Dionysus is the Olympian god of Wine and Revelry. He is also known as Bacchus among the Romans.
Overview[]
Dionysus is the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theater, and religious ecstasy in ancient Greek religion and myth. Wine played an important role in Greek culture, and the cult of Dionysus was the main religious focus for its unrestrained consumption. His worship became firmly established in the seventh century BCE. However, he may have been worshipped as early as c. 1500–1100 BCE by Mycenaean Greeks, and traces of a Dionysian-type cult have also been found in ancient Minoan Crete. His origins are uncertain and his cults took many forms.
Vampire: The Masquerade[]
In Vampire: The Masquerade Dionysus had some Cainite impersonators throughout the years, the most prominent of which was the Malkavian methuselah known simply as The Dionysian. The Cainite Prince of Athens in ancient times was also called Dionysius - which is an alternate spelling to the name of the god himself.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse[]
In Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Bacchus is a Totem of Wisdom.
Incarna[]
Though much older than the Ancient Romans, this ancient Incarna of intoxication, sex and fertility has been dubbed with the name Bacchus ever since, and does not object. Always known as a mad wanderer, he has traded favors with the Black Furies as a fertility god, been pleaded with to bless the brews of the Fianna, and these days seems most at home among the raves and innumerable narcotics of young Glass Walkers. Those who see Bacchus only as a reveler miss the darker mysteries into which he inducts his children and the terrible rage he can bring upon those who would deny him. What’s more, those Silent Striders interested in the Dark Umbra often see the once-dead Bacchus as a guide.
- Background Cost: 5
Traits[]
Bacchus immerses his children in the mysteries of life and death, giving them +3 Occult and +2 Enigmas. These are far from trivial and he prepares them for the shocks they will face by giving each of his children +1 Stamina (which also enables them to withstand greater intoxication before passing out). Finally Bacchus is wise but furious in his anger. His packs may draw on 3 extra Rage per story.
Bans[]
Those who follow Bacchus tend to be strongly connected to their baser natures. If a character has a chance to indulge a strongly felt desire, they must succeed in a Willpower roll (difficulty of their own Rage) to do otherwise.
Mage: The Ascension[]
600 BCE, Greece inherited the Dionysian tradition from Thrace. A Cult of Bacchus sect, the Maenads form and worship Dionysus. Members of the sect have long since vanished and live on in the Umbra and in Shallowings. Not quite human and not quite spirit entities changed forever by the touch of Dionysus.
The most famous member of the sect was Tali Eos, a founder of the Cult of Ecstasy.
In the First Edition Tradition Book, it was said that the Maenads had alliances with the Black Furies.
Changeling: The Dreaming[]
Born of the love for chaos, freedom and well known for his irreverence, a legendary Unseelie Sidhe who lived on Mount Olympus bore the name of Dionysus.
Wraith: The Oblivion[]
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References[]
- VTM: Clanbook: Malkavian Revised, p. 19-21, 28
- DAV: Road of Humanity, p. 92-93
- WTA: Players Guide to Garou, p. 139
- MTAs: Cult of Ecstasy Tradition Book, p. 37-38
- MTAs: Tradition Book: Cult of Ecstasy, p. 16-18
- CTD: Kithbook: Satyrs