Blood Treachery

Blood Treachery is a sourcebook for Mage: The Ascension Revised Edition detailing the feud between the Order of Hermes and clan Tremere. The book also serves as a minor sourcebook for Vampire: The Masquerade Revised Edition.

Summary[]

From the White Wolf catalog:

Awash in Blood

Centuries ago, House Tremere splintered from the Order of Hermes to become a cabal of vampire warlocks. The two settled into an uneasy truce in succeeding years – until now. Desperate to reclaim its heritage, the Order of Hermes declares war on its errant kin, while the vampires hope to trap the mages with their blood sorcery. Is it the end for both, or the beginning of an unholy alliance?

Immortality's Price

Long have mages known that vampires have power, but at a great cost. Now the Traditions go to war against the undead. Explore rules for mage ghouls and look into the original development of vampire sorcerers and their secret expatriates among House Tytalus in the Order of Hermes. Unearth the secret magic that can be fueled by the Curse of Caine, and the consequences of daring to war against the undead.

Contents[]

Prelude: Enthralled[]

(...)

Introduction[]

(...)

Act One: Wizards' March[]

Details the circumstances that lead up to the renewed war against the massasa: the frustration, the panic, the intrigue and the declaration.

Act Two: Hidden War[]

Details the specifics of the war: battles, retaliation, mistakes and the eventual stagnation as the Hermetics find themselves in over their heads.

Act Three: Blood Treachery[]

Focuses on one Hermetic house that refuses to submit to either side and grabs for control - with disastrous consequences.

Act Four: Pawns and Bishops[]

Explains the position of the Order of Hermes - and the Traditions in general - in the Final Nights, the desperate actions of Traditions struggling against Armageddon and how they must adapt to survive.

Appendix: The Blood Curse[]

Gives rules for ghoul mages, a few ways to wing it with Mage/Vampire rules systems, some Hermetic High Umbrood who might be interested in these goings-on and Effects old and new.

Merits and Flaws
- Driven (2 Pt Merit)
- Celestial Affinity (3 Pt Merit)
- Nephilim (7 Pt Merit)
- Inglorious Pedigree (1 Pt Flaw)
- Renunciate (1 Pt Flaw)
- Blood-Hungry Soul (2-5 Pt Flaw)
- Massasa Contact (3 Pt Flaw)
- Faust's Burden (3-6 Pt Flaw)
Ancient Knowledge: Recovered Magic
- Oathbreakers' Last ( Entropy, Forces)
- Book of Whispers ( Mind, Matter, Time)
- Thunder's Gauntlet ( Correspondence, Mind, and either Prime, Forces or Matter, or Life)
- Gabriel's Embrace ( Correspondence, Matter or Life, Prime, Forces)
Swords Against the Night: Armaments of the Massasa War
- Glorious Sword of Heaven ( Correspondence, Forces or Correspondence, Forces)
- Oak of Sanguine Root ( Correspondence, Prime, Life, Matter)
- Hermes' Brand ( Entropy, Prime, Forces, Time)
The Reborn Path: Tomorrow's Hermeticism
- Chaos Butterfly ( Entropy, Prime, Spirit)
- The Golden Apple ( Matter, Mind or Matter, Mind, Prime)
Suggested Reading
- The Changing Light at Sandover by James Merrill
- The Collected Works of W.B. Yeats
- Psychology and Alchemy by Carl Jung
- Daimonic Reality by Patrick Harpur
- The Essential Kaballah by Daniel Matt
- The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Narby
- The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu
- A Dictionary of Angels by Gustav Davidson
- The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
- The Secret Language of Birthdays by Gary Goldschneider & Joost Elffers
- Key Words for Astrology by Hajo Banzhaf & Anna Haebler
- The Corpus Hermeticum by Hermes Trismegistus

Background Information[]

This is one of the Year of Revelations books for Mage: The Ascension.
This is one of very few crossover books in the World of Darkness. Although by product code and by style it is a Mage book, the back cover also sports the Vampire: The Masquerade logo, and it is designed for players of both games. The flipside, a Vampire book also supporting Mage players, will be published three years later: The Red Sign.
Scott makes special thanks to Stephen Geller and Steven thanks his mom and Trish in the credits.
Ads at the back of the book include: Vampire: The Masquerade Revised, Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption and Adventure!

Memorable Quotes[]

“

I have lived... No. I have existed for over a thousand years, and that is a great deal of time to ponder one's actions. Most of all, I dwell upon the fortunes that brought me to this. If I had any cause left to believe that Hell had power over me, I might fear for my decrepit soul. More than anyone else, I can appreciate the chains of the flesh and the yearning to escape upward.

I knew full well what would happen when I drank that potion, brewed from the blood of a monster. I knew even then that I sentenced my Daemon to death, that I would lose my magic and be forever outcast from the light of day. Oh yes, I knew the consequences of my actions. However, I knew the mysteries of Fate also, child. The secrets of the Ars Fati were no less compelling in my day than in yours. When the vis began to die, I, like many others, looked to the mysteries contained in unraveling threads. What we discovered, all of us, pleased no one. The cowardly retreated from the world. The proud denied the truth until it ground them underfoot. The brave perished, raging against the turning of Fortune's Wheel. The resourceful? You look now upon the last of them.

I have outlived many enemies. I have deceived Death. I have cheated even the fall of magic. I have usurped the legacy of the First Murderer and supped on souls until my own empty heart grew heavy with the echoes of their anguish. Who, or what, speaks through you, child, that I who may yet see the unmaking of Time, hear in your words that distant stirring of the mystic sight I and my kind murdered a millennium ago?

”

- "The Ancient"

Characters[]

Prelude: Enthralled
- Johann Kurtzweil - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus, Ghoul
- Marcus De Allegresse - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus, Punished by the Oracles
- Wendy Milne - Order of Hermes, House Thig
- Ayara - Order of Hermes, House Flambeau
- Chris - Order of Hermes, House Fortunae
- Miguel Cordovera - Vampire, former Order of Hermes, House Ex Miscellanea (Actually disguised Ancient Vampire)
Act One: Wizards' March
- Augustus Pembroke - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus
- Ingmar Strohmann - Order of Hermes, House Bonisagus
- Ishaq Ibn-Thoth
- Jeremy Chastam - Order of Hermes, House Quaesitor
- Sharad Osei - Would-be Primus of House Thig
- Lord Edward Gilmore - Deacon Primus of Mus
- Nicodemus Mulhouse
- Sophia Chevallier - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus
- Tremere
- Rebecca Mitsotakai - Order of Hermes, House Fortunae, The Cabal of Bright Wisdom
- Josiah Lamb - Order of Hermes, House Ex Miscellanea, The Cabal of Bright Wisdom
- Edward Grey - Order of Hermes, House Bonisagus, The Cabal of Bright Wisdom
- Aurelien Archambeau - Order of Hermes, House Soliticatus, The Cabal of Bright Wisdom
- Paul Corbin - Order of Hermes, House Flambeau, The Cabal of Bright Wisdom, Died
- Bonisagus
- Tytalus
- Jerbiton
- Guernicus
- Diede
- Criamon
- Flambeau
- Verditus
- Porthos Fitz-Empress
- Caeron Mustai
- Ali Ben-Shamazz - Order of Hermes, House Janissary Adept, New Leader
- Altimeas Cowling - Order of Hermes, House Thig, fell with Doissetep
- Abraham the White - Order of Hermes, House Bonisagus
- Matthew - Former Mage, Vampire, Destroyed
Act Two: Hidden War
- Adam Bell - Order of Hermes, House Janissary
- William Underwood - Order of Hermes, House Flambeau
- Takeda Muramasa - Order of Hermes, House Thig
- Gerald Windham - House Tremere, Fourth Circle
- Ursula Schwartz - Order of Hermes, House Quaesitor
- Alexander Berthold - Order of Hermes, House Bonisagus, Died
- Klaus Hortemone - Died
- Master Prescott - Order of Hermes
- Darien Vallard - Order of Hermes, House Ex Miscellanea
- Archangel Michael - Umbrood
- Former Tremere (Grimgroth)
Act Three: Blood Treachery
- James Diamond, Mr. Diamond
- David Graham - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus
- Gregory Reeve - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus, Apprentice
- Vladmir Boleslav - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus
- Maria del Fuego - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus
- Magister Angelo Rossi - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus
- Tomas Velasquez - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus
- Theophilus Marlowe - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus
- Giselle Van Sant - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus
- Lillian Dupuis - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus
- Dahlia Walsingham - Order of Hermes, House Tytalus
- Michael Soering - Euthanatos
- Peter Hague - Order of Hermes, House Fortunae
- Lyndon Smythe - Order of Hermes, House Bonisagus
- Julian St. Germaine - Cult of Ecstasy
- Carpathian - Vampire
Act Four: Pawns and Bishops
- Solomon the Wise
Appendix: The Blood Curse
- Elemental Angels: The Four Brothers
  - Raphael - Archangel, Umbrood
  - Emmanuel - Archangel, Umbrood
  - Gabriel

Terminology[]

1104, 1999, 2000, Amsterdam, Athens, Bangladesh, Black Forest, Blood Bond, Blood Oath, Bonn Chantry, The Book of Nod, Boston, The Cabal of Bright Wisdom, Caine, Cambridge, City of Pymander, Code Ragnarok (Technocracy), Doissetep, Elder, Elemental Courts, Enochian, Exeter Chantry (London, destroyed), Gargoyle, Gediz Caves, Germany, Ghoul, Grand Tribunal, Haven, Horizon, House Bonisagus, House Ex Miscellanea, House Flambeau, House Fortunae, House Janissary, House Quaesitor, House Shaea, House Solificati (Children of Knowledge), House Thig, House Tremere, House Tytalus, India, London, Massachusetts, Massasa, Massasa War, Melbourne, Mistridge, Moscow, Mus, Mythic Age, Nephilim, Ontario, Oracles, Order of Hermes, Pontifex, Project Sunburst, Quebec, Rakshasa, Red Star, Revenant, Salamanca Chantry, Salem (Verbena Coven), Seekers of Unity Cabal, Swiss Alps, Thaumaturgy, Tremere, Umbral Court, Umbrood, Vampire, Vitae, Wizard's March, Zodiac,

Previous release	Game Books	Next release
MTAs: Dead Magic	Mage: The Ascension books	MTAs: Truth Until Paradox Revised
VTM: Clanbook: Gangrel Revised	Vampire: The Masquerade books	VTM: Clan Novel 12: Tremere