idea for themed mystery cults

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

A while back I created a "classic" vampire for Ars but realised I didn't have enough virtues/flaws using the normal creation rules. I decided to create a mystery cult for the character to unlock and expand his vampy repertoire adding virtues and flaws that matched classical vampire tales. My though was that the cult lore could be taught by other vampires or discovered by practice. Initiation would be done by the initiate so would be quite hard.

I have since created a few such cults (although cult employs some social process, this was far more individual and personal than that),

Anyone else done anything similar?

2

Brief outline of what I've got so far. I've only sketched out the fluff beyond the first but my thinking should be obvious. I was tempted to make the sunlight curse nastier but any more harsh and it rapidly becomes more nasty than a major flaw and makes a character unplayable.
I've been thinking on similar lines of creating "cults" for other supernatural-beyond-being-a-wizard folks, such as fay blooded.

Rank 1 – Strengthening the Flesh
The vampire at this point understands that his body is in a stage between life and death and that therefore, he can push its limits further than a mortal could. Vampires at this level of awareness manage to use the power in their blood to ignore the effects of wounds, recover from wounds quickly and ignore the ravages of time. Physically they have improved beyond the human condition, but this power does not come for free. By allowing their vampiric nature to come to the fore, they empower the curse that they suffer from and begin to find the sun unbearable. Vampires exposed to the sun while wearing normal clothes suffer deprivation checks every diameter. If the vampire dresses in a heavy cloak, with a hood pulled far down, gloves and thicker, darker clothes, this deprivation check drops to once every hour. Of course, this is incredibly obvious and unusual, especially when the weather is nice and everyone else is removing such items. The fatigue damage caused by this is short term.

Initiates Tough, Rapid Convalesence, Unaging
Target 21 (as a major virtue)

Script: +13
+3 Quest ()
+9 Major Ordeal (Gain flaw - Greater Malediction: Sunlight aversion)
+1 appropriate ritual

Mystagogue needs pre + cult lore = 8

Rank 2 – Mutability of the Flesh

Initiates Shapeshifter

Target 12 (21 -9 for previous initiation)

Script: +4
+3 Minor Ordeal (Gain flaw: Deleterious circumstances: in direct sunlight)
+1 appropriate ritual

Mystagogue needs pre + cult lore = 8

Rank 3 – The Ancestor’s Power

Initiates Mythic Blood

Target 15 (21-6 for previous initiation)

Script: +7
+3 Minor Ordeal (Gain flaw: Limited magic resistances: Aquam)
+3 Minor Ordeal (Gain flaw: Limited magic resistances: Ignem)
+1 appropriate ritual

Mystagogue needs pre + cult lore = 8

3

I'm not sure I'd do vampires as mystery cults at all.
In my opinion, they should become more powerful by draining more people/other vampires. Basically, the older the vampire, the more powerful it becomes. By treating peoples' 'essence' or souls as vis, they can gain xp using the magic being rules in RoP:M.
In particular, they should start with major sunlight flaws and be able to buy them off as they get older, rather than become more sensitive.

On the other hand, I can see each 'master vampire' establishing his/her own mystery cult and doing initiations on his/her human followers, making them stronger, ageless, more charismatic, etc.

4

Why not simply decide upon the Realm they associate with and then give them apporpriate Powers? And V&Fs to fit the concept.

Is it because of some need to balance them aghainst other player characters? Vampires have lots of different definitions, but based on the most popular versions in Western movie/literature (plus Vampire rpg) that are not balanced at all with humans.

In ArM a Mythic Companion is regarded af comparable to a magus, they often get 2 Virtue Points per Flaw point taken for a totel of +20/-10 - is that enough for the vampire envisioned?

Also, why Mythic Blood - that's a Hermetic Virtue. Just give them a straight out Power for the blood sucking and what have you.

Finally, I'm sure Against the Darkness covers vampires of some kind.

5

Against the Dark covers Faerie vamps mainly, and a little bit of infernal. Neither would be mystery cult types.

6

Becoming a "standard" vampire (to the extent that there are vampires defined in various ArM publications) seems a little weak as an endpoint for a Hermetic mystery cult; one would think the goal would be to become a supernatural creature of greater might score. I guess that creature could be vampiric in order to lower the amount of vis, etc. needed to transcend the mortal.

Regardless, it's almost certain that becoming a vampire is going to be a chthonic kind of magic, if not actively infernal, and so would have to be practiced in secret by Hermetic magi to avoid a Wizard's March.

7

Or a result of a botch in trying to become something else...

8

That couldn't happen... again... in this continuity... Lupino Tremere!