can be drunk by the Leucocyte with no risk of vinculum. The vampire is aware that he is not hungry, though he feels unsatisfied, temporary fooling the Beast into believing that it is not hungry, so for the sake of all hunger frenzy rolls the vampire acts as if the points of Plasma are vitae until it burns away in a number of hours equal to the vampires blood potency.

On a mortal

The plasma separates slightly from the subjects blood, but provides no ill effects to the subject. If subject is drank from by the Leucocyte within next five minutes, the feeding need only take a single turn.

On the Leucocyte herself

The Leucocyte burns away a point of Vitae to distill the Plasma already within it. So potent is plasma created by this ritual that it can not only stay within the Leucocytes body indefinitely, but it can also be used as normal vitae for every action except for performing disciplines and waking up. This plasma this way stored transmutes into vitae, having absorbed the lost potency of the blood, upon waking up from torpor.

Ipecacuanha •••••

Dice Pool: Plasmapheresis + Occult + Wits vs. Subjects Stamina + Blood Potency

Cost: 1 Vitae, 1 Plasma, 1 willpower

How ironic is it that water sustains the life of the living, and acts merely a solvent to sustain the unlife of the dead? Practitioners of Plasmapheresis understand that the importance of the lymphatic system is merely a means to an end. From a vampire perspective, it's the powder that flavors the drink that matters, not the liquid that suspends it. In the end, the Leucocyte is still a vampire, and still needs Blood to function, and the bloodline recognizes this predatorial requirement. The final discipline in the line of Plasmapheresis is the ultimate dissolution. The Leucocyte focuses, softly calling to the liquids of his quarry with a guttural noise. Mortal or kindred, and the victim begins sweating, crying, vomiting, defecating and otherwise removing every drop of water in their body. The mortal target suffers aggravated damage equal to the successes the Leucocyte rolled, while the kindred victim loses vitae, which is forced out of their flesh, staining their clothes, moving against their will, dragged along by the whims of a monster who simply wants the liquid out of the body.

Modifiers:

Every point of Plasma within subjects body +2

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Devotions

Microcirculation

Plasmapheresis •

Protean ••

Price: 8 XP

Cost: One Plasma

Named for blood being delivered to capillaries, the smallest veins in the human body. The Leucocyte becomes as water, and can now swim against currents with no penalties, and enjoys 8-again for an entire scene for all scenes involving maneuvering in water. Even so, he is still solid, and is capable of the manipulation that comes with being the natural state.

The Canon of Medicine

Plasmapheresis •••

Majesty ••

Dominate ••

Price: 14 XP

Cost: One Vitae

Dice Pool: Plasmapheresis + Occult + Wits vs. Composure + Blood Potency

As with Humourism, except the vampire decides what the predominate emotion is.