Koldunic Sorcery

Long before the blood magics of the Tremere appeared, the Tzimisce wielded the mystical art of Koldunic Sorcery. Unlike the arcane paths of Thaumaturgy, Koldunic Sorcery is a spiritual magic that manipulates the elements in nature. From the magically rich and diseased soil of their ancestral demesnes, the Tzimisce drew demonic power. Now, through the proper rites of contrition and binding, a koldun can summon forth the elemental correspondences that shape natural forces. The specific ways of this spiritual magic were often taught to novice koldun based on their regional settings.

For example, though the Ways of Spirit and Fire were universal, the Way of Wind was known only among koldun residing in the Carpathian Mountains. The Way of Water was predominantly practiced by koldun who made their havens near bodies of water like the Black Sea, the Plain Lakes and rivers of the Danube, Somes and Arges. The Way of Earth was common among koldun residing in the flatlands and plateaus of Eastern Europe.

During the time of Clan Tremere's birth, Koldunic Sorcery was at its height in practice. With the threat of the Tremere and their blood magic, this sorcery became the weapon of choice for the koldun fighting to protect their lands. Bloody feuds between these two camps of sorcerers stained the Danube crimson and powerful magic defiled the land. As the Dark Ages passed, Koldunic Sorcery faded as well, unpracticed and spoken of only in passing and half-truths.

In tonight's world, only a few, very ancient Tzimisce practice Koldunic Sorcery. These surviving koldun are extremely territorial, rarely surfacing long enough to make their presence known, and prefer to keep to themselves, surrounded by ruins of once-mighty castles and manses. With the mysterious disappearance of the Tremere antitribu, knowledge and philosophy of Koldunism is more frequently shared with anyone willing to learn of its existence, and has begun to spread among the ranks of the Sabbat's youth. Some suspect that enterprising Fiends have leaked a bit of their wisdom to the sect in order to keep the old ways in practice. More cynical Sabbat, though, believe that a clever Cainite or pack managed to steal a few secrets from a lax Tzimisce and passed them on to whoever wanted to learn.

System: Koldunic Sorcery consists of five elemental ways and several rituals, and is learned in a system similar to Thaumaturgy. A character's base Koldunic Sorcery Trait dictates how well he may learn the ways of the magic, and each dot earned in the Discipline also earns the character another dot in the way of her choice. Obviously, this bonus dot may not be allocated to a way that would be rated higher than the character's knowledge of Koldunic Sorcery. Kindred intent on learning Koldunic Sorcery must also study the unique Knowledge of Koldunism. For a character to invoke the powers of Koldunic Sorcery, a player must spend a Willpower point, then make an appropriate Attribute (governed by the way in question) + Koldunism roll ( difficulty 4 + the level of the power). These five types of Attribute rolls are Charisma for the Way of Spirit, Stamina for the Way of Earth, Perception for the Way of Wind, Wits for the Way of Water and Manipulation for the Way of Fire. Unlike Thaumaturgy, there is no primary path that must be learned; any of Koldunic Sorcery's ways are accessible at the standard cost of paths, provided the koldun can find a teacher or suitable text.

Storytellers are advised that this is a rare form of spiritual magic, and that characters are unlikely to have access to it unless they are apart of the Sabbat or otherwise have reason to research Koldunism. Players must keep in mind that Koldunic Sorcery has only just begun to circulate within the Sabbat; it is a certainty that a member of the Camarilla or of the independents isn't going to be searching out this art, if she is aware of it at all.

New Knowledge

Koldunism

This Knowledge measures a Kindred's familiarity with the philosophies of Eastern European animism. You will roll this ability with one of five possible Attributes when attempting to invoke the power of the magic. For every level you have, the more in-touch you get with the spiritual magic and the more you know how to manipulate the natural elements which is Koldunic Sorcery.

• Student: Well, you know the most basic stuff. You still have a bit to go.
•• College: Hey, guess what? You can be called a koldun now! Watch out for those pesky Tremere.
••• Masters: You are up there with some of the most powerful koldun of the Modern nights.
•••• Doctorate: Are you messing with me? The spirits cower when you get ticked.
••••• Scholar: You know the spirits of the land. You are a master.

Possessed by: A few young Sabbat; Tzimisce (and old ones at that)
Specialties: Philosophy, Ritual, Lore, Relations with Spirit

Paths

Way of Earth

Ancient koldun hospodar rulers once claimed sovereignty over the lands of Eastern Europe, manipulating the magically rich chernozem - "black earth" - to invoke their power and instill fear in their boyars and peasants. Now, the young koldun of the Sabbat beckon the spirits of the Western soil and derive their powers of the Way of Earth from natural surroundings. When a koldun employs a power of this way, his eyes change color to walnut brown and his skin ripples with small patches of stone.

• Soil Silhouette
A koldun invoking this power has the ability to command dirt to rise up from the ground and crawl up the legs of an individual. The soil rises up very quickly and, as it passes above a victim's knees, renders him immobile.

System: Success on the activation roll causes the dirt anywhere within a 1 00-foot radius of the invoker to roil and crawl up a victim's legs; the dirt ends its ascent about halfway between the knees and hips. Unless the subject can score five successes on a Strength + Survival roll (difficulty 6), he remains trapped in place by the Soil Silhouette for a number of turns equal to twice the successes the player scored on the activation roll.

•• Unearthly Stamina
A koldun invoking this power temporarily borrows the earth's resilience, lending him stamina. Some elder T remere of Eastern Europe reminisce on the frightening capacity for pain their rival koldun could withstand when invoking Unearthly Stamina. Sabbat koldun often use this pow ex to prove their mettle during theritae.

System: After spending a Willpower point and making a successful Stamina + Koldunism roll (difficulty 6), the player may add two temporary Stamina dice when soaking damage. These can be included in soaking aggravated damage. This effect lasts for one scene.

••• Soil of Death
By invoking Soil of Death, a koldun commands roots to rise from the ground and drag a target below the soil, incapacitating him. Once buried up to his neck, a victim finds it increasingly difficult to breathe as he feels the weight of the earth crushing his chest.

System: Roots issue forth from the ground and wrap themselves around the legs, ankles and waist of a victim, pulling him underneath the earth. For every success a player scores on a Stamina + Koldunism roll (difficulty 7), the victim remains trapped underground for one turn. Mortals and ghouls will have a very difficult time breathing due to the prolonged pressure from compact earth, and must make a Stamina roll ( difficulty 7) or suffer one level of lethal damage for every turn they spend entombed in the earth.

••• Root of Vitality
Many healers believed that burying a person in the ground would allow the rich soil to purge him of his ailments. This power allows the koldun to draw any person into the ground up to the neck to heal grievous wounds.

System: With the expenditure of a Willpower point, the koldun commands the soil to pull a person down into the ground in order to heal her wounds. A character must remain underground for one turn per health level he heals. All damage a character suffers can heal in this manner including aggravated wounds, though the injured party must spend a blood point per aggravated wound level that he desires to heal (assuming the wounded character may do so). During this time of healing, the subject is helpless and unable to perform any other actions.

••••• Dracula's Restless Soul
Peasants whisper silent prayers to protect themselves from the unusual tremors that sometimes shake the Carpathian Mountains, which they believe to be the spirit of Dracula waking from centuries of slumber.

In truth, this odd seismic activity is the result of koldun calling upon the dormant wrath of the blighted land. When invoking this power, a koldun creates a large earth tremor capable of shaking the foundations of a city block.

System: With the expenditure of a Willpower point and a successful Stamina + Koldunism roll (difficulty 9), a player enables her character to cause the earth to shake violently. Each success she scores increases the radius of the quake; victims within the area of effect suffer 10 dice of lethal damage. Cars, R V sand small houses suffer substantial damage and, at the Storyteller's discretion, may be destroyed altogether.
Buildings three stories and higher, such as apartment complexes and office buildings may sustain some structural damage, but this supernatural tremor is not strong enough to cause them to crumble and fall. This tremor lasts for one turn.

1 success	One Structure
2 successes	Five Structures
3 successes	A Residential Street
4 successes	Half a city block
5 successes	A full city block

Way of Wind

A second avenue of Koldunic Sorcery , the Way of Wind was once manipulated by Tzimisce lords to protect their Eastern European lands. Invoking these powers granted them the ability to control the element of crivat to suit their whims and master the air they once breathed in their mortal days. People of Eastern Europe, especially in Romania, name these types of unnatural winds the koldun manipulate - people of the west call the winds Austru, or the Black Winds, while residents of the south name them the Great Winds or the baltaret.

When a koldun invokes a power of this way, his eyes change color to sky blue and gusts of wind breeze all about him.

• Winds of Guilt
Ancient koldun hospodars invoked Winds of Guilt as a means of ensuring loyalty in their boyars without the need of a blood bond. This power caused a wind to gust around these boyars that sounded to them like whispering voices, telling of the horrors that would befall them and their families should they betray their voivode. These voices would slowly warp the minds of these men, and only when this sorcery waned would they regain their coherence. Afterward, the boyars were so afraid of the consequences of betrayal that their loyalty to their master was unswerving. Koldun of the Sabbat enjoy invoking this power during ritae before feeding, reveling in the mixture of adrenaline in the blood of a vessel stricken with terror.

System: With a successful Perception + Koldunism roll (difficulty 5), a koldun invokes mystical winds that plague a victim. The target is convinced that he hears voices whispering ofhis most evil deeds ( Storytellers are encouraged to improvise on the content the whispers a victim hears). When in the presence of the koldun, targets lose two dots of Courage ( to a minimum of one). Each success the koldun's player scores increases the duration of this power.

1 success	One scene
2 successes	One night
3 successes	One week
4 successes	Two weeks
5 successes	One month

•• Biting Winds
The koldun creators of this power attempted to invoke a wind as chill as the air atop the Carpathian Fagrash Mountains. They noted the pain their victims endured as their bodies' temperatures dropped until the very blood froze in their veins. A koldun invoking this power had a much easier time of ridding his land of undesirables by plaguing them with bone-chilling gusts.

Modern Sabbat koldun invoking this wind sometimes refer to its effect on victims as the "meat locker." A koldun invoking Biting Winds causes a very cold breeze to swirl around in an area ofhis choosing. As the wind increases in speed, the wind chill factor drops the temperature until anyone within the affected area find it too uncomfortable to remain.

System: After the player spends a Willpower point and rolls Perception + Koldunism (difficulty 6), the character summons forth a freezing cold wind. When Biting Winds first takes effect, a cool breeze blows in a 100-yard radius. Little by little, the winds gust faster and much colder. This continues until the wind blasts a stabbing chill difficult for anyone to tolerate. Those affected lose two dice from Dexterity dice pools and are reduced to half movement. Anyone attempting to enter this area must first spend a Willpower point and suffer a (soakable) level of bashing damage from the extreme cold.

••• Winds of Lethargy
Although these winds do not induce immediate sleep in a victim, prolonged exposure to this supernatural gale causes extreme exhaustion and fatigued movement. Targets caught in Winds of Lethargy smell a bittersweet smoke in the air. Individuals also claim that the wind feels like many intangible hands persistently rubbing their muscles to relaxation.

System: The player rolls Perception + Koldunism (difficulty 7) and spends a point ofWillpower . If the roll is successful, the koldun creates a wind that induces extreme lethargy within a 200-foot radius, remaining for two turns per success he scores on the invocation roll. People caught in this gust of air must make a Stamina + Survival roll (difficulty 8) or are reduced to halving all dice pools that involve physical actions (actions such as breathing and blinking are innate and, therefore unaffected, though the Storyteller should emphasize their laboriousness). Additionally, this fatigue reduces the movement rate of its victims by half for one full scene.

•••• Traveling the Winds
A koldun employing this power moves at incredible speeds by riding along the winds. The voivodes of nights past often appeared in each of their boyars' homes and to the villages of their lands, instilling fear in the peasants and terrorizing them to fealty. Koldun undertaking these outings could travel to most, if not all of their boyars and villages in a single night's time. During the Dark Ages, peasants under the rule of a koldun rarely rebelled against their master, fearing a personal appearance and, as a result, his swift punishing wrath. A koldun's body becomes almost ethereal while he moves along the wind, disappearing into a blurry outline of his physical self and re-materializing in a similar fashion.

System: A koldun journeys along the currents of the wind after the player spends a Willpower point and successfully rolls Perception + Koldunism ( difficulty 8). With a successful invocation of this power, a koldun's body blurs in a gust of wind, moving through the air at 250 mph, though not directly affecting how fast the wind blows. This effect must be invoked outdoors; though he can avoid all obstacles outside, the koldun lacks the control to maneuver through a building of any kind and risks slamming into walls, doors and people at this high speed. This power lasts for one scene, after which the koldun re-materializes at his destination from his blurry shape back to his normal physical self.

••••• Body Of Zephyr
A koldun dissolving into Body of Zephyr blends into the air, maneuvering through the smallest of cracks. The koldun ' s body retains its basic shape, though it is too ephemeral and transparent for onlookers to make out any physical details.

System: It takes a full turn for a koldun to invoke this transformation, after a successful Perception + Koldunism roll (difficulty 9) and the expenditure of a point of Willpower. In Body of Zephyr, akoldun moves at double his movement, though he cannot take any physical actions. Other powers of the Way ofWind may be used in conjunction with Body of Zephyr by spending an additional Willpower point at their activation; no other Discipline powers may be manipulated while in this form. A koldun may remain in this transformed state indefinitely, though he can return to his original form after one full turn of concentration.

Way of Water

This way was practiced primarily among koldun with havens near some sort of water source, from the Plain Lakes to the Black Sea. With their powers, these koldun confounded many Turkish invasion attempts along the Danube River, sinking their ships and drowning them under mystical riptides. When employing the powers of this way, a koldun ' s eyes change color to vivid, almost glowing aquamarine.

• Pools of Illusion
Travelers have told tales of receiving warnings of future events, cries for help and even divine intervention from spirits that manifested themselves from a water source. Water spirits have been recounted the world over, from river cannibals to the lovely mermaids and lorelei that beckoned men to watery deaths. Even King Arthur received his prized sword Excalibur from such a spirit of water, known as the Lady of the Lake.

At this beginning level of the Way of Water, a koldun has the ability to create a three-dimensional illusion along the surface of a water source. Koldun during the modern nights sometimes invoke this power of illusion to prey on the superstitions of the mortal world.

System: The player makes a Wits + Koldunism roll ( difficulty 5) in order to create an illusion of her choosing. The illusion can speak and walk, but it is intangible and cannot leave the boundaries of water. This phantom image lasts for several seconds, after which it will slowly dissipate.

•• Watery Solace
Should a koldun desperately need shelter, from enemies or the rising sun, she may opt to sink below the cool, dark, protective waters. As the vampire walks into a source of water, she sinks below its surface, protected by the magic of the liquid. Though akoldun can immerse herself into nearly all water sources, she cannot move around within it; water currents mystically avoid the koldun's dead body at her original interring point.

System: Unlike most powers of Koldunic Sorcery, this power does not require the expenditure of a Willpower point; the player must accumulate two successes on her Wits + Koldunism roll (difficulty 6) to successfully submerge the character in the water. The amount of water must be at least a foot in depth and as large as her body for a koldun to rest there. This power acts like the Protean Discipline power of Earth Meld; after invoking Watery Solace, a vampire is completely concealed from the rays of the sun. Those looking straight down into the water where a koldun melds may make a Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 8). On a successful roll, they catch a glimpse of the slumbering koldun and can attempt to attack or rouse her.

••• Water Walk
No longer bound by the laws of physics, a koldun has the ability to walk along the fluid surface of water. So long as she invokes this power, the vampire may walk the water's surface as if it is as solid as earth.

System: The koldun may walk across the surface of water for a number of scenes equal to the number of successes the player scores on a Wits + Koldunism roll (difficulty 7). This does not prevent the creatures of the seas or lakes ( or any body of water the koldun traverses ) from interacting with her. The Storyteller may find it appropriate to have dolphins torment her, or a hungry shark could surprise the vampire and take a bite at her from beneath. It is also possible that the koldun will be spotted by individuals in boats, fishermen or even people swimming in her general vicinity.

•••• Watery Minions
The koldun of the Middles Ages often invoked these minions from the moats surrounding their castles to deter the marauding Turks. These servants are comprised completely of water, ascending from a watery source. Once primed by this power, the minions follow only very simple instructions from the koldun, though they do so without hesitation. Some of the Turks surviving raids on a koldun's keep told stories of weirds, dragons and dire wolves roaming around the armalisti castles.

System: The player spends a point of Willpower. For every success he scores on a Wits + Koldunism roll (difficulty 8), one Watery Minion rises from its source and forms into any shape the koldun desires. The Storyteller determines appropriate Traits as well as the number ofhealth levels for these minions if they have the ability to attack and defend. As they are composed of water, bashing damage does not slow the minions, though firerelated attacks gain an extra two dice to damage. All of these Watery Minions last for one night.

••••• Doom Tides
Many Turkish ships lie below the Black Sea, destroyed by mighty whirlpools invoked by koldun. Victims fight to keep themselves afloat or else find themselves sucked into whirling tides, suffocating until they can swim free from this vortex. Some of tonight's koldun entertain themselves by creating swirling riptides in pools to surprise late-night swimmers.

System: The player spends a Willpower point and rolls Wits + Koldunism (difficulty 9) to create a whirlpool. For every success she scores, the width of this maelstrom increases by 10 feet. Doom Tides have abase Strength15; this Strength increases by increments of five for each success the koldun scores beyond the activation roll. Victims must make a Strength + Survival roll (difficulty 8; Potence adds successes) in order to pull free from the riptide. This effect remains for one scene.

Way of Fire

Ancient koldun created the Way of Fire by first manipulating the molten magma that exploded from volcanoes found throughout Eastern Europe. Then they evolved their control over the fiery liquid earth to the point of invoking their own unique effects that would not necessarily occur during volcanic activity. Koldun who possess the powers of the Way of Fire in the modern nights are feared simply for their capacity to destroy so much in a short amount of time, just as a volcano can eliminate life on entire islands within a day. When invoking any of the powers of this way, a koldun' s eyes glow a feverish orange.

Note: At the Storyteller's discretion, Kindred observing these powers in use may be overtaken by Rotschreck (with the exception of the koldun, of course).

• Shatter
In a small demonstration of power that is inherent of the Way, a koldun invokes the air about an object to increase in temperature until the object combusts.

System: The player makes a Manipulation + Koldunism roll (difficulty 5) and spends a Willpower point. The koldun must have a target object in his line of sight before he can cause it to Shatter. Once this power is invoked, the heat around the target object intensifies until the object spontaneously combusts.

The Storyteller may make a soak roll for the object to see if it does in fact Shatter ( determined by the size or quality of an object: three dice for a small or shoddy I object, five for an average-sized object and seven dice for a large or well-crafted object. Anything the size of a car cannot Shatter, as it is much too large). The object must accumulate five successes over three soak rolls (difficulty 5), or it will shatter. This power cannot be used on living beings or Kindred.

•• Rouse the Molten Rock
The koldun can now cause magma to bubble up from the earth's core and slowly ooze its way along the ground. Although there is not a substantial amount of lava present, the magma burns through nearly everything it comes in contact with. The molten fires slowly work their way along tree trunks, spread from bottom to top floor of a house and may even eat through a metal door.

System: Only enough magma to fill a bathtub boils up through the ground, though it causes a victim to suffer three health levels of aggravated damage. Each success the player scores on the Manipulation + Koldunism roll ( difficulty 6) keeps the lava superheated for one turn. It oozes along the ground in any direction the koldun desires, but at a slow-as-molasses rate. When the duration of this power expires, the magma instantly cools, creating a small slab of solid rock.

••• Gates of Magma
The koldun invokes molten rock to bubble up from the ground in a circular ring, 10 feet high. The flow of lava is constant, creating a makeshift wall of superheated rock around the koldun. So long as this power remains in effect, it is nearly impossible for individuals to traverse the Gates of Magma without causing themselves severe bodily harm. It takes mighty resolve for a person to even approach the wall, as it gives offheat that causes grievous burns.

System: For every success the player scores on the Manipulation + Koldunism roll ( difficulty 7) , the seething hot lava will continue to surround his person for two turns. Individuals who attempt to penetrate the Gates of Magma must first make a Courage roll (difficulty 8).

If successful, they can continue to approach the heated barrier but suffer one health level of lethal damage - or aggravated damage if they are Kindred. Failure to succeed on this Courage roll translates into the mind succumbing to its instinctual defense of self-preservation; a second attempt to penetrate through the barrier requires the additional expenditure of a Willpower point. Anyone physically touching the Gates of Magma suffers three health levels (not dice) of aggravated damage.

•••• Heat Wave
The koldun acts as a conduit for steam geysers and evokes a blast of dehydrating air, withering and desiccating an opponent.

System: The player spends a Willpower point and rolls Manipulation + Koldunism (difficulty 8). The vampire calls up hydrogen sulfide from the Earth's mantle and blasts a target. Mortal victims suffer five health levels of lethal damage as their bodies dehydrate.

Vampires react similarly and also suffer five health levels of lethal damage, which they may soak. Kindred also lose five blood points that evaporate from the body (regardless of their soak roll), resulting from the extreme heat of this gas. Note that this may send some Kindred into frenzy or torpor .

••••• Volcanic Blast
At this mastery level of the Way of Fire, a koldun commands lava to explode from the ground in a huge stream. The molten rock sprays in a large arc, then moves in small rivers in every direction, burning, melting and destroying most everything in its path. Cars melt in these rivers, trees catch fire and burn to the ground, and houses erupt into flaming infernos in the wake of devastation.

System: This power is not subtle. Lava erupts 20 feet into the air from underground with the expenditure of a Willpower point and a successful Manipulation + Koldunism roll (difficulty 9). For every success the player scores, the lava continues to explode from underground and move in rivers in all directions for one turn.

Anything coming in contact with this molten rock suffers three levels of aggravated damage per turn ( soakable only with Fortitude) . Storytellers must decide how long objects remain intact after coming in contact with the lava before they ignite or dissolve. Once this power expires, the lava will cease its eruption and all of the magma will quickly cool, trapping objects remaining within the river stream in a thin sheet of rock.

Way of the Spirit

There resides a single force, an essence, that encompasses all things in nature. The ancient koldun manipulating this way mystically tapped into this essence and, as a result, they gained insight and minor control over their surroundings. Oftentimes, the koldun wielded this way in conjunction with other powers of Koldunic Sorcery . Many also protected themselves by invoking this way before entering their havens, to pre-empt attempts on their unlives. Tonight's koldun invoking the Way of the Spirit procure a similar outcome as their ancient predecessors, creating a bond between themselves and the spirit of the land.

System: The player spends one Willpower point, then rolls her Charisma + Koldunism ( difficulty 4 + the level of the desired effect; see below) to activate the powers of this way. These powers last for one scene per success the player scores. The chart below describes how far away from her person a koldun can "feel" out intruders or hostile spirits according to her power level.

A koldun can invoke other powers of Koldunic Sorcery that she knows in conjunction with the Way of the Spirit, though only at a lesser or equal power level at which she knows the Way of the Spirit. For example, a koldun may invoke Level One through Three powers ofWay ofWater in conjunction with the powers ofWay of the Spirit if she knows the Way of the Spirit at Level Three.

This power also confounds use of the Discipline of Obfuscate.

Level •	"See" everything within a 50-foot radius
Level ••	"See" everything within a 100-foot radius
Level •••	"See" everything within a quarter-mile
Level ••••	"See" everything within a mile
Level •••••	"See" everything within five miles

Way of Sorrow

From Kruchina, a goddess of mourning depicted as a perpetually weeping woman, to Likho Odnoglazoye, the emaciated one-eyed hag who represented privation and suffering, the pantheons of Eastern Europe brim with deities overseeing starvation, misery, misfortune, bitterness and death.

Whether the gods hear their names or the spirits merely attend their mention, a koldun who understands the obscure Way of Sorrow can invoke the most dismal powers of the divine. This way pays no heed to gods of revelry or plenty, only those whose attentions promise tragedy.

Like the Way of Fire, the Way of Sorrow is governed by the koldun's Manipulation, but the difficulty for each of the powers is the victim's permanent Willpower rather than the usual 4 + the level of the power. In addition, a victim may spend a point of Willpower to overcome a particular effect of this way but is still vulnerable to subsequent uses of the Discipline.

A final note: Dealing with forgotten gods requires propriety, especially those who govern such bleak concerns. If invoked incorrectly, the Way of Sorrow turns on the koldun. On a botch, the Fiend suffers the effects of his own power as if she had scored five successes.

• The Frustrations of Nestrecha
Named for the goddess of grief and failure, this power allows the koldun to rob an opponent of his resolve. The koldun's stare saps the target's will to struggle. Although the victim is overcome with a resigned pessimism or feelings of defeat, he can still take action to resist the koldun, including combat, but only in a half -hearted or fearful way. He musters none ofhis usual passion or determination.

System: The koldun's player spends a Willpower point. Roll the koldun's Manipulation + Koldunism (difficulty equal to the victim's Willpower). For one turn per success, her target's player can't spend Willpower points to activate Disciplines or gain automatic successes. In storytelling terms, the victim might also lack strong motivations or convictions for the power's duration ("What difference does it make?" or "I just don't care anymore"). For this power to be effective, the koldun must make eye contact with her victim.

•• The Insults of Krivda
Any Fiend worthy of the name can spit out a telling insult. But with this power, Krivda - a goddess of hatred and bitterness - ensures that the remark offends, enraging the recipient. In the Tzimisce-Tremere conflicts of nights long past, koldun carried Krivda on their tongues, inciting their Usurper opponents to frenzy. They preferred to deal with angry fangs instead of calculated Thaumaturgy. This is a dangerous power to use, but it can unbalance a physically weak opponent who has access to powerful Disciplines or could be used to embarrass a Cainite by causing him to frenzy in public.

System: After her player spends a Willpower point, the koldun insults the target in the most offensive and humiliating way she can conceive. The koldun's player rolls Manipulation + Koldunism (difficulty equal to the victim's Willpower). If the roll is successful, the target flies into an uncontrollable rage and assaults the koldun. If the target is a vampire, he must immediately roll to resist frenzy ( difficulty 5 + the number of successes on the activation roll).

••• The Weeping of Kruchina
The glare of a kolduncan make someone so miserable that they do nothing but cry. This power does more than spill a few tears - it causes hysterical bawling, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Some depressing notion overcomes the victim. Vampires might mourn their lost humanitas or the passing of lovers who died long ago. Sometimes the source is more nebulous koldun believe that it imparts the collected sorrow of their demesnes' sickened soil.

System: The koldun's player spends a Willpower point and rolls the koldun's Manipulation + Koldunism (difficulty equal to the victim's Willpower) . For one turn per success, the target is overwhelmed by intense misery and cries uncontrollably. Actions that require concentration are impossible for the power's duration. Cainites lose a blood point each turn as copious amounts of vitae stream from their eyes.

•••• The Misfortune of Chernogolov
With a declaration that a person is doomedor destined to fail, the koldun summons the atrention of Chernogolov - the silver-mustached god of misfortune - to her victim. Under Chernogolov's unlucky gaze, he is hindered in everything he does. If he fails, he does so spectacularly.

System: The koldun's player spends a Willpower point and rolls the koldun's Manipulation + Koldunism (difficulty equal to the victim's Willpower). For one turn per success, the target automatically loses two successes on every roll he attempts. Botches experienced under the effects of the Misfortune of Chernogolov should be especially disastrous.

••••• The Starvation of Marena
By invoking the wife of Kupala, the koldun summons the cold and starvation that is the domain of Marena. A frosty gale blasts the victim and leaves him emaciated as if he had just survived the coldest of winters. The frostbitten and starving victim clings to (un)life, usually in no condition to contradict the koldun. The cold symbolizes of the passage of time in harsh conditions.

System: The koldun's player spends a Willpower point and rolls her Manipulation + Koldunism (difficulty equal to the target's Willpower). For each success, the victim takes two levels of bashing damage that can be soaked normally. In addition to this damage, vampires lose one blood point for each of the koldun's successes- healthy prey was scarce in the Eastern European winter.

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Rituals

Koldunic Sorcery resembles Thaumaturgy (and is cast in the same manner), though it has no connection to the Hermetic practices of the Tremere. It has its own paths and rituals, which are incompatible with the magic of the Tremere though recent cooperation with House Tytalus has allowed certain Fiends to develop Koldunic equivalents of the Paths of Blood, Spirit and Flames. This power is not considered a clan Discipline, though Tzimisce with an appropriate mentor may learn the power using the experience point costs for an outside-of-clan Discipline. No Fiend would ever instruct a non-Tzimisce in the Discipline.

System: Unless described differently below, these rituals are invoked in a manner similar to Thaumaturgical rituals. Typically, only one success is needed for the ritual to be successful, rolling Intelligence + Koldunism at a difficulty of 3+ the level of the ritual being cast. One bloodpoint per level must be spilled, whether it is the koldun's or someone else, doesn't matter.

Dark Ages

Tzimisce have long been renowned (or feared) as master sorcerers, though their preeminence has been eclipsed by the rise of the Tremere. Most Fiends have forgotten the elder magic of long-ago nights, and few who remember teach it to their childer. Nonetheless, there are a few ancients who still practice the magical Discipline of Koldunic Sorcery.

Koldunism survives into the modern age, but is exceedingly rare. The Fiends of the Oradea League are known to practice the Discipline, as are certain Sabbat elders and their childer.

All Koldunic rituals require an Intelligence + Koldunism roll (difficulty 4 + Ritual level). Botches, especially those involving spirits, should be hideously abused by the storyteller.

Level 1 Rituals

Hospitality
This is a simple Koldunic ritual, but an important one. This ritual, enacted nightly, allows the Tzimisce to “awaken’ the spirits in his haven. These spirits “manifest” themselves in objects, which assume sentience and individualism, often displaying unique personalities in the process. Thus, a Fiend’s gate might speak to the vampire in a dull, grating voice, complaining about the weight of the castle on its keystones; a mirror might slyly praise the vampire, while a knout might cackle with glee and beg to be laid across a victim’s hack. The Tzimisce may command any such house-spirit to silence, and the spirits generally display servility and obsequiousness. However, if ill treated (or if treated politely by an intruder), the spirits may fail to warn the Fiend of intruders in his domain (which is the primary function of the spell).

Reawakening the Dead Water
With the destruction of the Tremere antitribu and as Koldunic Sorcery was rediscovered, new koldun searched for a means to spiritually reconnect themselves to their ancient predecessors. In accords with the fables of “dead water,” many of these new koldun begin their nights by performing this ritual, cast by dripping some of their blood into a lake, river or ocean and then ingesting the liquid. A koldun must drip one point of blood into the water source from which she intends to drink, then ingest an equivalent of one blood point’s worth of in water. This liquid mystically evaporates through the vampire’s body soon after being ingested. After successfully performing this ritual, akoldun regains one point of temporary Willpower. This can only replace spent Willpower points and cannot exceed the koldun’s maximum Willpower pool. Reawakening the Dead Water can be performed only once per night.

Beast That Feeds on Dreams
By feeding a point of vitae to a small animal no larger than a cat, a koldun may imbue the creature with a measure of his own predatory spirit. The animal then goes forth in search of a child. It need not feed in any conventional sense — it need only draw close enough to drink the child’s breath.

System: If and when the animal finds its prey, the koldun regains one point of Willpower and the animal reverts to its normal behavior. This Willpower may not bring a koldun above his usual maximum. If the same child undergoes this ritual three nights in a row, she dies from the spiritual trauma. Storytellers must decide when or even if an animal achieves its mission, rewarding the player with Willpower at the appropriate moment.

Reflections
The koldun draws upon the elements present in a location to learn more information about that area. The caster need simply to take any object from the room, area or location. The object must consist primarily of natural materials, rather than synthetic. Thus, a pencil suffices, but a notebook computer does not. Within the next 24 hours, the koldun may cast this ritual over the item. For a number of turns equal to her successes plus her Willpower, her mind travels to the area from which the object was taken, and she may proceed to examine it in detail, even going so far as to look behind furniture or inside drawers that she did not search before. She observes the area exactly as it was when she took the object. This ritual is particularly useful for searching the haven or offices of an enemy at leisure. Any given object be used only once, after which it becomes useless for the purposes of this ritual.

Enlightenment
All things in nature contain a spirit of some type, which are referred to a a leleks (pronounced LEH-lek; Hungarian for "spirit"). Koldunic Sorcerers must first be able to recognize a nature spirit before they can manipulate them into servitude properly. This ritual is a requisitely cast often, thereby reinforcing the koldun's attunement to the land and nature. Many of the old koldun did not simply trust that their attunement to the land would remain intact. Rather, they dedicated on night out of the week to completely reconnect with the spirits of their land. These leleks are more recognizably "felt" rather than visually perceived. A lelek traveling on a breeze close to the koldun might instill a static sensation in the back of the sorcerer's neck. Healthy trees might seem to have a faint verdant glow about their trunks. Which ever way he believes to perceive these spirits, the koldun awakens to a new sense after casting this ritual.

System: The koldun's player spends one point of blood and makes the roll. Each success he accumulates increases the duration of his attunement to the nature spirit of the four natural elements.
1 Success One Hour
2 Successes One night
3 Successes One week
4 Successes One month
5 Successes One year

Level 2 Rituals

Dedicating the Domain
Though not a powerful magic in itself this ritual helps bind the Koldun to the source of his power, his own land. The Tzimisce takes a handful of the dirt in which he sleeps, then mixes it with his own blood and the blood of three different animals who inhabit the soil of his domain. He then travels round his domain and marks each of the cardinal compass points with a sigil composed of this ichor. The ritual must be completed within an hour, and is limited to an area of approximately 2 miles in diameter.

Bile of the Land
This rite allows the Koldun to protect his servants from the ravages of other Kindred. The Koldun uses vicissitude to remove a fragment of bone from each of his ghouls, (those he wishes to protect), he grinds this up into a powder. He then mixes in some of their blood and dirt from his domain, then places it in an earthenware jar. He then buries the jar in the centre of the domain. As long as the jar remains undisturbed within the earth, and the ghouls are within the domain, those ghouls blood tastes like the foulest bile to kindred. Kindred who imbibe the blood immediately vomit it up, as well as an equal amount of their own blood.

Tangling Thorns
Originally created when the Tzimisce first encountered the Tremere's deflection of wooden doom ritual, this rite allows the Koldun to enchant himself to be protected from stakes. The ritual takes one hour to perform. The Koldun mixes the sap from a hawthorn tree, with deadly nightshade. He then smears the liquid across his chest and back. When next an enemy attempts to stake him the stake turns into a twining mass of hawthorn and sprouts vicious thorns which tear through the skin. The stake is now useless and removing the stake causes three levels of unsoakable normal damage.

Blood of Flame
Developed as a form of spiteful defense against diablerie, this ritual transmutes the blood of Caine into the fiery blood of the earth.

System: If this ritual succeeds, the caster's blood transmutes to a muddy sludge for the rest of the night. All blood costs to evoke healing are doubled, but any attempt to feed from the vampire yields a mouthful of liquid flames akin to magma. Certainly fatal for mortals, each "blood" point of magma consumed inflicts one level of unsoakable aggravated damage on vampires and other supernatural beings.

Invoke the Lesser Sign of Power
By invoking his element, a koldun may command spirits to lend their dominion. Mortals who behold this sign respond in subservient fear.

System: The koldun concentrates for a single turn and his player makes the usual roll. No blood is required for this ritual. If successful, the caster's eyes glow with elemental power appropriate to his highest-rated way. Whether they dance with flames or shine as bottomless azure pools, any moral who beholds the sign recognized the unnatural power of the vampire. The difficulty of all Intimidation and Leadership rolls against mortals are at -2, provided the moral sees the piercing radiant eyes. This effect lasts until dawn.

Rouse the Element
By offering a sacrifice of his own blood and successfully casting this ritual, a koldun calls the attention of nature spirits and strikes a bargain with them. Although the vampire bargains from a position of power, he does so courteously rather than as a tyrant who must be obeyed.

System: If the ritual succeeds, spirits in the area who want the blood may appear before the koldun and offer service. The koldun may accept the offer or propose his own deal; generally, the greater the blood offering, the more serious or even dangerous a task the spirit is willing to undertake. Most spirits will preform only a short, single task, such as relaying a message or frightening a mortal with a display of supernatural might. Missions of espionage, let alone a task that could result in combat, require a considerable number of successes on an appropriate Social roll as well as a veritable banquet of blood. Once the spirit accepts the terms of the pact and drinks the blood, it must fulfill its end of the bargain to the best of its ability before pursuing any other business. Statistics for spirits called with this ritual are left to Storytellers to design, using the rules presented in Dark Ages: Vampire. Storytellers with access to Dark Ages: Mage or Dark Ages: Werewolf may also use spirit rules from those books. Generally, such spirits are weak or relatively insignificant, making them susceptible to flattery.

Service for Souls
In casting this ritual, a koldun summons the attention of nature spirits to his person, enticing them by offering a part of his own essence to them. These spirits are vital in their own right, and they have mystical powers that aren't easily defined; they are free to act as they will. If they do accept the koldun's essence, they are bound to perform the duties as part of a Koldunic Sorcery ritual would require. Otherwise, they may roam free to live their lives.

System: The koldun's player spends a blood point and makes his roll in order to awaken the spirits from their natural setting and attract their attention. Then the caster enacts this ritual, spending at least one more blood point. For every blood point he spends, he may bind one nature spirit of the land into servitude. Although they do occupy space in his body (and thus count toward his maximum blood pool), these blood points remain "inert" within the koldun's body and unavailable to him. He cannot use them to fuel Disciplines, heal wounds et cetera for as long as he intends to keep the nature spirits bound to him. The leleks summoned by the sorcerer may take any number of actions, but they may not typically affect physical objects, other than those they inhabit. Even these are singular. The spirit of a tree can affect only that one tree, as opposed to all trees. Most often, these spirits are used as spies, emissaries or witnesses to some pack between the koldun and a greater spirit. They remain bound to the koldun for as long as their original agreement or until the Fiend chooses relieve the leleks of duty, whichever comes first. At such a time, a lelek will disperse into the night air, absolving the koldun of the promised vitae.

Withering Agony
By pulling the spirit from a sick tree and coaxing it into the body of a mortal or Kindred, the koldun infects his victim with a physically debilitating malady. when infected, the vitim with decrease in weight, caused by the ex-foliation of thick sap-like substance from his pores. Hair will fall out, and skin will degenerate to an ash gray. Bones are more brittle, and breath comes in laborious gasps.
System: The koldun's play spends a point fo blood and makes the appropriate rolls while the character marks his victim with a bloody glyph. A spirit inhabiting a sick tree is then enticed to flee the dying wood and make its new home inside the marked victim. Over the course of a night, the adverse effect of this ailment will take effect, causing the victim to suffer a -2 to all Physical and Social dice pools. The afflicted also suffer one health level of unsoakable bashing damage due to the atrophy the body endures. this damage may be offset through rest of blood expenditure normally thereafter.
Kindred are similarly affected, suffering both the penalties to their Physical and Social dice pools, and the associated damage. They also lose one additional blood point on top of the normal one spent at the beginning of the night.
Withering Agony lasts for one week.
Note: Although mortals and Kindred aren't normally affected by nature spirits, the lelek infecting victims are dying spirits and do not "join" with a host so much as they "invade" their health, similar to a virus.

Level 3 Rituals

Compass Bone
Tzimisce are very possessive, and like to make sure that they do not loose their possessions. This rite is used by the koldun to keep track of their most valuable items. First the koldun removes one of his fingers with vicissitude, this he proceeds to preserve using ritual oils. He then creates a paste made from his own blood and ground up iron pyrites. He dawbs a sigil upon the item he wishes to protect, the bloody mixture absorbs into the item, leaving a faint red mark. He then dips the finger tip in the mixture. From this point on, when the finger is thrown into the air, it will land pointing in the direction of the item.

Cowing the Servant
The Tzimisce enjoy control and fear. This ritual allows the Koldun to manipulate their servants. The Koldun mixes the brain of a sheep, with soil from his domain and his own blood, while chanting in the ancient language of the old country. He then feeds it to his servant (be it ghoul, revenant, Schlazta or Vohzd). This servant becomes more susceptible to mental manipulation by the Koldun, all rolls to do so are at -1 difficulty.

Conjure Lesser Demon
Simply put, this ritual allows the sorcerer to evoke one of the lesser demons that haunt the Slavic lands. These “demons” have no connection to infernal beings; they are most similar to the spirits revered by werewolves. Nor do the demons attempt to make a pact; the relation between sorcerer and demon resembles that between a master and vassal (albeit a highly malicious, intractable vassal). All Slavic demons have names, which must be learned by the sorcerer, and all must be “sworn” to the sorcerer by accepting a point of her blood. A koldun may "retain" a number of demons equal to her Charisma or Intimidation score (whichever is higher). Demons are not “bound” to the sorcerer; she must coax or (more likely) cow them into performing services.

A lesser Slavic demon can appear in virtually any shape; many take the shape of normal animals, though some appear freakish indeed.

Blight the Land
In the old country the Tzimisce were lords of the land, they fiercely subjugated the people whom they ruled over. Many tzimisce punished disobedience with death, but if a koldun wished to show his displeasure to his vassals he could blight the very land. The ritual involves the ritual slaughter of a cow. The animals remains are then buried at the four corners of a patch of land up to 4 miles across, as a gift to the malevolent spirits of the earth. For a year and a day the fields within the boundaries wither and die, animals who graze there sicken and die, the people who live on the land become haggard and grey. In the modern world many kolduns use this power when trying to weaken camarilla held cities.

Invoke the Greater Sign of Power
With a successful casting, the koldun takes on the visage of his most favored element, as determined by his highest-ranked way. Those attuned to earth grow stony skin, cracked and pitted as by wear of centuries. Their footfalls resound heavily and their voices grate with slow implacability. Koldun attuned to air appear to blur along every outline, surrounded by spiraling winds and constant meaningless whispers. Water marks it's master with a wet sheen and footprints of mud. Fire lends a ruddy hue to the skin and a distortion of heat waves rising perpetually from the caster's body. Spirit's mark is most subtle, a vague sense of otherworldly power and the flicker at the edge of peripheral vision as a host of invisible beings thronging about the caster.

System: Regardless of cosmetic effects, the ritual makes all Koldunic Sorcery easier. The elemental attunement makes other tasks more difficult, however, as the caster it too focused on mystical matters to pay full attention to his surroundings. The mechanical effect of this fixation is a reduction of all Koldunic casting difficulties by 2 and the increase of all other rolls by one. This ritual also intimidated morals as a Lesser Sign of Power. The effects of this ritual last until dawn.

Sentinels of the Haven
The koldun calls out to the spirits of his haven, demanding their fealty and proclaiming his right by recitation of koldunic descent through five unbroken generations of teachers. At the end of the ritual, spirits awaken as per the level one ritual Hospitality. Unlike that lesser ritual, the spirits also gain limited physical control of their nature. Doors can open or close, an empty suit of armor may walk about and even fight clumsily, and a chair may scurry to make itself available.

System: The koldun completes the ritual as described. If successful,animated objects have whatever statistics the storyteller deems appropriate. Only one object may move at a time, limiting the ritual's defensive utility. It is a superb weapon of terror, however, especially for repelling the superstitious.

Raze the Lelek

A koldun casting this ritual may destroy inanimate objects by severing their spirits from their material shells. by severing an object's spirit, objects like stone pillars turn to chalk and dust, cell phones malfunction and break into a small pile of wire and plastic, and clothing frays to become tatters of cotton and leather.

System: By expending the appropriate number of blood points, a koldun may rend a spirit from its inanimate housing, permanently. He may do so to any object within his line of sight.
The number of success the player achieves determines the degree of the koldun's success and the size of the object he may destroy.

1 Success A fountain pen
2 Successes A cell phone
3 Successes A television
4 Successes A sofa
5 Successes A small car

Rumors of elder koldun using this power to great effect persists, especially among young Tzimisce, practically becoming legends in the telling. One such legend involves a Friend reducing a rival's very haven to brittle shale, while another suggests that jealous Tzimisce transformed a scorned lover into a pillar of salt before she could turn against him. None of these tales have been substantiated, however.

Level 4 Rituals

Bewildering Trail
The Koldun of the old country often live in solitude, leaving their havens rarely and doing their best to discourage visitors. Those who wish to conceal their havens often use this ritual. Once they have dedicated an area as a domain using the level 2 ritual, they proceed to invoke a number of capricious spirits, these spirits they bind to the land of the area using a portion of their own blood. The spirits will now discourage visitors by warping their perceptions. Anybody not present in the domain when the ritual was first invoked will find it hard to enter it, their mind becomes clouded, they stumble and trip, they enter the area only to soon find themselves back at the border. Characters wanting to find their way in the domain must make a wits+enigmas roll (difficulty 9).

Ties That Bind Level Four
Before an ancient koldun could learn a new way, he performed this ritual and removed one of his ribs (through Vicissitude or other means). A mystical symbol representing the particular way the koldun intended to learn was inscribed onto the bone, then implanted back into the body. Koldun cast this ritual to symbolically lend part of themselves to the essence of the land. In return, they were granted the ability to practice the spiritual magic that is Koldunic Sorcery. In the present night, Sabbat koldun revised this ritual to serve a more practical purpose with less torturous requirements. Performed as often as weekly, this ritual reconnects the koldun with the eldritch magic of the Old World.

System: After spilling four points of blood onto a patch of dirt then ingesting this soil, a koldun may lower the difficulty of any Koldunic Sorcery rolls he makes over the next three nights by one. Multiple uses of Ties That Bind have no effect — the koldun gains no greater benefit if he uses this ritual more than once in three nights.

Merging of Souls
Summoning a minor spirit as with the ritual Conjure Lesser Demons, a koldun may trick the being into following its blood offering into the very gullet of a ghoul. Once inside, the spirit remains trapped until the death of its fleshly prison.

System: This rituals requires an hour of continuous chant, in which the koldun forces a mortal to consume a mixture of his blood and soil that the Tzimisce has rested in. If Successful, , the spirit materialized inside the host and inflicts five dice of lethal damage on the ghoul from its struggle to escape. If the ghoul survives, the spirit warps the flesh as grotesquely as Vicissitude. The ghoul drops to Appearance 0 and gains three dots each of Strength and Stamina. Unfortunately, the spirit's hate poisons the ghouls already tainted blood, depleting one point of vitae each day at sunrise. If the ghoul ever depletes its blood pool, it perishes and the spirit escapes.

Pool of Secrets
Wise koldun keep regular watch on their servants and allies, ever wary of treachery and deception. This ritual aids in such endeavors, providing a mystical means of spying unseen.

System: The koldun skims his hand over a pool of brackish water without touching the surface. If the ritual succeeds, ripples shake and clear the water, unveiling a present image centered on a targeted person or place. The koldun must have spoken with the target person or visited the target place previously. If targeting a location, the view may not chance once the vision unfolds. The maximum duration that can be spent scrying a specific target is a number of hours equal to the successes rolled. If a koldun releases the vision, he may return to it during the duration with another pass of the hand.

Refuge of the Thirsty Grave
Observation of Grangrel led to the creation of this useful ritual, permitting its own form of earth melding as an escape from the sun's hateful rays.

System: Upon successfully casting this ritual, the koldun sinks into the soil as per the Protean power Earth Meld. This power's use has no upward duration, however instead the earth drinks one point of the Cainite's blood each day until the play makes a successful Strength + Survival roll (difficulty 6) to awaken and dig free in a shower of dirt. The koldun may attempt to escape any time, though nor more than once per hour.

Earth's Embrace
Of use only to Tzimisce, this ritual allows the koldun to call upon the spirits of the earth to empower the soil around him. The Tzimisce may temporarily substitute this soil for the "native" earth he must normally sleep with. The koldun sheds two blood points into the soil in question no more than an hour before dawn, and spends a temporary willpower point. The soil is then capable of sustaining him fro one day, as though it came from his homeland. This ritual may be performed no more than once per week. It is suggested that the storyteller make the roll, rather than the player, as the koldun has no way of knowing if the magic was successful until he attempts to have a good day's sleep. If the roll indicates a botch, all dice pools for the next day suffer an additional loss of one die, on top of the standard penalty for sleeping away from one's favored soil.

Level 5 Rituals

The Inmost Tug Level
Unlike most Koldunic rituals, this requires no blood sacrifice or other dross; it can be activated with a single word and a gesture. This ritual allows a voivode, to manipulate the emotions of a being bound in the Blood Oath. For example, the love instilled by a Blood Oath could be debased to lust, or refined to fraternal devotion. This ritual can even be used to warp a Blood Oath into fear, hate or other negative emotions.

Conjure Greater Demon
This ritual is similar to Conjure Lesser Demon, except a mighty entity of the Old Country appears. Such a being is not generally subject to intimidation; it must be coaxed to serve, and has no qualms about destroying the sorcerer should the offer not be to its liking. For this reason, koldun rarely use this ritual.

Like lesser demons, greater demons have individual names and can appear in any shape.

Nemesis of the Living Earth
Beginning a long malediction lasting from midnight to sunrise, a koldun may name a target as an enemy of nature. At the conclusion of the ritual, the player rolls and the vampire drips a single point of vitae onto the bare ground. If successful, all elements turn against the victim. Sparks leap from bending flames to scorch him, the earth opens pits and muddy sinkholes in his path, branches catch and entwine him, water splashes to drown him, and chill winds blow unceasingly upon him. such an unfortunate soul will not last long, as one can find no sanctuary from the world itself. Only death or forgiveness of the koldun may lift the curse.

System: Any game effects of the curse rest with the cruelty of storyteller imagination. Though such misfortune always begins subtly enough, the manifestations soon grow into freakish and impossible conjunctions of coincidence.

Gaze of the Gorgon
The koldun is able to transform a single victim into unliving stone. The subject must be present for the entire hour-long ritual, in which the caster chants constantly, spends two blood points, and sheds a third. This last blood point must be consumed by (or force fed to) the subject. If the subject is a Kindred, she may resist with a Willpower roll, difficulty 8; her success are subtracted from the koldun's own. The transformation lasts for one year per success with Kindred; the effect on mortals is permanent. While stone, victims cannot sense their environment in any way. Although they do not expend any blood while petrified, Kindred often come out of the ritual in frenzy when it finally wears off (Self-Control difficulty 9 to avoid). Some Tzimisce koldun are fond of sculpting their subject into more "pleasing" forms with Vicissitude before transforming them into more durable material.

Elemental Savior
During the centuries-old conflict with the Warlocks, some Tzimisce koldun desperately needed their leleks to effectively aid in the fight, and they eventually created this ritual to make that possible. Once the ritual is cast, a nature spirit will become physical, in for form of an animated element in nature. The most common form that these spirits took was that of man-sized mud golems. When in this form, the lelek can obey only basic, one-sentence commands. It was not long after the koldun created this ritual that the Warlocks came up with the own form of elemental manipulation, which mroe than evened the odds in this blood feud.
Years later, in the modern nights, when this ritual was rediscovered and cast, the lelek was surrounded by artificial, man-made creations and took the form of a large concrete golem, made of of concrete and asphalt.

System: A spirit already in the employ of the koldun (through some other ritual) will readily take to an elemental form after the caster bleeds four points of vitae onto the object he desires to have animated and the player makes a successful roll. Once the spirit animates an element, it will respond only to one-sentence instructions from the koldun.
A lelek can remain physical for a single night before it is forced out of its elemental state and return to the spirit world.

Koldunic Elemental Traits
No matter what the elemental form a nature spirit takes, from a large oak tree to age-old stone, to rolling river water, its potential always remains the same
Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 5
Willpower: 2, Health levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -3, -3, -5, Banished
Attacks: Melee strike for 4 (does not account for the Potence)
Disciplines: Fortitude 2, Potence 2
Abilities: Brawl 2