Sanguinus

Sanguinus is the unwholesome Discipline granted to the Blood Brothers by the Tzimisce who created them. A curious relative of Vicissitude, Sanguinus allows vampires who practice it to combine parts of their bodies, loan them out to others and coordinate their minds and appendages. Even low levels of it are unsettling (at best) to watch. Use of the higher levels is disgusting, indeed, as flesh parts and exposed organs, atrophied by the Blood Brothers' state of undeath, merge and pulse. Mortals observing the spectacle of this Discipline's more obvious powers must make Courage rolls (difficulty 4), spend a point of Willpower or flee the area in nausea.

* Brother's Blood

The Blood Brothers share a mystical bond established at their creation. The blood of one courses through the undead veins of all members of a certain circle. By using his own blood, a Brother may heal the wounds of another in his circle. In this manner, Blood Brothers can heal great amounts of damage without exceeding their generational blood-expenditure limits, and they may even have one of their number withdrawn from combat so that he may heal others without concentration.

System: The player spends a blood point, which may be used to heal any member of the circle, regardless of distance from the character. The Blood Brother may also "bank" blood, spending five points to heal another's aggravated wound over the course of several turns. This power takes place automatically; no roll is necessary.

** Octopod

This grotesque power allows the Blood Brothers to share limbs and appendages. The organs so "borrowed" travel mystically over a distance, and some vampires have told stories of fighting single members of Blood Brother circles who grew extra arms to carry weapons or extra legs to brace themselves from falling. The most unsettling aspect of this power is not the additional limbs acquired by the recipient, however; rather, the quadriplegic, eyeless or mouth less Blood Brothers littering the battlefield when this power is invoked is a far more grisly sight.

System: The "donor" player spends a blood point for each limb or organ he wishes to loan to the other circle member. (This may only be done among circle members, but only the donor needs to have this level of mastery of 'Sanguinus.) The loaned organs appear at the end of that turn, in whatever location the recipient wishes - eyes on the back of heads or on the ends of hands have been seen, as have entire heads located between a Blood Brother's legs. Use of this power does not impart any extra attacks inherently, but it may allow for additional sensory input, more blood to be consumed in a single turn or extra hands to hold weapons or pin down foes. Only external organs may be loaned in this manner - hearts, stomachs and brains cannot.


*** Gestalt

The Blood Brothers may activate the unique ties of blood that bind them, establishing a "hive mind" of sorts. This expanded consciousness allows them to perform efficient and powerful attacks, avoid surprise attacks and even communicate with each other telepathically.

System: This power confers several benefits on the Blood Brothers. For this power to work, however, every Blood Brother in the circle must spend a blood point. If even one member cannot or refuses to spend a blood point, this power fails. Once a Blood Brother has met the Final Death, he is no longer a part of the circle, so the power continues to function among the still-undead members of the group. Gestalt lasts for once scene. While this power is active:

Dominate, Presence, etc. take effect against the highest Willpower score in the circle. For example, if a vampire attempts to Dominate a Blood Brother under the influence of Gestalt, she must roll against the highest Willpower score any of the vampires in the circle possesses, even if her subject has the lowest Willpower score in the circle. Additionally, a Blood Brother affected in this manner drops out of the Gestalt, though the power remains active for others. The Tremere supposedly created this mental "fuse" to prevent the entire circle from being Dominated by a vampire looking into the eyes of one Blood Brother.

Perception difficulties for all Blood Brothers in the circle decrease by three, as they share the sensory input of other vampires in the circle.

By taking no action other than concentrating, a Blood Brother may "loan" an Ability to another brother. For example, a wounded vampire with Melee 4 may step out of combat and loan a circle-mate with Melee 2 his mastery of that Skill. The "borrowing" vampire makes Ability checks against the loaned Trait as if it were his own.

Blood Brothers in the Gestalt share open, two-way telepathic communication with other members of the circle. This is not a chance to read the minds of other Blood Brothers, but simple, silent communication.

Note that not all Blood Brothers need possess Sanguinus at this level to gain the benefits of the Gestalt. Players of vampires of the circle who have not mastered Sanguinus to this level, however, must make a Wits + Occult roll (difficulty 7) to gain the benefits of the link. This roll is made before the Gestalt becomes active - no "loaning" Occult for this roll! If they fail this roll, they may not gain the benefits of the Gestalt for the scene, though their applicable Traits may be used (high Willpower) or loaned (but not borrowed).

**** Walk of Caine

By using this power, a Blood Brother may concentrate his own blood by drawing on the inherent Cainite curse in other members of the circle. In effect, he may lower his generation temporarily at the expense of raising the generation of other members of the circle. Some Blood Brothers have used this power to terrifying effect, lowering their generation to such a degree that they can perform truly monstrous feats, such as greatly increasing their strength or healing grievous wounds in the blink of an eye.

System: A Blood Brother may temporarily borrow one generation from other members of his circle. No vampire may loan more than one level of generation in this manner. For each level of generation he borrows from a member of the circle, the vampire using this power lowers his own generation by one level, while the Blood Brother from whom he borrowed it increases his generation by one. The Brothers loaning generations need not have Sanguinus at this level, but if they don't, they must make Stamina + Occult rolls (difficulty 7) to loan their generation. If this power takes a Blood Brother to 14th generation, see Vampire: The Masquerade, page 297 for the flaw "14th Generation" and apply all penalties thereof to the Cainite in question. This power lasts for one scene.

***** Coagulated Entity

This frightening power allows the Blood Brothers of a given circle to unite physically as well as mentally. The vampires combine into one monstrous heap of undead flesh, exposing entrails, spraying foul fluids and flailing deadly limbs. These horrid mounds have proven effective in more than one Sabbat siege, sweeping over enemy vampires or smashing their way into fortified havens.

System: Every vampire in the circle who wishes to become part of the Coagulated Entity spends three blood points. Three turns after the process begins, the monster becomes complete and able to act. The vampire of the lowest generation who is part of the construct guides the creature's actions. The actual generation of the creature itself, however, is the highest generation of any vampire present in the construct, less one for each additional vampire present in the construct. The creature's Strength, Stamina and Perception are equal to the lowest-generation vampire's in the construct +1 for every additional vampire contained within (though generational limits do not apply to this creature - through sheer size, a Coagulated Entity may have a Strength of 7 or even more). All physical actions undertaken by the monstrosity gain one extra die to the pool for each vampire beyond the first present in the construct (before splitting dice pools). Only one vampire in the circle needs to possess Sanguinus at Level Five for this power to work. Body parts tend to shift during the creation of a Coagulated Entity - fanged maws at the ends of hands and eyes atop fleshy stalks have been reported by terrified survivors. Storytellers should feel free to give any bonuses (or penalties, as some legs may be too weak to support the creature, or arms may be too short to strike effectively) to the construct they see fit. Sanguinus is an imperfect practice, obviously.

A Coagulated Entity may not be staked, as it has too many hearts in unconventional places for any but the blindest of luck to impale. It has a vampire's normal seven health levels, plus two for each additional vampire who becomes part of the entity (treat these extra health levels as Bruised). The entity remains congealed for one scene.