Table of Contents

Most Lasombra do not spend much time contemplating the nature or source of the power that Obtenebration grants them. The majority of Keepers view Obtenebration as a tool, nothing more. A small number among the clan, however, develop a fascination with Obtenebration and the Abyss. Through devoting themselves to the Abyss and its study, they created rituals capable of breaching the boundary between the material world and the Abyss, with strange and horrifying effects.

Though this might seem heretical to those Lasombra with particularly religious inclinations, the rest of the clan ignores Abyss Mystics. Montano, the favored childe of Lasombra, is rumored to have dabbled with Abyss Mysticism, and it is known that Lasombra himself favored the Mystics. As such, even the most zealous Lasombra tend to leave the Abyss Mystics to her own dark devices.

Abyss Mystics generally follow the Road of the Abyss, though that hasn’t stopped less monstrous Lasombra from trying to precariously balance desires for power with what remains of their Conscience.

Abyss Mystic rituals are different from other forms of blood sorcery rituals, as they are based on use of a Discipline and not magic. Characters looking to learn Abyss Mysticism rituals must possess an Occult rating of 3. Characters may not learn a ritual with a level higher than her Obtenebration or Occult rating.

Despite being ritual-based, Abyss Mysticism is almost a Discipline in its own right. As such, each ritual costs 3 experience points per level to learn. Because tampering with the Abyss is dangerous business with potentially fatal consequences, Abyss Mysticism has fewer rituals than other mystical paths. Even those who succeed in mastering the Abyss are changed forever. Many Abyss Mystic rituals have side effects that confer Flaws; this is to reflect the fact that Abyss Mystics are tampering with forces inherently inimical to creation. Characters can never receive experience or bonus points for Flaws gained as a side effect of Abyss Mystic rituals.

One of the first powers a savant of darkness learns is the ability to see in darkness. Using this ritual, the mystic summons up a ball of shadow and stares into it for so long that her eyes permanently attune themselves to the dark. Using Shadow Play, the mystic forms a ball of shadows in her hand and gazes into its depths. The player rolls Perception + Occult, difficulty 8. A success results in the character permanently gaining the Merit Controllable Night Sight. Failure simply means that the ritual does not succeed and must be tried another night, while a botch results in Uncontrollable Night Sight being acquired as a Flaw.

This ritual can be cast for others, in which case the mystic must roll Wits + Occult (difficulty 6) to prepare the orb, and the onlooker must make a Perception + Occult roll (difficulty 9) to stare into it.

Side Effect: When a character uses Controllable Night Sight gained through use of this ritual, her eyes become completely black, without reflection — windows into the Abyss itself. This effect is permanent for characters who obtained Uncontrollable Night Sight as a result of a botched ritual.

Mystics make clear that any Cainites implementing the rituals of Abyss Mysticism must stare into the starlit sea and dedicate their eternal selves to the Abyss. They must open all their secrets to intrusion by the darkness. The pledge is only words, but those who do not make it, or state it without conviction in their hearts, are visibly liars to practitioners of The Abyss Knows. The Mystic must possess the Abyss Mysticism ritual Light Within Shadow and have the Controllable Night Sight Merit. By spending one blood point and rolling Perception + Awareness (standard difficulty versus an opposed Conscience/Conviction roll, if resisted), success indicates whether the target is a true servant of the Abyss (that is to say, a follower of the Road of the Abyss or similar Path) or an impostor. Failure has no effect; a botch means the Abyss Mystic misreads the result.

Side Effect: When a Mystic searches for the Abyss in others, they reveal it in themselves. The Caster gains the Dark Aura flaw when dealing with non-Mystics for the rest of the scene.

This ritual summons the smallest beings that dwell in the Abyss and grants them brief existence in the material world as servitors of the mystics who invoke them. Such entities are not demons or ghosts or true spirits, but rather something else that defies comprehension or classification. All that is certain is that they hate light, hunger for life and bear a malign cognition that would shatter the sanity of any who truly understood it. Although the creatures summoned with this ritual are harmless, they make excellent spies and are so called the Eyes of Ahriman. The vampire crushes and extinguishes a candle in his fist, suffering one level of aggravated damage and prompting an immediate check for Rötschreck (difficulty 4). If the vampire can maintain control, his player rolls Intelligence + Occult (difficulty 6). Botching this roll results in a further level of unsoakable aggravated damage. If successful, however, the vampire tightens his fist until blood drips from his fingers. The blood blackens and burns as it falls, undulating and extending horrible tendrils to reclaim the wisps of acrid smoke. When the blood lands, it shrieks in pain and births a momentary gateway to the Abyss. Out of this brief rift emerges a globe of shadow substance the size of a child’s hand. As the vampire opens and upturns his burnt and bloody palm, the orb flies to his hand and licks it clean with extruded tentacles. The creature endures one night per success on the casting roll before returning to the Abyss. Until this time, it serves the vampire’s spoken will with unquestioning if unimaginative fervor. It can crudely communicate with material beings in images and emotional impressions, but only while in physical contact.

A vampire may not summon more beings through castings of The Shadow of Hands That Serve than his Occult rating.

Side Effect: The flesh burnt in the casting of this ritual refuses to heal properly. Whilst the Mystic has a summoned Eye of Ahriman they gain 2 points of the Open Wound Flaw.

For the rest of the evening, the caster may concentrate and control naturally occurring shadows, making them move, act, or otherwise obey the caster’s commands. So long as the caster takes no other action, they may thus control any shadow that is not currently being controlled by another individual. With a successful Wits + Occult roll (difficulty 6), the caster can manipulate all natural shadows until the next sunrise. This ritual only allows the caster to control natural shadows, not shadows created by Obtenebration. Shadows controlled by the caster can gain or lose a small amount of size (thus a woman’s shadow could be made look like a man’s, but a dog’s shadow could not). Only one such shadow may be controlled at a time. The Storyteller is the arbiter of what kinds of shadows are simply too large for this power to affect (such as the shadow of a skyscraper).

Side Effect: Shadows are drawn toward the caster, and when not controlled, will attempt to move toward her, even to the point of bending against the light. The caster gains the Flaw Eerie Presence (with the above descriptor) for the duration of this ritual’s effects.

Abyss Mystics are assassins and warriors as often as they are cloistered scholars; the Abyssal Blade ritual grants them a deadly force against even the most hardened of opponents. The Abyss wreaths around a Mystic’s edged weapon, coating the metal in a swirling ichor of shadow. The ritual enables the blade to cut through armor as if it were immaterial, and inflict wounds impossible for mortals to heal. The Abyss Mystic must immerse the blade of his weapon in the blood of any living creature, holding the weapon’s handle as she dedicates her future kills to the Abyss. She rolls Strength + Occult (difficulty 7), with success imbuing the weapon with an unholy power allowing a weapon to bypass armor — not Fortitude — and inflict naturally unhealable damage to mortals. Each success results in the weapon remaining imbued for a night. Once the power runs out, the weapon corrodes and becomes useless. The ritual can be enacted more than once on the same weapon, prior to corrosion. Failure leads to no result; a botch causes the weapon to corrode immediately, and prevents the ritual from being incanted again that night.

Side Effect: The blade created by this ritual is anathema to all that is good and righteous. Whoever carries the blade gains the Beacon of the Unholy flaw.

For the rest of the evening, the caster may feed through the touch of an Arm of the Abyss. Any Flaws or other issues the caster naturally suffers are still in effect: The Arm’s absorption of blood can be excruciatingly painful if the caster has the flaw Grip of the Damned (V20, p. 495), all feeding restrictions still apply, and so forth. However, the Arm of the Abyss leaves a deep, black bruise on the subject’s body that looks similar to the mark of a feeding leech, rather than the tell-tale sign of a vampire’s fangs. The caster must spend fifteen minutes in contemplation at the beginning of the evening, chanting in Abyssal tongues and calling upon the spirits of the Abyss. Once this fifteen minutes is complete, a Manipulation + Occult roll (difficulty 6) must be made. The effects of this ritual last until the next sunrise.

Side Effect: While the caster’s body contains any vitae gained through the use of this ritual, her blood is a dark, blackish color. This causes notable dark streaks where her veins and arteries are near the surface of her flesh.

By using this ability, the Mystic consumes the Abyss to accelerate healing. The vampire spends a full turn meditating on the Abyss, then spends one point of Willpower and rolls Stamina + Occult (difficulty 8), with a botch resulting in one level of aggravated damage. Each success allows the vampire to spend one blood point to head two levels of lethal damage or four levels of bashing damage, ignoring generation limits for such an expenditure.

However, once the Mystic casts this ritual, the Abyss consumes all blood gained from feeding until it receives a number of blood points equal to the blood spent to heal. A Mystic may not use this ritual more than once per night, and may not use it until her debt to the Abyss has been paid in full.

Side Effect: After use of this ritual, the Mystic’s blood becomes black and absorbs all light. This effect clearly marks the Mystic as something terrifyingly alien. Any mortal who sees the Mystic bleed (or cry) must pass a Courage check of 6 or roll one less die for all rolls for the remainder of the scene.

This ritual follows the same rules and process as The Shadow of Hands that Serve, save that the summoned being is twice as large and possesses greater mastery of Obtenebration, allowing it to attack its caster’s foes physically. The Heart of Silence is summoned in the exact same way as the Eye of Ahriman, except that it can become corporeal and physically attack enemies. Once it physically attacks, it must spend an entire round concentrating to become incorporeal again, potentially leaving itself open to attack.

Side Effect: The flesh burnt in the casting of this ritual refuses to heal properly. Whilst the Mystic has summoned a Heart of Silence, they gain 2 points of the Open Wound Flaw.

Bezoars are native to the Abyss, but Mystics know of ways to draw them out into the world above. Among the smallest creatures in the Abyss, windows of darkness give up these tumorous parasites. Initially stored in pools of blood by Abyss Mystics, they are set loose on the Mystics’ enemies to act as a slow poison. Many a foe has fallen to torpor without even knowing she bore a Bezoar clamped to her dried-out heart. The only evidence is a bowl stained with dried blood found outside the vampire’s haven, and a small slug-like trail leading from it to the Cainite’s preferred resting place. The Abyss Mystic must have access to an Oubliette, or stand in a lake during the new moon, and cut off a finger to produce a blood point. An Infantile Bezoar heads for the vitae, and attempts to enter the Abyss Mystic, unless she is prepared with an existing bowl of separate blood. The Bezoar will remain in the bowl for a night as it drinks its fill, during which time the Mystic can exit the Oubliette — if she knows the way out — carrying the bowl and the feeding parasite. The Bezoar will continue to feed until dawn, at which point it will travel to the nearest sleeping Cainite and crawl inside its mouth to avoid the daytime. It dissolves into a puddle of shadow after exiting its victim.

Side Effect: Casting this ritual in an oubliette or while standing in a lake under the moon saps the Mystic of what little warmth their flesh held. They gain the Touch of Frost Flaw for three nights afterwards

Extending his mastery of the Abyss beyond The Heart That Beats in Silence, a mystic who knows this ritual may call forth an actual Hungry Shade into a circle of blood. Such entities are incalculably malicious and resent attempts to bind them into service. If they break free of the magic that enslaves them, they do not hesitate to drag the errant Cainite to the Abyss or tear him asunder on the spot. A mystic may initiate this ritual any time between dusk and midnight. To begin, the vampire stands at the center of the intended summoning area and slits his left palm. He then turns counterclockwise in silence with bloody hand outstretched to drip a circle of blood. Next he steps out of the circle, taking care to drip no more blood outside its edge. He then begins a whispered chant of invocation as he prowls around the circle in a spiral that winds slowly inward. Multiple Abyss mystics who know this ritual may assist and usually do, circling equilaterally apart from one another in synchronous steps. The total number of participating mystics cannot exceed the highest Occult rating in the group. Make an extended Intelligence + Occult check (difficulty 6) for every mystic involved, rolling once per hour of chant without looking at the dice. The Storyteller should privately keep track of the total number of successes amassed and permit players of the participant mystics to continue as long as they like until an hour before dawn. A botch from any mystic reduces the number of accumulated successes by five. When the mystics choose to resolve their processional litany, they stop and turn to face the center of the circle. Each speaks a syllable of summons in perfect unison and their players spend one point of Willpower. It is at this moment that the air tears asunder and a Hungry Shade rises in the blood circle.

The statistics of each summoned Hungry Shade vary. Each success in casting generates three freebie points that may be used to generate its statistics according to standard character creation costs. The shade begins with a rating of zero in all traits except Obtenebration and may not have Backgrounds, Virtues or a Path (as it has no need of such Traits). Health levels cost two bonus points each and the creature never suffers wound penalties. It can also store more Willpower than its permanent rating for a cost of one freebie point per additional point of capacity and begins with a full pool. None of the shade’s traits may exceed the rating of the highest Obtenebration score among the participating mystics. The only exceptions are Obtenebration (begins at five dots; cannot exceed a rating of eight), permanent Willpower (can equal double the highest caster’s Obtenebration), total health levels (up to twice the shade’s permanent Willpower) and temporary Willpower capacity (no upper limit). The shade may possess only the following Disciplines, or rather analogous powers: Celerity, Fortitude, Obtenebration and Potence. The shade’s default state is immaterial as per Tenebrous Avatar, so its version of that power allows it to solidify for a turn at the cost of one Willpower point. The shade can see in all darkness, natural or otherwise. It regains one point of Willpower for every blood point consumed or health level of damage inflicted, and all its attacks (including Arms of the Abyss) inflict aggravated damage. It has no blood pool and does not need to spend blood to activate Obtenebration powers but substitutes Willpower to augment shadow effects or use Celerity. The shade suffers aggravated damage from sunlight and fire and soaks like a vampire when materialized. It cannot speak but may telepathically communicate at will in images and emotions with any sentient being it can see.

Once the Hungry Shade is built according to the number of successes rolled, the player of the lead mystic makes an opposed roll of Willpower against the sum of the shade’s two highest permanent traits other than Willpower (both rolls at difficulty 4). The vampire receives one extra die per assisting mystic. If the vampire wins, the shade must serve him faithfully in all endeavors for a number of nights equal to his Willpower. This duration may be extended by one night per point of fresh human or vampire blood immediately fed to the monster. It is not possible to increase the duration of servitude after the ritual ends, though it is believed that more powerful summoning rituals may exist for such purposes. If the shade wins the contest of wills, it may freely attack the mystics and usually does, though some have been known to flee the area and wreak havoc elsewhere or even return to the Abyss without incident. A freed shade may remain in the physical world as long as it desires, although it loses points of Willpower equal to its Obtenebration rating each dawn. If it runs out of Willpower, it can no longer bear separation from the Abyss and returns home through the closest shadow.

Side Effect: So fearsome is the creature summoned by this dark ritual that the Mystic’s own shadow reels in fear. While the Shade persists, the casters involved in the ritual gain the Animate Shadow Flaw.

The caster creates a shining, jet-black thread and affixes it to a single target of any kind. The thread stretches through shadow and into the Abyss, to the caster’s wrist. If the thread is affixed to a person or creature, at any point during the evening, the individual on either end may tug on this thread, causing a similar pull to manifest on the other end. If the thread is attached to an inanimate object, a tug will manifest on the caster’s end of the thread if that object is moved in any way. The individual or item to which the thread is being affixed must be present while the ritual is cast. This ritual takes thirty minutes of casting, during which time the Abyss Mystic draws forth a point of his blood and mixes it with the preternatural essence of the Abyss. By spinning this combined matter upon a skein and making a successful Wits + Occult roll (difficulty 6) , the caster forms the Abyssal Thread, and may then attach it as desired. The effects of this ritual last until the next sunrise.

Side Effect: While this ritual is in effect, the cold air of the Abyss circulates around the caster, and may draw unwanted attention. The caster effectively gains the Flaw Cold Breeze for the duration of this ritual’s effects.

This ritual allows the caster to merge with the shadows, drawing the power of the Abyss into herself. However, the cost for this power, as always, is blood. When casting this ritual, the vampire cuts herself open with a knife and draws the surrounding shadows into her own body. The process takes an hour and is very painful, subtracting two dice from any rolls the Cainite makes for the duration. After this torment, the vampire makes a Manipulation + Occult roll (difficulty 8) to hold the power of the shadows inside her. If she fails, the shadows escape her, and if she botches, the shadows take a blood point for each 1 rolled as well. If she succeeds, her skin turns dark and her eyes become black. All her physical attributes rise to the level of their Obtenebration if they are lower. Obtenebration powers up to level three are used at -2 difficulty, and the blood point cost for Arms of the Abyss is halved. This augmentation lasts for as long as the vampire desires. Unfortunately, upon rising from slumber each night, the vampire in this condition must pay an additional blood point cost equal to their Obtenebration rating. Should she fail to do so, she returns to normal. In her augmented form, she is also more vulnerable to sunlight and takes triple damage from it. Her Appearance also drops by one point while empowered.

Side Effect: Should the vampire spend more consecutive days in this form than her highest Virtue, her skin begins to darken permanently, in a similar way to elder Assamites.

This ritual summons forth a mysterious third eye, forged from abyssal energies, which rests upon the caster’s forehead and protects him from harm. The ritual takes ten minutes to cast as close to dusk as he is able, at which time the caster makes a Manipulation + Occult roll (difficulty 8), and chooses how much blood to invest in the eye. At any time the caster would be ambushed or surprised, the eye will expend one of the blood so invested. When this happens, the caster automatically succeeds on the roll to react to surprise, and the eye reflexively summons forth one Arm of the Abyss against his attacker, which can act immediately. If the player chooses to expend further blood points, additional Arms can be summoned against other attackers, but no more than one per attacker. Once the blood is fully expended, the eye vanishes until recast.

Side Effect: A third eye moulded from the Abyss is a terrifying sight. While it is visible on the caster’s forehead, the difficulty of their Intimidation rolls are reduced by 1 while the difficulty of all other social rolls are increased by 2.

Abyss Mystics despise the light; with its presence, they are incapable of practicing their rituals. This ritual allows them to snuff all light — whether from natural sources, the flame of a torch, or even the Thaumaturgy of Tremere. With retching convulsions, the Cainite practitioner spews a foul torrent of darkness, which consumes all light in the area. The Abyss Mystic must drink a goblet of hot tar, succeeding on a Stamina-based roll (difficulty 9) to avoid throwing it up immediately. Consuming the tar deals two levels of aggravated damage, which may be soaked with Fortitude. This tar remains within the body of the Mystic for a number of nights equal to the successes rolled. At any point while bearing the tar, the Abyss Mystic may roll a Courage test (difficulty 6) to vomit the tar in a shower of unnatural darkness that filters through the air like inky bubbles, gravitating to any light. The tar wraps itself around any such light, and prevents it from relighting for the remainder of the night. The radius over which the tar will travel is equal to 10 meters (11 yards) per success on the Courage test. This does not protect from the sun.

Side Effect: The caster of this ritual holds the darkness of the Abyss within themselves. While the tar sits in their stomach, they gain the Lord of the Night Flaw.

Once a caster has invoked this ritual, her mouth becomes a portal to the Abyss. She may not speak or make sounds, and anyone looking into her mouth will see a deep chasm of blackness beyond instead of the workings of human physiology. Invoking this ritual requires the caster to create a Shroud of Night entirely within her mouth, requiring a Manipulation + Occult roll (difficulty 8). If successful, the caster may consume anything she can fit into her mouth, eradicating the item (or creature, or part of a creature) utterly by absorbing it into the Abyss. Biting an opponent deals aggravated damage as per a standard bite, but also removes one Willpower dot from the opponent’s total Willpower. Willpower lost in this manner may not be regained for one lunar month. The effects of this ritual last until the next sunrise, or the caster may end the ritual at any time.

Side Effect: The caster cannot speak or otherwise use her vocal cords, mouth, tongue, or fangs for the duration of this ritual’s effects.

By drawing on the Abyss in time of need, a caster may allow the sentience within the darkness to move through their very spirit and reinforce his flesh. After a successful Stamina + Occult roll (difficulty 8), the character gains a number of additional “Shadow” wound levels at the “Wounded” health level, equal to his dots in Obtenebration. However, if the character takes an injury that crosses off one of these Shadow health levels, he loses a commensurate number of dots of Obtenebration as well. Dots of Obtenebration lost in this way return after one week.

Side Effect: While this ritual is in effect, all failed rolls using the caster’s Conscience/Conviction are considered to be botches.

The Abyss existed before creation and will persist after its destruction. Its memory encompasses everything that is known or ever has been known as well as mysteries too dense for human minds to fathom. By sending one’s thoughts into the Abyss, one may seek answers to her deepest questions. The caster summons and contracts a Shroud of Night, as with Visions of Shadow, until it can fit in the palm of her hand. The caster focuses her thoughts on a single question, which the Storyteller assigns a rating from 1 to 10 based on the importance or complexity of the answer, with 1 as trivial knowledge and 10 as truly revelatory.

When ready, the caster swallows the Shroud. Once this is done, the vampire falls into torpor as her consciousness is catapulted into the Abyss. For each night spent in torpor, the player rolls Intelligence + Occult with a difficulty of 8. Successes are accumulated over successive nights until the player has successes equal to the question’s rating.

Of course, attempting to commune with the alien thoughts of the Abyss can be dangerous. If the Mystic accumulates no successes on her roll for one night, the interval between rolls increases from one night to several nights to weeks, and so on. Legend has it that the reason for Lasombra’s carefully guarded slumber in the Castle of Shadows is that he lies dreaming of a way to destroy creation itself.

Side Effect: Successful use of this ritual leaves the mystic forever altered as she can never entirely dislodge the alien hunger of the Abyss from her soul. After using this ritual, when dealing with non-Mystics vampires permanently reduce the difficulty of all Intimidate rolls by one, and increase the difficulty of all Social rolls by one (two when dealing with humans). This drawback is not cumulative.

With this ritual, the Mystic willingly enters the Abyss, either traveling to the infinite realm of nothing, or to another place she has already been. In preparation, the Mystic spends one hour and three points of her own blood painting a doorway with glyphs of the Abyss. When finished, they focus on their intended destination and roll Intelligence + Occult. The difficulty of this roll is 6 for a location within the Abyss, and 8 for anywhere else the Mystic has already visited. On a botch, a portal to the Abyss opens in the doorway, but only long enough to discharge a number of Hungry Shades equal to the number of 1s rolled. A failure causes the glyphs to flare and disappear with no result. Success results in an open and stable portal with no backlash that remains open for as many turns as successes rolled.

Traveling through the Abyss is a perilous prospect, especially for those not already acquainted with the unnatural dark. Characters who don’t possess at least a single dot of Obtenebration must make a Courage roll (difficulty 8) after passing through the portal. Failure means their mind is rent by the horrors hidden within the void, consuming them with a terror that amounts to Rötschreck upon their escape. A botch inspires a similar level of fear, but with risk of Flaws or a Derangement at Storyteller discretion.

Side Effect: The time spent passing through the Abyss is brief, but nonetheless long enough for their eyes to adjust. Any character who passes through the portal gains the Uncontrollable Night Sight Flaw until the next sunrise. This Flaw overrides the Controllable Night Sight Merit should the character possess it.