In both Christian and pagan myth, the Grail possesses miraculous powers of healing. According to some legends, those who drink from the Grail retain this healing gift even after they attain the Grail Quest. The Bron embody this myth through their Discipline of Crochan, from the Welsh word for “cauldron,” which allows them to harness and manipulate the power of Vitae to regenerate their undead flesh. This Discipline is not without its dark side, though. Just as the Bron are Damned, Crochan is a cursed version of the Grail’s healing power that can both give life and take it away with equal facility. Crochan is notably less common among the rare few Invictus and Carthian Bron. Some Invictus find the very idea of playing with the power of the Blood to be foolishness worthy of an especially reckless Dragon, while some Kindred of the Carthian Movement view Crochan’s ability to manipulate the Vitae of others to be a gross violation of another Kindred’s personal rights. The Dragons, for their part, note the similarities between Crochan and the philosophy behind the Coils of the Dragon, and ponder over many troubling questions in their unbeating hearts.
Crochan is essentially an enhancement of a vampire’s innate ability to heal wounds through the power of Vitae. Therefore, a Bron may not spend Vitae to heal wounds in the same turn he uses a Crochan power, even if his Blood Potency allows him to spend more than one Vitae per turn. This restriction applies only to the Crochan user; if he targets another Kindred with one of the powers of Crochan, that vampire may spend Vitae for healing in the same turn. Likewise, this Discipline affects only creatures who possess the ability to use Vitae to heal their wounds. Crochan does not affect other supernatural creatures’ powers of mystical healing, such as a werewolf’s natural regeneration. In most cases, this means that Kindred and ghouls are the only valid targets, but the World of Darkness is a vast and mysterious place, and strange creatures lurking in the shadows may well be capable of harnessing the power of the Blood.
Despite the many drastic differences between the Sanctified Bron and the Acolyte Fisher Kings, Crochan is common to both branches of the bloodline, differing in minor, cosmetic applications only. The Sanctified often accompany the use of Crochan with fervent prayers and the laying on of hands, while the Acolytes prefer elaborate chants in Welsh or Manx Gaelic and savage bloodletting rituals. Many Bron Acolytes “sacrifice” the Vitae required to power this Discipline by slicing their wrists, breast or even throat, and letting the blood spill onto the ground. (Mechanically, this is no different than spending a Vitae by simple act of will; the Bron suffers no additional damage or blood loss, and the time required to activate the Discipline does not increase.)
All Kindred have an innate ability to heal wounds inflicted on their undead bodies through the power of Vitae, but this healing takes time for all but the most minor hurts. The most basic level of Crochan allows the Bron to speed this ability, though she must take care that she does not starve herself into frenzy or torpor in her haste.
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Medicine + Crochan
Action: Instant
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character’s blood resists her efforts to quicken its flow, and in fact the blood becomes more sluggish and unresponsive. For the remainder of the scene, during any turn in which the character wishes to spend Vitae to heal her wounds, she must spend an extra Vitae to shock her sluggish system into responding. Only one extra Vitae must be spent per turn, regardless how much Vitae the Kindred uses that turn for healing.
Failure: The character gains no additional ability
to channel Vitae toward healing. She may try again in
subsequent turns, however.
Success: For each success on the activation roll, the character may add one to her effective Blood Potency for purposes of determining how much Vitae she may spend per turn, but only for purposes of healing injuries. The character may not activate Disciplines, augment Physical dice pools or use her increased rate of Vitae expenditure for any other purpose. The character’s maximum Vitae per turn as granted by her actual Blood Potency is not restricted in this manner (assuming, of course, that she has the ability to spend enough Vitae to activate this power and perform some other action in the same turn). Other traits derived from Blood Potency, such as the character’s maximum Vitae, feeding restrictions and Attribute maximums, are unaffected.
This power cannot increase the character’s “virtual Blood Potency” above 10.
For example, Cecilia has a Blood Potency of 4, allowing her to spend two Vitae per turn. She activates Swift Flows the Blood, and her player rolls four successes. This gives her a “virtual Blood Potency” of 8, increasing the total number of Vitae she may spend this turn to seven. Only five Vitae can be spent on healing wounds — her player spent one Vitae to activate the power, and the final Vitae may be spent as Cecilia’s player wishes within the normal rules.
Exceptional Success: The extra successes are their own reward in this case.
If the roll succeeds, but the virtual Blood Potency increase does not increase the character’s maximum Vitae per turn (for example, if a player whose character has a Blood Potency of 2 gains only a single success), the power of the Discipline allows the character to spend one additional Vitae on healing. This power is an exception to the rule that a character may not spend Vitae to heal in the same turn that she uses a Crochan power.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+2 The Bron pours her own Vitae into a chalice or cauldron and drinks the Blood while activating the power.
–1 The Bron has used this power since the previous sunset (cumulative).
–2 The Bron has used this power within the past hour (cumulative).
According to early Grail mythology, the Fisher King was one of the keepers of the Holy Grail. Cursed by a festering wound in his side, the Fisher King could not be healed until a worthy Grail-seeker asked the proper question and attained the Grail. Through the use of this power, the Bron agitates another Kindred’s wound so that it heals only with a great deal of effort.
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Occult + Crochan versus subject’s Resolve + Blood Potency
Action: Contested; resistance is refl exive
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: Not only are the target’s wounds not rendered more difficult to heal, one health point of the most severe type of damage the victim has suffered is downgraded by one level of severity. Aggravated damage becomes lethal, lethal damage becomes bashing and bashing damage is healed completely. When downgrading this damage, downgrade the rightmost Health point of the most severe type of damage.
Failure: The target’s ability to heal his wounds is unaffected. The character may try again later (though successive attempts against the same target in the same night incur a cumulative –1 penalty; see below).
Success: For the remainder of the scene, the target must spend one extra Vitae to heal his wounds. Healing two bashing wounds or one lethal wound costs two Vitae. Aggravated wounds are not normally affected by this power (but see below). Depending on the target’s Blood Potency, he may have to spend the requisite Vitae over multiple rounds to manage even the most basic healing; in that case, healing occurs when all the necessary Vitae is spent.
Exceptional Success: Per a success, but the curse lasts until the next sunset. In addition, if the victim spends Vitae toward healing an aggravated wound while under the effects of this power (whether he is the victim of this power on the first or the second night of the healing process), the cost is increased to six Vitae over two nights.
The Bron must touch his target in order to inflict this curse (see “Touching an Opponent” on p. 157 of the World of Darkness Rulebook).
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+2 Power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie (see Vampire: The Requiem, p. 162).
+1 Target has tasted the user’s blood in the past night.
–1 Target has been the victim of this power earlier in the same night (cumulative ;applies whether the earlier use succeeded or failed).
After learning to both slow and quicken the Blood’s healing properties, the Bron learns to twist it, turning his enemy’s own attempts to heal against her.
Cost: 1 Vitae, plus see below
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Occult + Crochan versus subject’s Resolve + Blood Potency
Action: Contested; resistance is refl exive
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The subject is not affected and is immune to any further uses of Bitter Humours for a week.
Failure: The character’s player loses or ties the contested roll, and the subject’s ability to heal himself is unimpeded.
Success: The character wins the contested roll. For each success the character’s player rolls, she may “twist” one attempt by the subject to heal himself by spending Vitae. As long as the character remains within five miles of the subject, she instinctively knows whenever the subject spends Vitae to heal himself (though she does not know what type of damage the subject is trying to heal). As a refl exive action, the character may spend one Vitae to corrupt the subject’s healing efforts. Instead of healing the damage, the subject instead suffers the same amount of damage. Each expenditure of Vitae on the Bron’s part can corrupt only one Vitae worth of healing, regardless of how many Vitae the subject spends on healing that turn. If the subject spends Vitae as part of an attempt to heal an aggravated wound, he merely loses that Vitae and must spend another on the healing process.
For example, Angelica uses Bitter Humours against her rival, Manuel, and succeeds on the contested roll with four successes. After a conflict outside Elysium, Manuel spends one Vitae to heal a point of lethal damage. Angelica is instinctively aware of the attempt and chooses to spend Vitae to thwart Manuel. Manuel loses the Vitae he spent toward healing that point of lethal damage and instead suffers another point of lethal damage.
Later that evening, Manuel spends two Vitae to heal four points of bashing damage in a single turn. Angelica is once again aware of this attempted healing, and chooses to spend another Vitae to twist Manuel’s healing attempt. Manuel suffers two points of bashing damage thanks to Angelica’s curse, but heals two points of bashing damage with his second Vitae (as Angelica can twist only one Vitae worth of the subject’s healing per Vitae point she spends).
Exceptional Success: The character wins the contested roll with five or more successes. In addition to instinctively knowing when the subject attempts to heal himself with Vitae, the character knows the severity of the damage being healed. In addition, it is possible, though difficult, to cause the subject to suffer aggravated damage with an exceptional success. In order to inflict a point of aggravated damage, the subject must spend all five Vitae to heal the wound during the course of a single night. The subject also must not spend more than one Vitae per turn on the healing process. Finally, the Bron must spend a Vitae of her own to corrupt each expenditure of Vitae (for a total of five Vitae). If all of these conditions are met, the subject suffers a point of aggravated damage instead of healing one. Note that attempting to inflict damage in this fashion is mutually exclusive from spending Vitae to force the subject to lose a Vitae spent toward healing an aggravated wound. The Bron must choose one effect or the other when he spends his Vitae.
Bitter Humours works only on Kindred, not on any other creature that has a regenerative or healing ability. As well, this power requires the character to touch her target in order to inflict this curse (see p. 157 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). The target of Bitter Humours suffers under the curse until the following sunset, or until the curse’s power is discharged.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+2 Power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie (see Vampire: The Requiem, p. 162).
+1 Target has tasted the user’s blood within the past night.
–1 Target has been the victim of this power earlier in the same night (cumulative, applies whether the earlier use succeeded or failed).
According to legends, the Grail has the capacity to heal grievous wounds, even regenerating lost limbs or restoring health to those stricken with palsy or disease. Vampires echo this power after a fashion, in that, upon rising for the evening, their bodies always return to their condition at the moment of the Embrace. Through this Crochan power, the Bron is capable of channeling the Blood’s ability to recreate lost muscle, tendon and bone to rebuild lost limbs or heal limbs made useless by sickness. The character infuses her Vitae with this restorative power and drains the requisite amount into a vessel (traditionally a chalice or cauldron, depending on the user’s covenant, but any suitably large container will do). The Bron then immerses the stump of the limb to be restored in the Vitae concoction as the mystic restoration generates new flesh, sinew and bone, recreating the lost limb. Bron Acolytes often set a fire beneath the cauldron to boil the Vitae, but this is not necessary to use the power.
Cost: 2 Vitae to restore a hand or foot, 3 Vitae to restore an entire arm or leg.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Medicine + Crochan
Action: Extended. (A total of 10 successes are necessary for a hand or foot, 20 for an arm or leg. Each roll represents one hour of mystic ritual and effort.)
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The limb is not regenerated, the Vitae spent is rendered inert and useless and the character may not attempt another use of Restoration of the Maimed to restore that limb for one month. She may use this power to restore other limbs, however, and another Fisher King may attempt to restore the same limb during this month.
Failure: The limb is not restored, and the Vitae spent is rendered inert and useless. The character may try again if she wishes.
Success: Progress is made toward the restoration of the limb.
Exceptional Success: Considerable progress is made toward the restoration of the limb.
Restoration of the Maimed can be used to accelerate the innate reversion a Kindred experiences every night or may be used to restore limbs lost permanently, such as pre-Embrace wounds or wounds the character spent a Willpower dot to render permanent.
This power may also be used on others, even mortals and those who do not automatically revert to predetermined states. Restoration of the Maimed is notably less effective for mortals and their ilk; whenever this power is used on any character other than a vampire, the resultant limb is cold, clammy and not entirely under its owner’s control. Fingers twitch spasmodically, arms hold themselves at awkward and uncomfortable angles and similar minor, involuntary movements afflict legs and feet restored with this power. In addition to unnerving others, these strange tics cause the subject to suffer a –1 penalty on all Physical dice pools made with the new limb. Should the mortal ever be Embraced, the penalty is removed.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+2 Power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie (see Vampire: The Requiem, p. 162).
+1 Limb was lost within the last week.
–1 Limb was lost more than one year ago (cumulative).
–2 Subject is not Kindred.
A common theme in myths about artifacts or individuals with miraculous healing powers is the concept that life cannot be generated spontaneously. To heal one subject, another subject must suffer or die. The Bron exemplify this concept in the Vitae cost of their Discipline, but Bron who have mastered Crochan take it to another level altogether. With the final, most potent power of Crochan, the Bron can literally steal the blood of anyone nearby and use it to heal his own injuries.
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Occult + Crochan vs. Resolve + Blood Potency
Action: Extended and contested. (One–10 successes; each roll represents one turn of stealing blood.)
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: No Vitae is stolen, and the subject is immune to further uses of this power for the rest of the night.
Failure: No Vitae is stolen.
Success: For every success rolled, the target loses one Vitae and the character gains one Vitae. If the subject is an animal, werewolf or some other creature whose Vitae is more or less potent than normal, the character gains more or less Vitae as appropriate. If the subject is not a vampire, the subject suffers a point of lethal damage, just as if the character had fed from her directly.
Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their own reward as a more significant amount of Vitae is stolen from the target.
To use Stolen Blood, Stolen Life, the Bron must be within five yards of his target and have a clear, unobstructed line of sight to the target. With a simple act of will, the character begins the process of stealing the target’s Vitae.
No visible cues occur suggesting the target’s blood is leaving her body and traveling to the character — the transfer is entirely mystical in nature. A Kindred using Aura Perception (see Vampire: The Requiem, p. 120) to read the character’s aura sees bright, crimson streams of light flowing into the character’s aura, but unless he also reads the victim (who has the same crimson streamers flowing out of her aura), she receives no indication from whence the strange streamers are originate or what they mean.
Vitae stolen in this manner may only be used for healing or for fueling Crochan powers.
Note also that using this power to feed doesn’t free the character from any moral obligations resulting from his actions, such as killing a vessel, causing harm and so on. See pp. 181–186 of Vampire: The Requiem for more information on Humanity and Morality.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+2 Power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie (see Vampire: The Requiem, p. 162).
+1 Target has tasted the user’s blood within the past night.
–1 Target has been the victim of this power earlier in the same night (cumulative, applies whether the earlier use succeeded or failed).