Adrestoi and Theban Sorcery

In a new chronicle, my (soon to be) Adrestoi Ventrue has joined the Lancea Sanctum.
Whilst reading through the rules for both, I ran into the following:

The added bloodline weaknes for Adrestoi is that wherever they would normally use willpower in a discipline, they use vitea instead. With a very specific 'reason why'.

The children of Midas wax and wane according to their feeding.
They push their minds and flesh too hard, try to accomplish too much, and so they drain away the Blood.
Any Discipline which requires Willpower instead requires the same amount of Vitae.
Adrestoi may spend Willpower normally to affect rolls.

However, Theban Sorcery is also very specific as to why willpower is spent on all Theban Sorcery rituals.

Uses of Theban Sorcery always cost one Willpower point.
Willpower is critical to use of the Discipline.
It invokes the soul of the Kindred who performs a ritual.
Willpower spent in this manner does not add three dice to activation rolls.
Indeed, because one may spend only one Willpower point per turn,
willpower may never be spent to augment Theban Sorcery rolls
unless specified otherwise. Willpower merely makes the magic possible.

 

 

So... does an Adrestoi use vitea or willpower for Theban Sorcery? I feel that something can be said for either option, so I'm curious as to the general opinion here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As that can actually be a benefit, depending upon the situation, I think they changed it to mean an additional Vitae, instead of instead.

As a Storyteller I would probably make the Adrestoi spend both Vitae and Willpower to use Theban Sorcery, because it's clear that the attachment of the "Discipline" to the use of the characters will is not only for a matter of game mechanics but to show his acceptance of the Lancea's ways. It's something so deeply attached to Theban Sorcery that just can't be replaced, especially by a WEAKNESS.

Explaining the roleplay, it would be like your character believes he's acting through his blood like the Bloodline does, although his is still spending Willpower, as I believe this weakness should be at all.

Hope I helped and sorry if I made any grammar bloodshed, long time since I've last wrote in english...

I've had it work just fine with them using vitae instead of willpower by attaching the exact same restrictions to vitae expenditure that's applied to willpower expenditure.  In other words, they can only spend one vitae per turn on the ritual's casting.  They cannot use their freed up Willpower or additional vitae to charge ritual castings or activate other instant duration abilities. Depending on how your chronicle's Sanctified view the sanctity of Theban Sorcery, your Andrestoi may be considered a talented Theban sorceror and have live up to those expectations on behalf of the Church.  Or they could fall under suspicion by their inquisitors for heresy because they found a way to corrupt Theban Sorcery by melding it with Cruac.

Audrey St. John:

I've had it work just fine with them using vitae instead of willpower by attaching the exact same restrictions to vitae expenditure that's applied to willpower expenditure.  In other words, they can only spend one vitae per turn on the ritual's casting.  They cannot use their freed up Willpower or additional vitae to charge ritual castings or activate other instant duration abilities. Depending on how your chronicle's Sanctified view the sanctity of Theban Sorcery, your Andrestoi may be considered a talented Theban sorceror and have live up to those expectations on behalf of the Church.  Or they could fall under suspicion by their inquisitors for heresy because they found a way to corrupt Theban Sorcery by melding it with Cruac.

Interesting thought. Hadn't really looked at it that way yet. I'll go see what my story-teller thinks.

Thanks for the replies all.

I'd rule that the bloodline weakness trumps the specifics of why one uses willpower for theban sorcery.

The weakness description from LotD is an errata. Adrestoi must spend the same amount of Vitae in adittion of Willpower in any power that needs the later. So, everytime they need to spend one Willpower for a Theban Sorcery ritual they must spend a Vitae point too.

This is a cool post by the way. I like paradoxes ;) How I'd personally do it is keep the cost of Willpower for the Ritual, however at also a loss of equal vitae that manifests as stigmata on the Adrestoi. The wounds show the conflict between it's curse and the ritual and the vitae (storywise) isn't used at all in activating the ritual, just a manifestation of the curse.