Bardo

(Children of Osiris)

1. RESTORE HUMANITAS
The first discipline taught to new Children is the ability to regain lost Humanity. This ability must be used within a week of the lose. The user must meditate for one hour per point he is attempting to regain.
System:
The vampire must roll Empathy + Conscience ( difficulty, equal to the level of Humanity being restored. The number of successes is the number of Humanity points gained back (though the Child cannot gain more than were lost ). If the roll is botched, the user must perform penance before this ability can be used again.

2. BANISH SIGN OF THOTH
The Child learns a mystic gesture which can defend against any supernatural influences. Rumor says this ability was taught to the Children by Thoth, an ancient Mage and powerful ally of Osiris. None know today if he was a Kindred or a powerful mortal, or if he even exists at all.
System:
The Child rolls his Dexterity + Occult ( difficulty, 8 ). The number of successes is the number added to the difficulty roll of any supernatural power attempting to work upon the Child. These include Thaumaturgy, Vampiric Disciplines ( Domination, Presence, Auspex, etc ), Lupine spirit magics and the enchantments of Faerie. It will also work against the Faith of mortals who are attempting to turn the Child, or injure with their Faith.

3. GIFT OF APIS
This level of ability frees the Child from the curse of having to drink from mankind to survive. The Child can drink from animals and gain as much nourishment from their blood as from mortal vitae. As long as the proper rituals are maintained, this ability does not diminish with time.

4. PILLAR OF OSIRIS
The Child can create and Pillar of Osiris, the center of a Temple, where the study a meditation of Bardo can be maintained. Any spells of supernatural disciplines practiced within the Temple subtract three from the difficulty factor to succeed. However, if a Child spends an extended time away from the Temple, the chance of frenzy increases. For every month away, increase the difficulty roll to frenzy by one. Also, the instances in which a frenzy are called for increase, until after a few months, even the slightest annoyance may trigger it. Only regular meditation at a temple can prevent this degeneration. Most Children reside at a major Temple, where fellow sect members aid them in the maintenance of their strict path. But sometimes, a Child may have to enter the outer world on sect missions. This level of ability is vital to the Child's mystic health.
System:
Any place can be turned into a Pillar after a night-long ritual. The Pillar is an abstract concept of a mystical center, and does not require a physical pillar. The Child rolls Willpower ( difficulty, 5-9 ) depending on the location.
A secluded cave, would be difficulty 5
A suburban home in a quiet area, would be 7
A city apartment on the most crime-ridden street would be 9
The number of successes is the number of weeks the Temple can be maintained before another ritual is required.

5. PARADOX
With this level, the Child has gained enough knowledge in his mystic studies as to innately understand the illusory nature own world. He can utter an extemporanous remark about it, usually a unsensical phrase or haiku.
System:
The Child rolls Wits + Manipulation ( difficulty, the listeners Willpower ). Anyone whom he is successful against suddenly becomes overwhelmed with knowledge of the essential oneness of the universe. They are in a confused trance and must make a Willpower roll ( difficulty, 7 ) to successfully attempt any action for the rest of the Scene. At the end of the scene, the knowledge will fade away, sunk again into the illusions of the mind.
The person so affected by the paradox must add one to any difficulties to harm the Child after that, as part of their self remembers the bliss the Child delivered, if only for a few fleeting moments. Sometimes the phrase's effectiveness can be added to by striking the intended listener with a sudden blow while pronouncing the phrase. This subtracts two points from the difficulty ( the listener's Willpower ).

6. BOON OF ANUBIS
This ability allows the Child to protect a mortal from the Embrace. If a mortal so protected is bitten by a Vampire who then attempts to turn him into one of the Kindred, it is ineffective. The Vampire will not realize this until after the mortal awakens from the first sleep. The mortal will, however, be considered a Ghoul.
System:
The Child must prepare himself in a meditative ritual before contact with the intended mortal. He rolls his Empathy + Occult ( difficulty, 6 ). The number of successes is the number of weeks for which the mortal will be immune. If he fails, he may not try again on that mortal for another lunar month. If he botches, he may never protect that mortal. Once successful, all that is required to bestow the protection on the mortal is a kiss. This kiss can be anywhere on the face, but is most often on the forehead, where the mystical third eye resides.

7. BRING FORTH THE DAWN
This power does not actually cause the sun to rise, but instead causes Kindred to sleep as if it were daylight.
System:
The Child rolls his Occult + Manipulation ( difficulty, the Humanity of the Kindred targeted ). The number of successes is the number of hours which the Kindred will sleep. The Child can affect multiple targets by dividing his Dice Pool. Any Disciplines or Thaumaturgy rituals which protect the Kindred during the sleep will work in defending against this level of Bardo.

8. MUMMIFICATION RITUAL
This allows the Child to force a vampire into torpor and keep him there for a defined period of time. This is a long ritual, so the victim must first be constrained against escape during the ritual, or incapacitated. The Kindred must be wrapped in ritual bandages to bond his soul a body into confinement.
System:
After an eight-hour ritual, the Child rolls his Willpower ( difficulty, the Willpower of the Kindred ). The number of successes is the number of centuries the torpor lasts. This is a ritual the Children of Osiris sometimes use against any vampire they feel are too dangerous to be allowed to move freely in the world, such as Followers of Set. It is a form of punishment for those they feel are evil, yet do not deserve final destruction. The mummified Kindred is then usually sealed up in an ancient ruin hidden from the world. However, the vampire can increasingly resist the torpor over the years. The confined vampire can roll his Willpower to break the torpor once for every century that passes. The difficulty begins with a 9, but decreaces by one every century passed. Ghouls can also be mummified, so that they can follow their master into the next eon.

9. RA'S BLESSING

After a long period of meditation, a Child with this level of mystical ability can walk outside during day, in full sunlight, and not come to harm.
System:
The Child must prepare in a month long ceremony of ascetisism, contemplating the Light Within. After that time, he must roll his Humanity ( difficulty, 10). The number of successes equals the number of hours he may walk the day. A botch mean that the Child cannot try again for another decade. This ability to look upon the sun can bolster a Child's Humanity and Virtues. For every hour spent under the sun, the Child can roll his Humanity, or one of his Virtues, ( difficulty, 9 ). A success means that trait is raised by one.