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**LostLight** · 09-19-2022, 04:58 PM

Argh, fine, take my money

**Yossarian** · 09-19-2022, 06:33 PM

Originally posted by LostLight View Post

Argh, fine, take my money

Happy to take it!

Alright, now that I've had time to paste that link across the web, let's have our first excerpt.

The original Canda Bhanu (sic) were...well, I couldn't really tell you. They've certainly got an interesting enough hook, what with being Roman usurpers of a lost Mekhet bloodline, but the write-up immediately nullifies that plot hook by stating that not a single vampire, including members of the bloodline, know about that. Other than that, they're Ventrue with Auspex, and that's about it. I don't mean to be negative, but I just didn't get that much out of their original presentation, and I'd be hard-pressed to tell you what their whole deal is beyond being better than everyone else. Ancient Bloodlines is an interesting beast; sometimes, it's pretty light with the lore, because much of it can be found in Ancient Mysteries, but other times, it lays a lot of backstory on you at the expense of a simple "here's what this bloodline actually does" explanation, and the Canda Bhanu (sic) are probably the most guilty of this.

This is all to say that I didn't feel particularly bound by what came before in updating the Chandabhanu (or even the spelling of their name). I wanted to keep that juicy usurper plot hook, but I also wanted it to be much more immediate and relevant to modern chronicles. I also wanted to get away from tying them so closely to the Indian caste system, making them a bit more universal while still being based in South Asia. I also wanted to connect them to Rome a little more explicitly, along with a certain clan that shall not be named.

The Chandabhanu are one of the lighter bloodlines mechanically, partly because their bane is sort of a mixed blessing; it can be kinda, sorta useful, or a huge hindrance depending on the circumstance...

I'll let the write-up speak for itself here in terms of what their new niche is, but first I wanted to briefly talk about the format of this book. You'll notice that our usual bloodline template (more or less the same one as Night Horrors: Spilled Blood) is a bit different this time. We've dropped the rumors and the sample character for "In the Dark Eras" and "Who We Are Tonight". With the former, I wanted an organic way of including Dark Eras plot hooks, since Ancient Bloodlines/Mysteries were the original historical omnibus books for CofD. Rumors are really just fancy plot hooks anyway, so it was easy enough to just switch them out for a different, fancier type of plot hook. With the sample character, I've long been a bit skeptical of that section's utility. It's not the worst thing in the world to have, but I find they kind of range between cool but too specific or broadly applicable but a bit bland. Again, I don't dislike sample characters, and I've written plenty myself, but I wanted to try something this time. Fortunately, Mummy: The Curse Second Edition had a really cool section of elevator pitch characters for its Decrees, so I jacked that.

Anyway, I'll talk more about the specifics of the book at a later date, but for now, here are the Chandabhanu. Tomorrow, would you all like another Ancient Bloodlines lineage, or would you like one of the fancy new lost clan bloodlines? There are only five of those, so I don't want to go through them all at once, but it might be fun to look at one of them early.

Chandabanu: The Ones Who Swear on Your Life

"Trust me."

If all Kindred are liars, then the Chandabhanu are first among equals — but they might also be the only ones anybody trusts.

The Purifiers are a bloodline of philosophers, mediators, and judges, and since time immemorial, they’ve interpreted and enforced the customs of the All Night Society in South Asia. A small lineage by choice, Ventrue fight tooth and claw to join their hallowed order, both for the prestige and the commensurate rise in status. Wherever caste and class hold sway, these Magistrates worm their way to the top, building paper empires on top of the Kindred who seek their wisdom and fidelity. A Chandabhanu forswears her oaths at her own peril; the gods themselves will strike her with terrible fury if she breaks her word. For centuries, they’ve leveraged this odd burden to serve as impartial observers, meting out Solomon-like wisdom as gurus, lamas, shifus, and ascetics who can be relied upon to fairly end disputes — though some are more akin to militiamen, acting as both law and order among less civilized Kindred.

All told, the Chandabhanu occupy a high position in the Danse Macabre, one they’ve earned over a long history of dedicated service.

If only it were true.

There was a group of vampires called the Chandabhanu who performed this role, but the modern Purifiers are their destroyers, not their successors. In truth, the Kindred who would steal this name were Romans of the mid-3rd century, refugees of the Camarilla who fled to the subcontinent and worked as mercenaries for princes, warlords, and other powers. Eventually, they managed to ingratiate themselves into the court of a dead raja, making a bloody pact to destroy his enemies among the real Chandabhanu. For their loyalty, the prince granted the Romans this exterminated bloodline’s lands, duties, and name. None remember this crime but the usurpers themselves; each Magistrate must be informed of this awful secret upon induction, or else the Blood will not accept her. This lie unifies the Purifiers, granting them a bizarre spiritual inner strength and a conspiracy each and every one of them must guard unto Final Death.

Tonight, the Chandabhanu carry on as they always have, true(ish) brahmins of the All Night Society. In India, they’re honored ambassadors between the covenants. In Pakistan, they serve as qazis to their Kindred, helping navigate the complex intersections between holy law and the Traditions. In Britain, they’re ministers to vampires of breeding — those who can afford them, at any rate. And in North American cities like Toronto, where more and more members of the Desi diaspora gather, they cast away their castes and work as civil servants, police officers, and organizers, hiding their malign intentions among the working classes so they might walk more modern avenues to power.

Yet, for all the dignity and cachet, the Purifiers still watch their backs. They’d be fools not to, after all they’ve done and hope to do. A Chandabhanu must remember to keep all her accounts in order, or else someone might just notice the books don’t balance.

Why you want to be us

No one trusts a Lord, but they sure do trust us. That’s real power, and it doesn’t matter if it’s patently unearned. You can’t buy that kind of PR, and as far as anyone knows, the gods themselves have stamped a seal of approval on our blood. Why do you want to be us? Why wouldn’t you?

Why you should fear us

The Devil plays by the rules, but he’s the one who wrote them. Think you can get one over on Old Scratch? We invite you to try. Take care with every phrase; dot every i and cross every t. If not, don’t be surprised if the fine print bites back — literally.

Why we should fear ourselves

We’re the ultimate pretenders, eternally drenched in the flop sweat of a conman who knows the scam won’t hold much longer. Maybe it’s only a matter of time before they see what we are, and if that ever happens, our crimes will be answered sevenfold. But know this: If we find out who leaks, they’d better hope the others get them first.

Parent Clan: Ventrue

Nicknames: Purifiers, Magistrates, Satsangis (mockingly)

Bloodline Bane (The Upright Curse): The Purifiers are bound to their promises. If a Chandabhanu assents to a nontrivial agreement, she is obligated to fulfill it unless she’s released from the obligation. If the vampire goes against her word or fails to carry it out, the Storyteller [REDACTED]. This bane does not apply to mind control, and a Purifier can’t agree to anything she believes to be impossible. In addition, a Chandabhanu’s knowledge of her bloodline’s crime can never be erased or repressed.

Disciplines: Auspex, Dominate, Resilience, Vigor

In the Dark Eras (Excerpt)

One Thousand and One Nightmares — 832 CE (DE2, p. 124): The relatively young bloodline sends emissaries to the vampire courts of the Abbasid Caliphate, hoping to stretch their influence all along the Silk Road, and perhaps even back to Mother Rome. It does not go well. While they try to sell the ruling Kindred on all the benefits of their services, they find themselves constantly stymied by members of the peculiar Dukhan clan, whose elders rail against any dealings with these foreign divs. The Succubi deride the Satsangis as traitorous dogs and mock them for their resemblance to folkloric wish-peddlers, creatures Europeans will one day call genies. Most of these emissaries give up or flee, but some sire childer before they go, instructing them to hide their nature and build their powerbases in the dark, waiting for a time when the Dukhan’s grip loosens over the All Night Society.

**TrueMrMultiverse** · 09-19-2022, 07:20 PM

The first bloodline of the book is a good starter, can't wait to see what else is in there.

**Tessie** · 09-19-2022, 07:38 PM

I haven't read the original bloodline, but from what you've described, it certainly looks like an upgrade.
Their Bane is quite intense, but the right kind of player would love such a restriction. Personally I would've given a version of the I Guarantee It! devotion for free as a Bloodline Gift to balance the Bane, but that's easily houseruled. As for the other devotions, I especially like An Honest Man and the Impelled Condition. Makes me want to adapt it as a Contract, Gift Facet or Fate spell.

**Yossarian** · 09-19-2022, 09:12 PM

Originally posted by Tessie View Post

I haven't read the original bloodline, but from what you've described, it certainly looks like an upgrade.
Their Bane is quite intense, but the right kind of player would love such a restriction. Personally I would've given a version of the I Guarantee It! devotion for free as a Bloodline Gift to balance the Bane, but that's easily houseruled. As for the other devotions, I especially like An Honest Man and the Impelled Condition. Makes me want to adapt it as a Contract, Gift Facet or Fate spell.

I would genuinely be surprised if anyone had ever played a Canda Bhanu (sic) in the history of Requiem. I'm overselling the flatness a tad, but I'll always take the wacky/half-baked bloodlines over the bland ones. Blandness is a far greater sin.

You know, that power may in fact have started as a gift, if memory serves. I think I ultimately decided it was a little more thematic if they had to buy into their assumed reputation, so to speak, but I don't think it would break anything to make it inherent.

And yeah, definitely not a beginner bloodline, but there absolutely is a certain kind of player who will want to dive right into the madness.* Plus, half the fun is working out sneaky loopholes...

*It's me. I'm that player.

**SomethingFishy** · 09-20-2022, 01:51 AM

Well, I think it would be cool to show off one of the bloodlines I did art for... 👀

Really excited to dig into this monster of a book more; no guesses which bloodline I'm starting with!

**Minty** · 09-20-2022, 12:07 PM

The Amara Havana merit Aura of Sanctity has 1 and 2 dot versions, but the text says "At three dots, she gains the 8-again quality on this roll." Should it be a 1 and 3 dot merit or should the text say "at two dots"?

**Yossarian** · 09-20-2022, 03:33 PM

Originally posted by Minty View Post

The Amara Havana merit Aura of Sanctity has 1 and 2 dot versions, but the text says "At three dots, she gains the 8-again quality on this roll." Should it be a 1 and 3 dot merit or should the text say "at two dots"?

It should just be "at two dots". That was me forgetting to update the text when I changed the dot number.

Alright, let's talk about a bloodline. I actually got a couple of different responses on whether to do an old or a new, but since they were requested in a different thread, let's talk about the Brothers of Ypres. I'll do a new bloodline tomorrow; there are only five, so I don't want to burn through them too fast.

So, apart from the Geheimen, the Trenchers are the only other bloodline in the book with a unique Discipline — the Maiyarap get a Coil-like thing, but it's not baked into their template. As I've stated many times before, you have to give me a reeeeeeally good reason not to go with the basic powers; I find it's much simpler to represent a lot of the old material with the core Disciplines, because they're A) the best versions of the Disciplines in any version of Vampire, and B) they just cover so much thematic space that it's hard to do anything they don't handle already.

That said, Asphyx was pretty much always going to be a Discipline. There are plenty of good, non-Discipline ways you could do it, but them having a poison gas Discipline was such an interesting/horrifying thematic element, and we wanted to retain that. However, it needed to retain that "scary at the first dot" principal Rose Bailey has mentioned elsewhere, and each dot needed to build on the last in some way.

The version the writer gave me didn't change much from first draft to final, though I did fiddle around with the feeding aspect of it (see below). However, the big thing we went back and forth on was how to represent their old "literally turn into mustard gas" fifth-dot power, which is very, very similar to Primeval Miasma. We considered also giving them Protean, but I didn't want to have another bloodline with three proprietary powers, and I didn't want them to lose Auspex, as I prefer to avoid removing the core Discipline. I think one could do Asphyx as a bunch of Protean Devotions, too, but again, we felt that a true Discipline really was the way to go. So, we kind of found a middle ground: a Merit. It's probably not common that you're going to get a Trencher with Protean 5/Asphyx 5, but we thought we should at least have a nod to that effect, and you never know what might turn up in a chronicle. I ended up liking the new fifth-dot a lot more, anyway: I'm a big fan of area-of-effect powers like Oubliette and Lord of the Land.

The other big change was their bane. I tend not to like bloodline banes being obviated by what the bloodline is good at (in this case, poisoners who need to drink poison blood), and I think the author did a really amazing job of amping up the horror and thematics of their bane.

On a slightly different topic, a very late addition to the write-up was the Narodnaia Volia Shadow Cult. Each era in Ancient Bloodlines has an additional "thing" to go with the two bloodlines, and while we didn't cover all of those, we tried to get as many in as were feasible. I was originally going to write an appendix containing some of these things, but I ultimately abandoned that plan for a few thematic/admin reasons. However, I thought Narodnaia Volia was a really cool twist on the usual Shadow Cult themes, and since they were in the WWI section of AB anyway, it wasn't hard to slot them in with the Trenchers.

So, here are the Brothers of Ypres. Hold your breath...

Brothers of Ypres: The Ones Who Taint You

"Take a deep breath — makes it quicker for both of us."

Out of the trenches of the Great War come marching dead men spreading poison. The shells that left Ypres, Loos, and other battlefields blighted wastelands also created monsters. Every age brings new wonders and horrors, and the Brothers of Ypres are just another example of how the Curse keeps up with the times.

Pvt. Owen Thomas Jones was only 19 when he died during a gas attack at the Second Battle of Ypres. After weeks of soaking in the tainted air, his body finally succumbed to the chlorine. But this wasn’t the end, for a Shadow who’d made the trenches his hunting grounds dragged Jones into the Requiem. From the moment he came back, Jones’ body was primed to undergo a horrific change. All that was needed was a thickening of the Blood. After he rid himself of his sire with the convenient help of German artillery, Jones began spreading his foul line, and before the war was even over, he had already gathered a small squad of childer who had inherited his toxic Vitae.

Since then, Jones’ recruits have spread across the world. They’re most often found in areas affected by extensive pollution, toxic spills, nuclear disasters, or the just most inhuman kind of warfare, like the one that spawned them: They’ve waged drug wars for CIA-backed tyrants and fought for the cause of freedom with poison-tipped machetes in the jungles of Southeast Asia. These places allow them to blend in while giving them easy access to the special treats their Beasts crave. Worryingly, many Trenchers aren’t above helping things along to make an area more hospitable. Did that cache of nerve gas fall into terrorist hands, or did a Brother of Ypres enrich her personal collection? Is that reactor malfunction the result of human error… or a Trencher saboteur?

Fortunately for the world, most of Jones’ childer are habitual nomads. Brothers of Ypres can be found just about anywhere, often earning their keep by offering special services to Licks willing to pay the price for their singular skills. What puts their bloodline in such demand is the ability to turn their Vitae into something akin to the poisons that killed their founder. Unlike regular toxins, which do little harm to Kindred bodies, Asphyx ravages even the dead. This makes Trenchers exceptional assassins and mercenaries, especially when combined with their Shadow talents. Unless the local Cacophony spreads word of a Trencher’s arrival and unusual abilities, most Kindred in the domain won’t believe their ears when they hear a local’s been poisoned to Final Death. By the time they accept the truth, the client has usually already spread all of the victim’s juicy dirt, which the Trenchers also conveniently dug up. “Good riddance,” the domain says with a collective shrug, and nobody’s sure whether they mean the victim or the Brothers.

Besides being toxic killers, Trenchers are still Shadows, and oh so many dark and noxious secrets hide throughout the desolate locales a murderer for hire might stumble upon, and those Brothers of Ypres who remain in one place for long enough often find some arcane secrets at the heart of a local blight. Some of these things may even be weaponized when their skills are called upon or the hammer comes done; once the special contamination they leave behind becomes known, they often have to beat a hasty retreat. Hordes of pitiful but dangerous revenants often rise where Trenchers overstay their welcome, and Kindred in charge rarely take long to put two and two together. “Cleansings” usually follow, but by then, the Trencher’s already gone to ground like arsenic in earth — ready to fight another night.

Why you want to be us

We’re not flashy, but we are effective. We can take out our targets with a vector they’ll never expect, and we command a high price for our special talents. More than that, we open up a world of unique flavors that all the other poor sods will never have a chance to taste.

Why you should fear us

The cough, the itch, the teary eyes, the weak bowels — that’s how we fuck you. Or maybe it just makes you tastier. Folks these nights think poisoning is something that happens to other people, and they forget how close so many unseen, deadly agents really are. And the ones who forget most of all? The dead. Time to remember.

Why we should fear ourselves

It’s a solitary existence, being troopers of misery and ruin. It’s easier for us than most of the Damned to hurt those few we let get close, and not even our Kindred will deal with us more than necessary. Who can blame them with toxic friends like us? Nobody wants to be around a walking war crime.

Parent Clan: Mekhet

Nicknames: Trenchers, Joneses

Bloodline Bane (The Curse of the Old Lie): The Brothers of Ypres are more likely to leave behind revenants when they feed carelessly. Worse, those revenants are unlike others of their kind, called “Phosgene Angels” (p. 34) among the Joneses. When a Trencher would cause a revenant to rise or kills a mortal with Asphyx, roll Humanity; do not apply the usual +2 modifier. Instead, apply half the Vitae the vampire took from the victim as a penalty (rounding down). If the roll fails, the corpse rises as a Phosgene Angel as per the rules for revenants. When a Trencher ghoul dies, roll their regnant’s Blood Potency + 2. If successful, the ghoul rises as a Phosgene Angel after seven nights minus successes rolled.

Disciplines: Asphyx, Auspex, Celerity, Obfuscate

In the Dark Eras (Excerpt)

Requiem for Regina — 1593 CE (DE, p. 254): Tales among the Kindred of the British Isles tell of dead men who can bring death to any being with the merest touch. Those who make enemies among their own kind, or (especially) who break faith with the Weihan Cynn, succumb in agony to inescapable death curses. Some believe these creatures serve Queen Ieldra as royal poisoners, while others believe they’re a far more primordial phenomenon, the fulfillment of favors owed to other, stranger creatures of the night. Indeed, their activities seem to extend even to the continent, where the Woods-Witches have no authority at all. Are these vampires kin to Jones’ brood? And where are they hiding when the trenches are dug up?

Asphyx

A Trencher’s Beast is capable of turning its corrupting nature outward in a physical manifestation of various synthesized poisons. These toxins are often reminiscent of those used in the Great War, seemingly passed on through Pvt. Jones’ own Vitae, and those recent victims of the vampire had been afflicted with.

The base Toxicity of Asphyx poisons is equal to the vampire’s Discipline dots, or less if she desires. A Trencher can increase the Toxicity by a step by spending two additional Vitae when she invokes an effect. The length of an Asphyx poisoning depends on the level of the Discipline that was used to inflict it.

Asphyx poisoning can be treated by mundane medicine, but the symptoms will baffle any treating physician, who might recognize a wild mishmash of toxins at work. Any rolls to treat Asphyx poisoning are penalized by the vampire’s Asphyx dots in addition to any other penalties. However, while Asphyx is supernatural, only mundane protective gear is required.

Unlike normal poisons, Asphyx can affect corporeal dead beings (including Kindred), but they reduce the Toxicity by Supernatural Tolerance, to a minimum of one. The same is true of supernatural beings who already have an inherent resistance to poison (like werewolves). Other living supernatural beings suffer Asphyx like mortals, but may use powers that reduce Toxicity or engage in a Clash of Wills with the appropriate supernatural defenses. Resilience can prevent damage from Asphyx as if it were damage from a bane (Vampire, p. 141). Older Trenchers even claim they can poison the Birds of Dis.

Characters with Asphyx are immune to its poisons, even from other Brothers of Ypres.

The Cough •

It always starts with a cough. The Trencher either pushes the poison in her Vitae out through her skin or exhales it as a short burst of gas. Either way, the slightest contact inflicts Asphyx on the victim. This first stage of Asphyx poisoning is debilitating and painful — but not yet deadly.

Cost: None

Requirement: The vampire must successfully expel a quickly dissipating poisonous vapor from her mouth at short range. In combat, this requires a Dexterity + Athletics – Defense roll (Vampire, p. 177), or she can inflict this poison in a grapple as part of the Damage move.

Dice Pool: None

Action: Instant

The victim resists with Stamina + Resolve – Toxicity. On a failure, he is overwhelmed by coughing fits, tearing eyes, itching skin, and nausea. He suffers the
vampire’s Asphyx dots as a penalty to all actions for subsequent turns equal to the vampire’s Blood Potency. On a dramatic failure, he also suffers (Asphyx) bashing damage as he coughs up blood and his skin blisters.

When feeding from a victim currently suffering the Cough, the vampire gains an extra point of Vitae for every two points of lethal damage inflicted.

The Burn ••

[REDACTED]

The Taint •••

[REDACTED]

Breath of Death ••••

[REDACTED]

Echo of Ypres •••••

[REDACTED]

**LostLight** · 09-20-2022, 07:46 PM

I must say that when I was considering Asphyx in 2e, I felt it may be appropriate to be a form of Devotions for Cachexy, considering that the Morbus and the Trenchers have some similarity and both poison and disease share a lot of thematic space, especially as Cachexy is already a Discipline in 2e. Any special reason why you didn't go with that direction?

Also, I loved the poisonous Revenant variant. Really has the "living Discipline" feeling I like and a cool and fitting concept overall.

**TrueMrMultiverse** · 09-20-2022, 07:49 PM

Their Bane of creating a unique type of Revenant and their unique poisonous Discipline makes them very cool . Their ties to the Great War remind me of Promethean's Faceless which is neat.

**Yossarian** · 09-20-2022, 08:05 PM

Originally posted by LostLight View Post

I must say that when I was considering Asphyx in 2e, I felt it may be appropriate to be a form of Devotions for Cachexy, considering that the Morbus and the Trenchers have some similarity and both poison and disease share a lot of thematic space, especially as Cachexy is already a Discipline in 2e. Any special reason why you didn't go with that direction?

Also, I loved the poisonous Revenant variant. Really has the "living Discipline" feeling I like and a cool and fitting concept overall.

It did cross my mind when I was planning things out, but ultimately, I don't like to reference books that aren't the Requiem or CofD corebooks, and it felt a bit unfair to say people needed to have the Dark Eras Companion just to use this one bloodline. Indeed, one of my directions to the author for Asphyx 2E was to have it be a lot less like Cachexy, as they do share some thematic ground, and the original Asphyx is quite similar in some of its mechanics. I think it stands pretty well on its own; I totally can see a disease/poison thematic convergence, but I think poison stands enough on its own. That said, Asphyx did affect how we updated Merges Sorcery (now Merges Admixture...).

**Yossarian** · 09-20-2022, 08:06 PM

Incidentally, saibot was behind this version of the Brothers, so all credit goes to him.

**Aurumae** · 09-20-2022, 08:42 PM

I loved the previous bloodlines books from NMD so I'm eager to see what's in store here

I do want to shout out the Index on page 124 - 128. I've wanted something like this for second edition ever since I saw the Index in Bloodlines: The Chosen for first edition, thanks for putting this together!

I also spotted the ad on page 129 - very exciting stuff!

**Yossarian** · 09-20-2022, 10:07 PM

Originally posted by Aurumae View Post

I loved the previous bloodlines books from NMD so I'm eager to see what's in store here

I do want to shout out the Index on page 124 - 128. I've wanted something like this for second edition ever since I saw the Index in Bloodlines: The Chosen for first edition, thanks for putting this together!

I always found that index very, very useful, and I've had a few people ask for something similar, so it was a natural choice. And I'll try to update it for future releases!

Originally posted by Aurumae View Post

I also spotted the ad on page 129 - very exciting stuff!

Announcement

Now Available on STV: Bloodlines: The Ageless

Now Available on STV: Bloodlines: The Ageless

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