[Vampire: The Requiem 2e] Primer: Mandragora & Lacrima

Out of Character (OOC):

Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen

Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition

Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler

Assistant Storytellers: Hannah Nyland & Alex Van Belkum

Primer: Mandragora & Lacrima

Sources: The following text has been taken from the Vampire the Requiem: Ghouls supplemental book adapted for Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition corebook.

Creating Mandragora

Mandragora are ghouled plants, and consequently must be purchased as retainers, just as any other ghoul. Unlike other retainers, 'growing' them is an Intelligence + Science (Botany) roll, or Presence + Animal Ken (Plants) roll. A Kindred with the 'Of Rose and Thorn' devotion may add their Animalism to either roll.

Only especially hardy plants can be turned into Mandragora. (The ones gardeners despair of, because they're so very hard to kill!) Failed mandragora die quickly, usually over a period of a few hours. Green turns to brown, and healthy leaves and vines shrivel as if blasted by heat. The soil takes on a rotten smell like that of a bloated corpse.

As with any ghoul, creating Mandragora requires three vitae to be spent over three different nights, as well as a point of Willpower. Unlike other ghouls, Mandragora also require an Intelligence + Science (Botany) roll with each vitae. At least one success must be achieved on each roll in order for the ghouling to 'take'.

Also unlike other ghouls, the tags for Mandragora are always set.

Daeva Mandragora get Lacrima, Survival, Persuasion.

Gangrel Mandragora get Lacrima, Survival, Brawl.

Mekhet Mandragora get Lacrima, Survival, Stealth.

Nosferatu Mandragora get Lacrima, Survival, Intimidation.

Ventrue Mandragora get Lacrima, Survival, Expression.

Sustaining Mandragora

Mandragora are always controlled by vitae. The plant requires neither sunlight, nor water, nor fertilizers: only Vitae. The number of dots put into the Mandragora represents its size, with larger plants requiring more Vitae.

These are the most common kinds of Mandragora, but do not represent a complete list.

Roses (•)

Almost all varieties of rose are hearty enough to sustain becoming mandragora, regardless of the size of the plant, length of thorn or style and color of the bloom. Roses take on a few unique conditions once imbued with a vampire’s essence. First, a mandrake rose’s bloom changes. No matter what its original color was, the bloom becomes what some growers call a black rose, even though the color is actually a deep, dark crimson. Second, a rose blooms only after being fed blood. A blood-born bloom continues for a full month after the feeding. Third, a mandrake rose becomes more susceptible to a dark fungus found on the leaves called blackspot. Blackspot doesn’t kill the rose (as it might if it were not mandragora), but it renders some leaves warped and bent with shadowy spots crusted upon them. Roses require one Vitae per month to sustain.

Teasel (•)

Teasel is a thistle with small, sharp spines and little violet flowers. It’s not a particularly attractive plant, but some Kindred favor it because it doesn’t need to be cut or otherwise damaged for the gathering of lacrima. This plant (also sometimes known as Venus’s Basin) has several upper leaves that join around the stem and form a cup. Once, the Greeks favored drinking the collected rainwater from this botanical basin for its unproven medicinal properties. As mandragora, water doesn’t necessarily collect in this cup, but lacrima does. Over the period of a week, this floral bell fills with the rusty sap. This sap figures into a few of the more esoteric rituals of the Circle of the Crone. Teasel requires one Vitae per month to sustain.

English Ivy (• or ••)

Also known as Hedera helix, English ivy is an invasive plant that winds about trees and other flora and is sustained almost like a parasite. The natural version grows quickly, carpeting a forest floor in what is generally termed an “ivy desert,” destroying any biodiversity present. The mandrake version of this plant is somewhat different. The process stunts the ivy’s out-of-control growth and tends to reduce its potential spread to that of 10 square feet or so. Also, the vine itself tends to grow fatter (sometimes as fat as a man’s thumb) to help contain the mandrake’s lacrima. Starting with a young and small patch of ivy requires only one Vitae per month. Larger patches (those that measure more than three feet square) require two.

Water Lily (• to •••)

This particular family is aquatic in nature, and so has a worldwide distribution. Yet given its aquatic nature, the average water lily is a damned costly variety of mandrake to maintain. Only the most determined of the Damned bother with the upkeep of water lily mandragora, and even then, they ensure that their enemies find a home deep between the rhizomes of their beloved pond plants. Euryale ferox is an Asian species notable for the sharp prickles that cover its exposed parts. Regardless, the water lilies that survive ghouling take on some disturbing traits, such as the drifting of their floating leaves towards anything possessing blood. Their prickles will actively bend around small animals and the gigantic Victoria amazonica lily can actually bump unaware swimmers hard enough to pierce their flesh with the prickles covering the edge of its leaf, effectively drawing blood. The rhizomes that form the base of the water lily will reach up for any prey that passes nearby, and can entangle a drowning man with little effort, should he succumb to their sharp points. Depending upon the size of the plant, it can require anything from one to three vitae per month to live. When sent to sleep among the lilies, a person is usually bound in rope and weighed down with a heavy weight at either end. The weights are rarely retrieved.

Black Locust (•••)

Few trees seem to be able to sustain the mandrake condition. Many affected trees die — their bark turning black and their leaves withering off the branch. The process takes anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Moreover, not many Kindred are willing to invest the time and Vitae necessary to feed a whole tree. One tree remains a certain survivor, however, should a vampire choose to take the step of making it mandragora. The black locust tree is an aggressive, robust tree. Its bark is darkly colored and lined with small thorns. The branches are crooked and twisted (appearing doubly so in winter, when the leaves are gone). Black locusts become even stranger looking as mandrakes. The branches twist further, the thorns grow one or two inches longer, and the leaf covering becomes sparse and inconsistent. Some Ordo Dracul Kindred are said to have a brooch featuring a silhouetted image of a thorny black locust. The reasoning for this is as yet unknown. Such trees require three Vitae per month to sustain.

Willow (•••)

In England, willow trees are associated with bad things. Old stories tell of willow trees stalking behind travelers at night and snapping their necks with their drooping boughs. Yet elsewhere, they are valued as symbols of wisdom. Whatever the case may be, the genus known as Salix has been found to be a valuable source of mandragora by the Kindred that know of plant ghouls. Their loose boughs mean that they can more easily wrap around a mortal's neck, and their ability to take root from cuttings means that a potential mandrake can be placed anywhere that's moist and/or cool. The southern gentry of the Invictus take a particular liking to willows, as do the eldest of the Chinese Invictus. A willow tree requires three vitae a month to sustain it.

Lacrima

Lacrima is a rust-colored fluid that runs thick, less like fresh blood and more like older, congealing Vitae. It even smells like thickening blood, exuding an acrid odor of decay. Much like sap, it is found in the stalks, branches, and veins of all Mandragora.

The taste, while not exactly pleasant, is queerly compelling. It's also accompanied by a rush that makes lacrima extraordinarily popular among Kindred, and does not require the Blush of Life to either enjoy or keep down.

Lacrima is harvested by activating the Mandragora. Unlike other retainers it takes only one hour to activate, regardless of how many dots the Mandragora has. However, the Mandragora can only be activated to harvest lacrima once per week. This requires an Intelligence + Medicine + Mandragora roll, and results in a tablespoon of lacrima for each success, up to a total value of the Mandragora's rank. (Thus a 3-dot Mandragora cannot give more than 3 tablespoons of lacrima in a single week.)

A single tablespoon is sufficient lacrima to create one glass of lachrymalis (when mixed with a cup of blood), and when given as a gift this is the standard quantity. A bottle contains enough for five glasses. The typical mix is 5:2 - 5 tablespoons of lacrima to 2 points of blood.

The supernatural properties of lacrima keep blood from going bad, allowing lachrymalis an indefinite shelf-life.

Mandragora (ghouled plants) produce lacrima or 'mandrake tears'. Lacrima is mixed with blood to create lachrymalis, or 'blood wine'.

Effects on Kindred - drunk

For every glass of Blood Wine you have within the same scene, roll a reflexive Stamina + Resolve roll, modified by how many glasses you have already had. Thus your first roll is Stamina + Resolve; your second roll is Stamina + Resolve - 1; your third roll is Stamina + Resolve - 2. The Hardy merit applies to these rolls.

A failure on this roll applies a cumulative -1 penalty to any Dexterity-, Intelligence-, and Wits-based dice pools. (Defense is also reduced accordingly). These effects fade at the rate of one die per hour.

As an approximate guideline:

Blood wine consumed, but no negatives: A warm, feel-good sensation.

-1 penalty: Tipsy.

-2 penalty: A good buzz.

-3 penalty: Drunk.

-4 penalty: Without inhibition.

-5 penalty: Belligerently intoxicated.

-6 penalty: Incapacitated drunkenness.

-7 penalty: 'Black-out' drunk.

When the penalty equals or exceeds your Stamina, you must begin rolling for addiction. This is a straight Resolve + Composure roll, rolled each time the penalty increases at a cumulative -1. If you are drinking Daeva lacrima, this roll suffers an additional -2 penalty.

Ghouls

Immediately throw up any ingested lacrima.

Humans

Humans treat lacrima as a poison with Toxicity equal to the regnant's Blood Potency plus number of tablespoons drunk, with the effects varying according to the regnant's clan:

Daeva: Gain the Wanton Condition for the remainder of the night. At sunrise the lacrima burns through the mortal's system, wracking him with pain and inflicting two points of lethal damage.

Gangrel: Take 1 point of lethal damage and receive a -2 penalty to all rolls for the next 24 hours from numbness, weakness, and general lack of mental clarity.

Mekhet: Take 1 point of lethal damage and receive a -2 penalty to all rolls for the next 24 hours from numbness, weakness, and general lack of mental clarity. In addition, suffer nightmarish hallucinations for the remainder of the night.

Nosferatu: Take 1 point of lethal damage and receive a -2 penalty to all rolls for the next 24 hours from numbness, weakness, and general lack of mental clarity. In addition, the lacrima works as a contact poison, inflicting the effects of Dread Presence on the mortal for the remainder of the night. This manifests as a stinging sensation in the flesh and auditory hallucinations of loud, high-pitched shrieks, as well as a general sense of fear and unease.

Ventrue: Take 1 point of lethal damage and receive a -2 penalty to all rolls for the next 24 hours from numbness, weakness, and general lack of mental clarity. In addition, all Resolve and Composure rolls suffer a -3 penalty for the remainder of the night.

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The following text has been taken from the Vampire the Requiem: Ghouls supplemental book. The context of the paragraphs is typically followed by all House Rules imposed for our setting which, in case of conflict, override the mechanical rules of the supplemental book.

Overview

The majority of Kindred recognize the fact that mortals and animals can be fed Vitae and turned to ghouls by the infusion of a vampire’s supernatural will. Few, however, realize that it’s also possible to force a similar alteration upon living plants.

Some who are aware of such a possibility might refer to such altered flora as a “plant ghoul,” but such a term

is a misnomer, for the properties of a Vitae-infused plant differ from those granted to actual ghouls. As such, most Kindred in the know call these creations mandrakes or mandragora, separating them appropriately from human or animal ghouls.

Creating Mandragora

Many Kindred who try to turn a plant into mandrake often face disappointment. Mandragora are rare and unusual specimens that cannot be made from most plants. The majority of flora, in fact, are simply too delicate to support the physiological and supernatural changes intrinsic to the process. As such, only the toughest plants are candidates for this bizarre enhancement. Qualifying plants are ones that are capable of surviving varying qualities of soil, temperature and pollution. Some trees are particularly robust, as are many of the plants known as “invasive” or “alien,” meaning plants that grow unfettered and are notoriously difficult to destroy. A vampire who believes that he has a plant that meets the qualifications for the process is in for further effort that might be beyond his patience or abilities. Generally, the process requires at least three

months. Once per month, the vampire must feed his own Vitae to the plant, typically by saturating the

ground around it with Vitae. How much Vitae he feeds to the plant depends upon the size of it. A small tangle

of English ivy requires significantly less than, say, a black locust tree. At this point, the plant is not yet a

mandrake, though it takes the Vitae in through its root system. During these three months, the plant

continues to have small amounts of the mystical Vitae broken down within it, and it doesn’t need any of

the other life-sustaining elements (water, sun, nutrients from the soil) to survive.

Vitae isn’t the only requirement, however. This process doesn’t give the flora any kind of intelligence or

awareness, but it does grant it a kind of singular instinct unseen in other plants, even in carnivorous plants. Part of this is due to the Blood, yes, but another part comes from the vampire’s own will. In this process, the Kindred actually infuses the vegetation with part of his own hunger and instinct, which awakens the plant to similar hungers. Unfortunately, not all mandragora “take” after the three months have passed, and no one is precisely certain why. Some plants are assumed to be inherently weak; others figure that it’s the vampire himself who was too weak to foster such an aberrance of nature. Failed mandragora die quickly, usually over a period of a few hours. Green turns to brown, and healthy leaves and vines shrivel as if blasted by heat. The soil takes on a rotten smell like that of a bloated corpse.

Sustaining Mandragora

Plants that survive to become mandrakes require vampiric Vitae to survive. Nothing else is required to keep the plant in its strange state between life and death. The plant doesn’t need sunlight, it requires no water or fertilizers. It gains its entire sustenance from the Blood. How much it requires is dependent upon the size of the plant. Small plants might require as little as a single Vitae per month, whereas larger plants (trees, for instance) might need as many as three. Without this sanguine sustenance, a plant withers and dies after a full month has passed without Vitae. It doesn’t revert to being a living plant, it simply perishes over the course of several hours. One dominant exception separates mandragora further from animal or mortal ghouls, however. From time to time, the mandrake can survive on non-Kindred blood. Every other month, a vampire can feed the mandrake an equivalent amount of blood from human or animal sources instead of from her own body, thus saving herself from diminishing her own Vitae. Mandragora do not need the blood poured upon the

ground, as they do when they are becoming ghouls. The nature of the physiological changes allows a mandrake to consume blood through the plant’s stomata, hungry pores that open on leaves, thorns and flowers. These pores can consume blood poured over the mandrake, though old-fashioned Kindred can still feed their creations by soaking the surrounding soil in Vitae, as the root system still functions as a sustenance delivery system.

Physical Properties

The first thing a vampire might notice about a mandrake is that it moves. Such movement is slight, nothing so drastic as flailing branches or thrashing roots. Leaves tremble, boughs sway slightly, vines seem to creep and slither. The second thing is that the plant’s appearance changes. A quick glance might not reveal these changes, but any prolonged examination makes such physical alterations obvious. Healthy green turns to a sickly olive-drab, while any robust brown turns dark and almost dirty in appearance. And yet, this appearance of sickness is belied by an unnatural aura about the plant. Those looking upon the plant cannot help but note that it shouldn’t be alive, and yet, it’s quite apparent that it is alive and thriving. (Moreover, this aura of preternatural life swells and glows all the more after the plant has been fed blood.) A mandrake takes on other odd characteristics, as well. It no longer grows, but its leaves, branches and vines seem to tangle inward upon one another. They no longer search out light or water, but instead snake together in a confusing snarl. That is, until some source of blood (human, animal or vampire) comes near. Should blood be nearby (whether contained in flesh or spilled out), the plant moves, slowly and slightly, to seek out the Vitae. Vines meander blindly toward the source, while leaves point toward the blood like organic dowsing rods.

Mandragora are incapable of actually attacking living creatures, simply due to their slow movement. Only a fool wouldn’t attempt to outdistance a pair of vines seeking the warm pulse on his neck. As such, it’s rare that a mandrake is capable of feeding itself. It’s not impossible, however. While a plant couldn’t consciously conceive of such a tactic, it’s possible that in searching out blood, vines or branches somehow trip or disable a human or animal, which might be enough to allow a whipping limb or curled thorn to sneak a taste. Alternately, some insects or animals might try to make a home out of a mandrake, perhaps by making a nest in its boughs or laying eggs upon the leaves. Such creatures might fall prey to the hungry plant. Of course, actually getting blood requires something sharp enough to cut flesh, which is why many vampires prefer mandragora with thorns or sharp branches. Another substantial change in the vegetation is its inability to reproduce. Becoming mandragora destroys any chance the plant has of creating other plants. Most mandragora stop seeding and fruiting altogether. Those that continue produce hard, worthless seeds alongside bitter, shriveled fruit. The final, though perhaps most important, physical change to take place is what happens inside the plant - the creation of lacrima.

Lacrima

Lacrima (also referred to as “mandrake tears”) is a thick sap found in the stalks, branches and veins of

all mandragora. This rust-colored fluid runs thick, less like fresh blood and more like older, congealing Vitae.  It even smells like thickening blood, exuding an acrid odor of decay. Curiously, lacrima is similar enough to Vitae to allow some vampires (those of less potent blood) to gain nourishment from it. Unfortunately, such nourishment is negligible, providing only a fraction of the sustenance that even an animal’s blood could provide. Lacrima might run thick and taste strong, but its potency is too delicate to be used for feeding. This sanguine sap, however, offers other benefits and properties that some Kindred find intriguing. For one, the taste, while not exactly pleasant, is queerly compelling. So compelling, in fact, that some vampires become addicted to the taste, and to what they claim is a “rush” that accompanies it. The memorable flavor of lacrima alongside the potent sensation gained from drinking it has caused some vampires to attempt to manufacture and sell of bottles of this strange herbal claret. Such bottles rarely contain 100% lacrima, for few plants are able to produce high volumes of the fluid. Most bottles contain no more than one-third of the stuff, with the rest being some notable draught of blood (e.g., the blood of a wealthy man, the blood of a nun, the blood of a child). Vintners of such “wine” rarely sell such a product for money. Money, after all, comes easily. Such bottles are usually traded for items and secrets of significant value. Even higher prices can be inveigled from those rare few addicts who swoon at the thought of another taste.

Blood Wine

The purveyor of Lacrima can mix each vial with .60 liters of alcohol to make their Blood Wine.  Lacrima that has been properly mixed with a solvent (at a rate of one vial to .75 liters) is considered to be Blood Wine. Blood Wine is not only exceptionally smooth, mimicking the aspects of the liquor that it is mixed with, the Lacrima within it also trigger Blood Addiction. Blood Wine itself is addictive, but there is no connection with the addictive properties of Lacrima Blood Wine and Blood Bonds. A Blood Wine addict is NOT in thrall to the purveyor of the Mandragora plant, but simply addicted to the alcohol itself.

Blood Wine follows Blood Addiction rules from Vampire: the Requiem, with the following changes.

After a Kindred's very first "initial" drink, under their own free will; the next time said Kindred is "offered" the ability to drink Lacrima again, a Willpower, Difficulty 6 roll will be necessary.

One success is needed on this Willpower roll to refrain from partaking in the drink. Willpower may not be spent on this roll.

Each subsequent "ingestion" (ingestion occurring on different nights of play) of Lacrima will decrease this Willpower roll by -1, until nothing more than a chance roll is left. At this point a Kindred will be considered totally addicted to Lacrima.

Addiction to Lacrima can be shrugged, at any stage, but the cost and requirements of doing so are great. An extended Willpower, Difficulty 7 roll with a target of 25 successes will allow a Kindred to receive +1 back to their Willpower roll to resist partaking in the drink. Each roll will require the use of 1 Downtime Action. Subsequent extended rolls will be necessary to restore a significantly addicted person.

Once a character has successfully shrugged their Addiction and returned their roll to a Willpower + 1 roll, they will assume the mechanics of a character that has never "initially" drank Lacrima, and may freely resist drinking it until they've done it under their own free will.

Each individual .75 liter bottle of Blood Wine contains enough liquid for 8 separate glasses. While additional glasses consumed in the same night have no effect toward Blood Wine Addiction, they do progressively impair the Kindred consuming them.

One glass = a feel good warming sensation

Two glasses = a feeling of "tipsy", inflicts a -1 penalty to any physical rolls

Three glasses = a good "buzz", inflicts a -1 penalty to all rolls

Four glasses = drunk, inflicts -2 penalty to any physical rolls, -1 penalty to all others

Five glasses = without inhibition, inflicts -2 penalty to all rolls

Six glasses = belligerently intoxicated, inflicts -3 penalty to all rolls

Seven glasses = incapacitated drunkenness, inflicts -4 penalty to all rolls

Eight glasses = fatally "black-out" drunk. You will be called into #Twilight_Gamehelp for appropriate rolls

As an aside to the above "drunkenness" chart, Blood Wine is the only liquid, aside from Blood, that a Kindred may consume without the need to expunge said liquid.

Lacrima that is ingested without being properly diluted inflicts Lethal Damage on Kindred.

Lacrima inflicts Aggravated Damage on Ghouls and Humans.