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Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition thin-blood formula

Awaken the Sleeper

Awaken the Sleeper is a thin-blood formula in Vampire V5: Rouse a vampire from torpor through alchemy.

Last reviewed

Key facts

Level
4

Overview

Awaken the Sleeper is a Level 4 Thin-Blood Alchemy formula that drags a vampire out of torpor. Torpor is supposed to be inviolate: elders sleep out the centuries, and the Kindred who buried them decide when, or whether, they rise. This formula takes that decision away from them and hands it to a thin-blood. That inverts the whole hierarchy for a moment, and everyone involved knows it. Waking the wrong sleeper starts a war, waking the right one settles one, and either way the alchemist is standing over an ancient who did not choose the hour.

How it works

Level: 4 Effect: Rouse a vampire from torpor, including one who was put there against their will Ingredients: Demanding and specific, including potent blood; this is the hardest brew on the thin-blood list Danger: The waking vampire rises starving, and the nearest body is yours

Tips and playstyle

Best Uses: Reviving a fallen ally, leverage in elder politics, opening a story the Storyteller built around a buried ancient Limitations: Age and power matter; the older the sleeper, the less the formula is a sure thing

Frequently asked questions

What happens the instant an elder wakes?

Extreme Hunger. Plan for a prepared vessel, distance, or an exit before you administer the formula.

Can this wake an Antediluvian?

Treat that as a Storyteller decision, not a die roll. The formula was written for Kindred, not for the founders of clans.