1 • Out Light
The first rule of shade: darkness overcomes all light. A neophyte thaumaturge can exert this property of darkness, lights may flicker and dim or even snuff out completely, depending upon their strength and the thaumaturge's will. The thaumaturge can focus darkness upon any one light source within her range of sight. Only lights up to the strength of a torch, light bulb or neon light can be affected, but complete success snuffs a light permanently (light bulbs and neon signs burn out; candles go out, but could be re-lit later).
1 Momentary flicker
2 Pronounced guttering for several seconds
3 Source produces only dim light or erratic light for two turns
4 Ligtht source blacks out completely for two turns then resumes
5 Totally extinguished
2 • Shadow Taunt
A wholly unnerving power, Shadow Taunt allows the thaumaturge to take command of a distant shadow. By sympathetically linking it to his body, the thaumaturge can make the distant obey his own shadow's motion. Success determine how many turns the caster can control a distant shadow. Only one shadow at a time may be influenced. The caster must be able to see the shadow, and it must be a natural shadow, not one created with Obtenebration.
3 • Coruscating Shadow
A commanding Tremere can peel the very shade from surrounding surfaces and bend it into floating forms that whip about. These airborne shadows conceal the caster and create a roiling sphere of confusion. The unnatural display manifests as an ephemeral globe that encompasses the caster at about arm's length, though it contracts and expands rapidly while the shadows flit about its surface. Under the effects, the Tremere gains partial concealment due to the rapidly strobing passage of shadowy shapes. The ball of shadows that surrounds the caster has no physical substance.
4 • Night's Veil
Shadows seem to devour the landscape hungrily as night falls. Where any shadow lies, the power of night remains--through that sympathetic power the Tremere can invoke the strength of night in any place. Mortals who have observed the bizarre power have left the experience ''touched'', talking of shadows impossible in the current light. Typically, the caster stands within a shadowed corner and invokes this power. In each successive turn, the shadow slowly expands to cover greater ground. The shade counts as an area under the province of night: the Tremere can act normally without hindrance from daytime and avoid the sun's rays. Should the cast step outside the shadow, though, the effect ends immediately--quite possibly stranding the Tremere, dizzy and disoriented, in burning sunlight.
5 • Abyssal Pact
Mastery of the Path of Shadowcrafting allows a Tremere to imbue his shades with some semblance of substance. While smothered in darkness, the Tremere lets loose something that seems hungry and malevolent. Mastery of such shade creations also gives the Tremere a small chance to counter Obtenebration, though such hope perhaps leads more to overconfidence than to conquest. To summon this, both the Tremere and the target must be within the same patch of darkness. The caster doesn't have to see the individual, but must somehow sense the victim's presence, whether by hearing, touch or some other apprehension. The darkness must be total or near-total. Costs five blood points total.
Once created, the shade-form assaults the victim and drains vitality. Tangible shadow attacks envelop the victim in a smothering blanket of darkness that bites like a school of barracuda. The hungry shadows suck out the very essence of living vitality (Kindred can use their blood to restore such losses). Subsequent attacks are cumulative, so its possible to wear a victim down over multiple turns, though that's certainly expensive and time-consuming for all but the most proficient thaumaturges.
The abyssal shades conjured with this power can be used to fight against Obtenebration, but they seem reluctant to do so. Instead of inflicting damage upon an opponent, the caster can direct the shadow power so that every 2 successes removes 1 success from an Obtenebration effect. This can negate a power entirely or reduce its effiency. Of course, the Lasombra can simply reactivate the appropriate Obtenebration powers, probably without nearly as much effort, but the surprise alone can prove invaluable.