Bardo

Bardo

Alchemy
Clans	None
Bloodlines	Children of Osiris
Sects	Independents
Rituals	None]
Combination Disciplines	None
Rarity	Legendary
Play Status	Closed

One of the most ancient of disciplines, Bardo is concerned with the liminal place between life and death, the attaining of enlightenment and the escape from the horrors of being a vampire. Supposedly taught to the Children of Osiris by the ancient god they claim as their progenitor, it is heavily guarded and requires constant dedication and discipline to practice, making it likely that no more than a handful of vampires worldwide have ever been able to perform it.

Basic Powers

Restore Humanitas

By meditating and committing yourself to soul-searching and moral questions, you may regain some of your Humanity. This may be a long and arduous road for many, as it takes many repeated uses of this power to restore even some Humanity, let alone all that might have been lost.

Banishing Sight of Thoth

You may ward off other supernatural powers, including vampiric disciplines, shapeshifter Gifts, and even the Spheres used by mages, by making a gesture and speaking a word of power. Your intense commitment to transcending your spirit and flesh allows you to recognize spiritual threats and simply refuse to indulge them unless they are powerful enough to overwhelm you.

Intermediate Powers

Gift of Apis

You no longer need to feed from human beings; as you struggle to regain your human self, you may now gain nourishment by feeding from animals, who sustain you as much as humans once did. This does not necessarily make feeding from animals any easier or more pleasant, but it is often a welcome respite for vampires struggling with the need to attack humanity to survive.

Pillar of Osiris

You may consecrate an area in the name of Osiris, making it a protected location suitable for meditation, prayer, and spell-casting. While you remain within it, meditation is much easier and the use of your powers much less difficult. (Of course, others who enter the same space also find that their powers are much easier to use than usual, which may cause problems if they are hostile.)

Advanced Powers

Paradox

You speak words of truth and beauty, overwhelming your enemies so that they can no longer threaten you. All but the most powerful beings affected by this power feel a sense of bliss, well-being, and comfort in your presence, one so strong that they cannot dream of harming or inconveniencing you in any way. Those affected will try to follow you around to keep basking in your presence for as long as they feel you will tolerate them, or until the sun rises.

Elder Powers

Boon of Anubis

By consecrating a mortal against the corrupting influence of vampiric blood, you may protect them from the Embrace. A mortal you have prepared cannot be Embraced; not only does the attempt simply fail, gaining the would-be sire nothing but a meal, but the mortal also survives, recovering miraculously from their wounds to live on. This power is exceptionally rare, and any vampire trying to Embrace a mortal only to fail in this manner is likely to have absolutely no idea what just happened.

Bring Forth the Dawn

You may call upon the gods of the sun in the sky, asking for them to lend their power to make the evening seem like the day. Although the sun does not actually rise and no one is in danger of turning to dust, vampires still feel the pull as if the real sun had come up, causing all but the most stalwart of souls to fall into their daytime slumber. They sleep as deeply or lightly as they usually would, and can still wake up if bothered, although they will feel exactly as sluggish and uncomfortable as if the sun were truly up. Vampires affected by this power usually simply sleep through until the next night, awakening to wonder where all their time went.

Mummification Ritual

This power allows you to protect someone for an indefinite amount of time by applying many of the supernatural techniques of ancient Egyptian mummification. By wrapping and preserving a person and then casting protective charms over them, you cause them to fall into a prolonged slumber, making them sleep peacefully until you choose to awaken them or a calamity causes mortal danger to them. This power can be used not only on vampires but also on ghouls, who can thus be protected to awaken with their masters over long periods of time.

Ra's Blessing

By spending the entire evening in a ritual, bending all your mental and spiritual strength toward it, you may cast a spell that allows you to temporarily walk in daylight. You may be out in the sun with no ill effects, including no impulse to Frenzy, for up to one hour, allowing you to walk the world of mortals and see what happens when all vampires are asleep. After the hour ends, you may still walk under the sun for another hour, but you take uncomfortable and escalatingly serious sunburns the entire time; at the end of this second hour, you must be back under cover or risk dying of sun exposure as usual.

Rebirth

If multiple Children of Osiris come together to perform this ritual, they may actually bring one of their own back from death. No matter what killed them or how much of their body is left, this power allows you to call upon a vampire's spirit to return, fashioning a body for it from ritual matter and spiritual power. The resulting resurrected vampire is restored to the Humanity they possessed when they originally died, but is otherwise the exact same person they were, including having memories of their previous death.

Things to Remember

Almost no one on Earth even knows Bardo exists, let alone has ever had the opportunity to see it in action or learn it for themselves. It is likely that fewer than twenty vampires know the secret (or have ever known it), and the chances of finding them is likewise almost nil.