Rituals
Rituals are arcane formulas and incantations that, properly and skillfully enacted, can
bring abut powerful magical effects. They are not, however, commonplace or easily mastered.
For each level (Basic, Intermediate or Advanced) of mastery in your primary
Path, you can begin to study one of the following rituals of the same level, with
Storyteller approval. You may learn additional rituals with experience and instruction
from a mentor who has mastered the ritual in question. The guidelines for uncovering
and learning Paths also apply to rituals.
Basic
Basic Rituals take 30 minutes to perform, unless an individual ritual description
Crimson Sentinel
This ritual allows you to inscribe a warding rune, making it difficult or impossible for
a subject to enter an area. You must inscribe the rune with one of the subject’s Blood Traits,
which affects an area up to 15 paces across (a small room). The number of Mental Traits
you expend when casting the ritual determines the difficulty: Once the ward is engaged,
any time the subject attempts to enter the warded area, she must win a Static Challenge
against this difficulty. If the rune is discovered and destroyed, the ritual is dispelled.
states otherwise.
Defense of the Sacred Haven
You can use this handy ritual to protect your haven or chantry from one of the
oldest banes of the Kindred - sunlight. The ritual costs one Blood Trait to cast, but
lasts as long as the structure is intact and you remain within. After it is cast, no sunlight
can enter the haven through a window or door (as long as they remain closed). The
ritual affects structures up to the size of a small house, but a Storyteller may rule that
it can also affect larger structures at a higher cost.
Deflection of the Wooden Doom
By performing this ritual within a circle of wood (of any sort), you can make
yourself or someone else impervious to staking. The ritual costs one Mental Trait to
enact, but lasts until you are staked - if this happens, the challenge is lost, the staking
implement is destroyed and the enchantment ends. Neither party suffers wounds, and
no Traits are lost. To represent the presence of this ritual, you should record it on your
character sheet and carry a small wooden sliver (like a toothpick) on you. Only one
of these enchantments may be present on a subject at a given time.
Devil’s Touch
You can place a temporary magical curse upon a mortal, causing others to view him
With revulsion and disgust.The subject must bid at least two Traits on all Social Challenges
while under the effects of the ritual. Using either skillful roleplaying or the Streetwise or
Security Ability, you should slip a penny or similar coin onto the victim. The ritual ends
when the subject finds and discards the coin - or at sunrise, whichever comes first.
Purity of Flesh
This ritual mystically purges impurities (mundane pollutants, poisons and drugs,
but not diseases or magical effects) from a target by concentrating these impurities into
the subject’s blood. To enact the ritual, you take one Blood Trait, which becomes
thoroughly putrid and useless afterwards, from the subject. A Storyteller may require
a Simple Test or challenge for particularly stubborn substances.
Engaging the Vessel of Transference
You can mystically prepare a vessel to act as a conduit, exchanging the blood it contains
with the blood of anyone whom it contacts. While you need not initiate any tests to
accomplish the transfer (causing a slight shivering sensation in the victim), the container
only conveys one Blood Trait per use. Once you have transferred all of the original blood in
this manner, the magic fades, but the collected blood remains. Often used to obtain blood
samples or to Blood Bond a subject, this ritual costs a Mental Trait to perform.
Ward Versus Ghouls
You can create an arcane sigil that detrimentally affects creatures such as ghouls, who have
both mortal and Kindred blood. Placed on an unbroken and immobile circle or loop, the ward
produces discomfort in ghouls approaching the edge of this barrier (from within or without) and
causes three aggravated wounds to ghouls crossing the barrier. Alternately, placing the ward on a
melee weapon causes it to inflict an aggravated wound (in addition to normal damage) on ghouls.
To inscribe and enchant the warded area, you must destroy a Trait of mortal blood and
permanently expend a Mental Trait. If the symbol is somehow discovered and destroyed ,the ward’s
magic is destroyed. If you wish, you can exclude individual ghouls from either version of the ward
if they are present at the casting and donate a Blood Trait to attune the ward to ignore them.
Blood Walk
This ritual allows you to trace the lineage of a subject. By winning a Simple Test, you
may learn the identity of the target’s sire. You can continue testing in order to learn
successive ancestors, though a single failure ends the ritual. Each successive test requires
the same time investment as the initial ritual.
Calling the Restless Spirit
By enacting this ritual, you can summon up a ghost for five minutes of conversation
after succeeding on a Simple Test. Any interruption ends the conversation. You must be
within 10 feet of the corpse, or in the area of a haunting in the case of wraiths. This power
gives you no control over the spirit in question, who is not required to do the summoner’s
bidding. This will work on a vampire who has died the Final Death, but not through diablerie.
Donning the Mask of Shadows
By casting this ritual, you are able to conceal yourself in shadows, much as the Obfuscate
power Unseen Presence. For each Mental Trait invested, you have the ability to become invisible
for one hour. All benefits and liabilities for Unseen Presence apply.
Mourning Life Curse
This one-hour ritual may be prepared ahead of time, requiring crocodile blood, and
completed before the end of the evening. By whispering the final word in the ear of a mortal,
you cause said mortal to cry tears of blood. There is no known defense, and the victim will
continue to bleed until the caster breaks the line of sight. The effect is not painful, but could
greatly disturb a victim. The bleeding is slow, causing loss of one Blood Trait per every five
minutes. As well as normal after-effects of blood loss, the subject’s eyes will be bloodshot.
Principal Focus of Vitae Infusion
You are able to alter an object so as to hold a Blood Trait. The object must be able to
fit into your hands, but no smaller than a pea. After receiving the Blood Trait, the object
becomes reddish and slick. You can reclaim this blood by touching the object and willingly
releasing it from its enchantment, causing the object to disintegrate and turn into the Blood
Trait. Another Kindred may be incorporated into the ritual, allowing him to claim the Blood
Trait, but he must be present during the initial casting. The Blood Trait used is still yours.
This ritual takes four hours to cast. Blood contained in this manner will not spoil as other
blood does.
Rite of Introduction
This ritual allows you to announce yourself to all Tremere within a city. After
performing the ritual, which requires speaking into a cloud of water vapor, you may speak
with a recipient for five minutes for every Mental Trait expended. This starts with the
Regent of the chantry within the city and progresses to the others according to their
knowledge of Thaumaturgy, from greatest to least. The casting allows you to write down
a short introduction which is then given to all Tremere. If a conversation is then desired
by one of the city residents, you must expend a Mental Trait before you may speak. Only
one person may be spoken to at a time; traditionally, only the Regent replies to the
announcement.
Unless the player can produce an overwhelming reason not to select this Rite as her
basic ritual, characters should default to Rite of Introduction.
Rebirth of Mortal Vanity
This simple ritual allows you to grow hair after the Embrace. It is also usable on
others. A hair from a different mortal child is required for each inch of hair growth
desired. It can be useful in facilitating disguises.
Scent of the Garou’s Passing
Smelling a mixture of wolfsbane, milkweed and some more arcane foul-smelling
ingredients will allow you to detect the presence of a Garou. A Mental Challenge must
be won against the target, and you can only identify Garou that you have previously
smelled before. You are able to determine the following things: gender, time of passage
and breed.
The Open Passage
This ritual takes 10 minutes and a Blood Trait to cast. The caster traces an intricate
design upon a barrier, such as a stone wall, which will then become insubstantial for the
purpose of allowing someone to pass through. The ritual only lasts for one minute.
Wake with Morning’s (Evening’s) Freshness
This ritual must be performed immediately prior to going to sleep for the day.
Complete meditation is required. Any interruption, or the performance of other
activities after the ritual but before going to sleep, renders the ritual null and void.
At any sign of danger during the day, you will immediately awaken. You will be able
to act normally, as if it were night, except for being able to go into the sun. Feathers
must be burned and spread over the sleeping area to cast this ritual. Also, you must
spend a Mental Trait to get the proper meditation.
Intermediate
Intermediate Rituals take an hour to perform, unless the description of an
individual ritual below states otherwise.
Bone of Lies
You can enchant a mortal bone to ascertain whether or not the holder is telling
the truth. The bone must be at least 200 years old from a mortal who has never tasted
of Kindred blood. This ritual takes one hour to perform, and the bone must be bathed
in and absorb 10 Blood Traits. Thereafter, each time someone bearing the bone lies,
it visibly darkens. The bone may be used 10 times before it is rendered useless.
individual ritual below states otherwise
Pavis of the Foul Presence
It is rumored that the Tremere created this ritual primarily to counter the Presence
Discipline in which their chief rivals in the Camarilla, the Ventrue, specialize. Indeed, it is
almost never found outside ClanTremere. The ritual costs a Mental Trait to cast and lasts until
you invoke its power or until sunrise, whichever comes first. When someone uses a Presence
Discipline against you, a test is performed as normal, but if you win, the Presence Discipline
instead affects your foe. If you lose, the Presence power has no effect. In either case, to use the
ritual again, you must recast it. Only one of t h e enchantments may be present at a time.
To represent the presence of this Discipline, you should record it on your
character sheet and wear (not necessarily visibly) a blue silken cord about your neck.
Ward Versus Lupines
You perform this ritual exactly like Ward Versus Ghouls except that you use
silver dust, not blood, to cast it. The ritual affects Lupines in all their forms.
Binding the Beast
This 10-minute ritual will remove a Kindred from frenzy, separating him from his
Beast for a short while. You need not see the subject; merely drink one Blood Trait from
the frenzying character (which could have been obtained earlier), and push an iron spike
through the palm of your hand, causing a normal wound. Upon completion, the target
immediately emerges from frenzy and becomes extremely passive, gaining the Negative
Traits Submissive x 2 for the remainder of the night.
Bladed Hands
This ritual requires you to expend a Blood Trait and takes 10 minutes to cast. Upon
doing so you gain the bonus Physical Trait Sharp until next sunrise. Be careful when
handling fragile objects or touching people; a handshake could be dangerous.
Eyes of the Past
By expending two Mental Traits and casting this ritual, you are able to view events
at the location of the casting, up to five years prior. A specific time and date must be
chosen. Up to a five-minute time span can be watched, and during this full sensory
enchantment, you will be unaware of your physical surroundings. This ritual may
only affect one room.
Flesh of Fiery Touch
This protective ritual causes your skin to become a lethal trap. Anyone who lays bare
hands upon your skin will be burned. This ritual lasts until the next nightfall. For each
touch, or once per turn for continued touches, the target takes one aggravated wound.
Casually brushing against someone will not cause damage, nor will your clothes be set a
flame. This ritual is not without its drawbacks. During this two-hour ritual, you must
spend a Willpower Trait, and swallow a burning coal, which inflicts an aggravated
wound. This can be reduced with Fortitude or healed as normal. While you are enchanted,
your skin has a noticeable bronze tint and feels hot to anyone touching it. The effect works
only for skin on skin — even a thin layer of clothing destroys the effect.
Gentle Mind
With this ritual, you are able to bestow an extra two Willpower Traits upon the
subject for the purpose of resisting frenzy. You and the target must exchange one Blood
Trait each, consuming one from the subject in order to cast this ritual; the caster may
never cast this on himself. The extra Willpower Trait can only be used to resist frenzy
and nothing else. The duration of this ritual is one night.
Haunted House
This ritual may be cast on any Kindred’s haven. After casting, rumors begin to
circulate of the location being haunted, leading many to shun it. Even those who profess
disbelief will avoid the place. You must spend three Blood Traits to cast this ritual, with
more Blood Traits increasing the effect. The ritual will last for 10 years, at which
time, mortals will begin to rationalize the place as merely run-down or just weird. Most
vampires treat this ritual as a breach of the Masquerade.
Heart of Stone
By casting this ritual, your heart turns to solid stone, leaving you immune to staking.
The ritual requires an earthen circle three inches high and six feet in diameter to be
formed on a natural stone surface (poured stone, such as concrete, is not acceptable).
You must lie prone in the center and place a lighted candle directly over your heart,
allowing it to burn down. This causes one aggravated wound. The ritual will last as long
as the caster desires, dispelled with a thought. While under this enchantment, you
cannot spend Willpower. If you are forced to spend Willpower, the ritual ends
immediately. While under the effects of this ritual, you lose all Friendly or
Compassionate Social Traits, and gain a number of Callous Negative Social Traits
equal to half your remaining allotment of Social Traits.
Illusion of Peaceful Death
This ritual heals visible wounds on a corpse, making it appear as if the person has
died of natural causes. It does not add blood to a corpse, but will remove reasons for a
person to check for blood loss. At least half of a full Blood Pool must be in the body
for this ritual to work. You must “dust” the corpse with a white feather and expend
two Mental Traits.
Innocence of the Child’s Heart
This ritual hides your aura from Aura Perception. Anyone using that Discipline
successfully upon you sees a white aura, devoid of any signs of vampirism. A mortal
child’s toy must be carried throughout the duration of the ritual, which lasts for one
hour per Mental Trait invested at the time of the casting.
Protean Curse
The target of this ritual is turned into a bat, as with the Protean Discipline Form
of the Beast. The target must drink a Blood Trait taken from a rabid vampire bat. If
the target is unwilling, the caster must defeat him in a Physical Challenge. This ritual
affects only Kindred and humans, and lasts only one night.
Rending Sweet Earth
With this ritual you can open a 10-foot by 10-foot opening into the earth, leading
to an Earth Melded vampire. If the Earth Melded Kindred is asleep, he is automatically
awakened, but will not do so if in torpor. The ritual must be cast exactly where the
vampire entered the ground. The caster strikes the ground repeatedly with a leather
whip and must defeat the subject in a Mental Challenge. If the target is in torpor, the
ritual automatically works. The effect lasts only for a single night.
The Unseen Change
This ritual requires marking an area with wolf’s blood poured from a silver jug and
investing a number of Mental Traits. Any Garou entering the area must win a Static
Mental Challenge, difficulty determined by the number of invested Traits, or be forced
to automatically change to Lupus form and stay that way while within the circle. Once
activated, the ritual remains in effect for one evening.
The Watcher
This ritual summons a rat, who then goes wherever the caster directs and looks for
whatever the caster indicates. When the rat returns, the caster may touch its head and see
what it has seen. The caster may even have the rat steal small objects, but she must be
exacting in detail about the object’s appearance and location to avoid mistakes. You must
win a Static Social Challenge, the difficulty determined by the number of rats nearby, in
order to cast this ritual. It lasts until next sunrise. The summoned rat is still subject to
Animalism Disciplines.
Incorporeal Passage
By looking into a fragment of a mirror while intoning this chant, you become
completely incorporeal. Physical attacks pass through you while you may step unhindered
through any solid barrier. You can only move forward or stand still once you invoke
Incorporeal Passage — you may not turn or back up. The ritual lasts for the next full hour
or scene, but you can end it simply by turning away the piece of mirror that you hold.
Rutor’s Hands
The terrifying servant created with Rutor’s Hands is actually one of your own
severed hands, with one of your eyeballs set atop it! After casting this ritual, you must
cut off your own hand and pluck out your eye, suffering five levels of aggravated
damage in the process, in order to complete the spell. (Don’t actually inflict physical
harm on yourself. Your character does the nasty deed, not you.) The ritual keeps
your body parts from crumbling to dust, and it animates them as spies for your use.
They follow your mental orders, moving as you direct and allowing you to see and
hear whatever they experience. You can create as many as you like, though you must
regenerate your hands and eyes fully after each casting before making another set
of Rutor’s Hands. The spying, scuttling… thing made with this ritual needs a single
Trait of blood each week (from any source), or else it crumbles to dust.
You can get cards for your Rutor’s Hands, and then use them to spy on other
locations. Simply give the card to a Narrator and direct him to a particular location.
If the thing is spotted, of course, it is easily destroyed with a single level of damage (it
is considered to have three Physical Traits that it can only use to defend itself).
Soul of the Homunculi
Few vampires trust anyone, yet the arcane researches of the Tremere often require
capable assistants. A homunculus is a tiny physical replica of the caster, completely
loyal and made to serve its master as a spy and aide. Casting the Soul of the Homunculi
takes a full month of time outside of play. When completed, the homunculus acts as
a tiny extension of yourself. Such creations can resemble tiny winged creatures capable
of flight, a legless slug with a human face like its master’s, or a small marmosetlike
creature with a face resembling its creator. Any given homunculus is completely loyal
to its creator, in effect acting as an extra limb. Homunculi have three Physical Traits
and two health levels, and they cannot fight. They can spy and report back or perform
small tasks. You can only have one homunculus at any given time.
Advanced
Advanced Rituals require 90 minutes to perform unless stated otherwise.
Night of the Red Heart
You perform this ritual in two sessions of one hour each- the first just after sunset,
and the other just before sunrise. If you enact the ritual successfully, its target dies
horribly at sunrise: His heart boils and is consumed as if by the burning rays of the sun.
The ritual requires three of the victim’s Blood Traits and a fellow Thaumaturgist
(although only one of you need know the ritual). The subject immediately realizes that
she is the target of a ritual after you have completed its first part, although she may not
be aware of its origin. The target can only save her life by killing one of the Kindred
performing the ritual or otherwise preventing the second ceremony. You must cast
both parts of the ritual in the same place and within the same city as the target. To
invoke the final effect, each caster must permanently expend a Mental Trait.
Nectar of the Bitter Rose
The mysteries of this ritual are held in strict secrecy by those able to cast it, for the
ritual’s very existence poses a threat few in the Camarilla would tolerate. During the course
of this three-hour ritual, the participants drain and devour the life essence of a Kindred.
The victim must be present and somehow restrained throughout the entire process. The
end result is a draught that may be shared by up to five Diabolists. Each drinker may benefit
from the generation of the victim, if applicable, though only once per victim and ritual.
There are risks, however. Each Diabolist must engage in a Simple Test (no Traits
are risked) against the victim. If the Diabolist wins or ties, she lowers her generation. If
she loses, the blood rejects her and she gains nothing from the ritual, nor may she ever
benefit from the ritual in the future. At the very least, the victim of the ritual is utterly
destroyed, his soul consumed in the process. See the Chapter Three, “Diablerie,” in this
book and Chapter Five of The Masquerade 2nd Edition for further information.
Abandon the Fetters of Blood
Through this powerful and taxing arcane ordeal, you can free a target from the
legendary shackles of the Blood Bond. To perform the ritual, you must use all the blood
from the subject and a single Blood Trait from her Regnant to fuel the ritual. At the
ritual’s climax, when the last of the target’s blood leaves her body, she suffers the
permanent loss of a Physical, Mental and Social Trait of her choosing as a result of the
ordeal. The subject’s blood is then returned and the Blood Bond is no more. You
cannot use the Regnant’s blood again, as it is destroyed during the course of the ritual.
Ward Versus Kindred
You perform this ritual exactly like Ward Versus Ghouls, except that you use
Kindred blood to cast it and it affects vampires of all sorts.
Blood Contract
Using a Blood Trait, you create a binding agreement between two parties. If either
party willingly breaches the agreement, the result is Final Death of he who broke the
pact. Both parties must use a Blood Trait to sign the agreement. The only way to dissolve
the commitment is to complete one’s part of the contract, or to physically burn the
agreement.
Curse of Clytaemnestra
Through use of this ritual, you are able to destroy one male mortal (including ghouls)
by aging him rapidly, decaying him into nothing. You must have a personal possession
of the subject, as well as at least one Blood Trait. The ritual takes one full day to cast. The
target can resist by winning a Static Physical Challenge, the difficulty determined by the
number of Blood Traits invested by the caster during the ritual. If the subject ties, then he
is merely crippled and takes three normal wounds.
Stone Slumber
By casting this ritual, which must start two hours before dawn, you are turned into
stone at sunrise. Similar to any other stone statue, you can be moved from place to place,
even through sunlight, remaining a statue until sunset. To rise from this form, three Blood
Traits must be expended, as opposed to the normal one. You are immune to staking and
most forms of fire. Pieces can be broken off, though, doing however much damage the
Narrator decides. Most forms of communication are impossible, as the caster’s mind is
dormant. While in statue form, all of your Physical Traits are changed to Enduring, and
you have double the Health Levels with regards to any physical damage attempted upon
you. Activating this ritual requires the expenditure of two Mental Traits and a piece of
rock broken off from another statue.
Umbra Walk
The Tremere powers of Auspex allow them to search sublime planes of consciousness,
but there are still other levels of existence to the infinite cosmos. Through the power of
this ritual, which requires the sacrifice of an intelligent being (almost certainly costing
you a Humanity Trait), you enter the Umbra, a spirit reflection of the physical world.
You arrive naked, though certain magical items may come with you at the Storyteller’s
discretion. You can even bring other people, though each additional traveler requires
another sacrifice. The Umbra is a dangerous place, traveled by werewolves and unfriendly
spirits. Umbra Walk lasts until you choose to step back into the material plane. See Laws
of the Wild for more detailed information about the spirit worlds.
Antitribu Rituals
Rituals are magical systems of action that require specific ingredients, incantations,
blood and time. They are also very draining to the Thaumaturgist’s will, neither
easily mastered nor easily taught, and almost always guarded jealously.
While the Camarilla Tremere have many rituals, the Tremere antinibu have
developed many of their own.
Basic
Blood Rush
Blood Rush allows you to trick yourself into feeling the sensation of drinking
blood. With your eyes closed, you must spin three times to the left and chant the secret
phrase three times in your mind. If you do not do so, you will not feel the ritual’s effects.
By creating a sensation of your consuming more than about two Blood Traits
(although you gain no actual Blood Traits), this ritual proves most useful in preventing
blood frenzies by making you feel as if you’ve just fed. You must spend one Physical
Trait to enact this ritual.
Domino of Life
This ritual allows you to adopt one aspect of human life for the duration of the night.
You may eat, drink, raise your body temperature, simulate a heartbeat or anything else you
desire. Only one aspect may be invoked at a time and its presence will not change your aura
in any way. To invoke life in this manner, you must consume two mortal Blood Traits, win
a Static Physical Challenge with a two Trait difficulty, and expend one Physical Trait.
Rotten-wood
By speaking a ritual word aloud, you can crumble to dust any wood you touch -
from an enormous antique table to a stake. The ritual, which you must perform upon
waking, lasts one night. To enact it, you must chew through a one-inch-thick piece
of wood without using your strength to break it. Thereafter, whenever you wish to
disintegrate a wooden object during the course of that night, you must win a Static
Mental Challenge against it and you can do so.
Craft Bloodstone
Through this ritual, you may create a small mystical object called a Bloodstone.
A Bloodstone acts as a magical beacon for the person to whom it is attuned. Once you
have attuned a Bloodstone, you may sense its exact location in a nonvisual manner.
This enchantment usually lasts for a century or so, although some have lasted for as
long as 500 years. To create a Bloodstone, you must find a suitable stone and leave it
within a container holding at least three Traits of your Blood for three nights. Each night
you must chant over the container as the Bloodstone absorbs each Blood Trait. After
the third night, the liquid within the container becomes clear like water. The ritual may
be ended here, allowing you to sense the location of the Bloodstone wherever it is.
You can infuse more Blood Traits into the stone, at the rate of one each evening.
These Blood Traits can be retrieved by anyone holding the Bloodstone at a rate of one
per evening. You must win a Static Mental Challenge against a difficulty of five Traits
each time the incantation is cast over the Bloodstone. This ritual can also be cast upon
a pre-existing Bloodstone to attune it to you, as well as recharge it.
Eyes of the Nighthawk
This ritual allows you to receive the audio and visual information obtained by a
bird. First you must touch the bird and feed it a specially prepared birdseed mixed with
your blood. You must win a Static Mental Challenge against the bird (difficulty of five
Traits). Upon success, you can then mentally control it, but where it will travel only. To
receive information, you must close your eyes and concentrate; this action will leave
you unaware of your current surroundings and unable to act until you break concentration.
This ritual lasts for one month before it must be cast again.
Illuminate Trail of the Prey
Through the use of this ritual, you are able to view the trail of a target — footprints,
tire tracks, airplane trajectories, etc. — as a glowing neon trail. However, the trail ends
as soon as the target wades through or submerses himself in water. You must have viewed
the target and have a starting point where the target has been in the past. The trail begins
at the starting point, following the movements of the target, with the intensity of the glow
being indirectly proportional to the amount of time which has passed since the target was
present at the location. The caster must defeat the target in a Mental Challenge in
order to track him.
Impassable Trail
By wrapping your feet in soft deerskin, you can pass through the thickest woods
without leaving any visible trail. You must expend one dexterity-related Physical Trait to
enact this ritual. The duration is an entire evening. This Ritual works only in non-urban
settings, though there are rumors that “advances” have been made allowing for the effects
to function in even the heart of the urban jungle.
Machine Blitz
By casting this ritual, you can cause machines in the area to go haywire. You must
expend a Mental Trait for each turn you desire this ritual to remain in effect. The
enchantment allows machines a limited amount of movement, performing activity
similar to their normal functions, even to the point of attacking whomever the caster
desires. Any attacks use the caster’s Mental Traits with a two-Trait penalty. The actual
results should be determined between the involved parties, or by a Narrator.
Power of the Invisible Flame
This simple ritual allows one who knows Path of the Flame to create invisible fires.
The effects can be felt as normal, but aren’t visible.The ritual lasts for one evening, and
must be cast around a fire of at least torch size. Each time you wish to make invisible
flames, you must expend a Mental Trait. You must have the Path of the Flame before
you can learn this ritual.
Preserve Blood
By casting this ritual, you are able to prepare blood against spoiling, keeping it in a
specially prepared earthenware containe r. The container must be prepared by burying it
in earth for two nights. Thereafter, the container must be dug up. The blood is added, and
the container is sealed with wax. Once opened, the blood spoils at a normal rate. You
must win a Static Mental Challenge (difficulty of four Traits) in order to cast this ritual
successfully.
Steps of the Terrified
This ritual allows you to slow down a specific target. You must win a Mental
Challenge against the target. Afterward, each turn the victim tries to run she is slowed
to half her speed. A normal run would only go half as far, while someone using Celerity
would only get half as many actions as normal to run away, possibly slowing her down
enough for lower levels of Celerity to catch her. As the victim tries to run each turn,
she slows down by half again, eventually to a walk. The ritual requires a small cube of
dried mud, perfectly square on all sides.
Summon Guardian Spirit
Through use of this ritual, you are able to summon a spirit for the next 24 hours to
guard you. The spirit cannot do more than warn you of danger through interaction with
the surrounding environment. It cannot speak and is only visible to you, and then only in
times of danger. You cannot b e surprised for the duration of the ritual. You must win a
Static Social Challenge (difficulty of five Traits) to summon the spirit.
Will o’ the Wisp
This simple ritual allows you to produce a supernatural light source. This ball of light
can be mentally commanded to travel within your sight, and even perform simple tricks.
The ball may become brighter, dimmer, separate into smaller balls, dart about,
encompass someone in its glow, etc. It is most often used as a simple light source or
diversion. A willow branch is required in the casting. This ritual will last as long as you
concentrate on it. A Mental T rait must be expended each hour you wish the light to
remain active.
Intermediate
Fire In the Blood
This ritual causes your victim to suffer one aggravated wound every time she
engages in a Physical Challenge. It requires physical contact between you and the
victim (a Physical Challenge) and may be performed as a separate challenge during
combat or in advance. You must also speak aloud a word of command, such as “burn”
or “boil.” In a noncombat situation, this word, though it must be audible, may be
delivered quite subtly. When activated during combat, the ritual is an obvious attack,
and the victim will be aware ofwhat you are doing to her. In either case, you must win
a second challenge against the victim in order for the ritual to be effective (your
Mental Traits vs. the victim’s Physical Traits). If you are successful, for the duration
of the night, the victim experiences extreme pain from the heat of the blood in her
body whenever she engages in a Physical Challenge.
If you perform the ritual in advance with the physical contact being, for example,
a handshake, the Storyteller may wish to give the victim an envelope to open when she
engages in her first Physical Challenge (not including the original challenge against
you) which explains the effects of this ritual without directly revealing its source.
Iron Mind
Performed when you wake, this ritual renders you almost entirely invulnerable
to Auspex for the duration of the night. By sitting in uninterrupted meditation for 15
minutes before joining play, wearing a piece of iron on your head, and spending one
Willpower Trait, you engage the ritual.
If another character wishes to perform a Mental Challenge to use any of the
powers of the Auspex Discipline, she must spend a Willpower Trait to perform the
challenge. Having done so and won, the character can use Auspex as usual.
Recure of the Homeland
You can heal up to two of your own aggravated wounds. The ritual requires dirt
from your homeland, which must be rubbed on the wound while you sit in meditation
for 10 minutes. Although the meditation should be uninterrupted, it could feasibly
happen in a communal haven with others present. Because one handful of dirt heals
one aggravated wound, you can only hold (at most) two handfuls of dirt, and the ritual
may only be enacted once per night, the maximum number of Health Levels you may
heal is two. This ritual requires a Static Mental Challenge.
Bottled Voice
By winning a Mental Challenge versus the target, speaking an incantation and
gesturing toward an empty bottle, you are able to trap the target’s voice within a bottle.
The bottle must be sealed with wax in addition to any other closure, such as a cork.
While the seal or bottle remains intact, the target cannot speak.
Eldritch Glimmer
By casting this ritual, you are able to surround yourself in a green glow. You can
then throw fire bolts of this energy at a cost of one Blood Trait per bolt. These bolts
inflict one aggravated wound, and may only be cast at the rate of one per turn. You must
win a Mental Challenge versus the target’s Physical Traits in order to hit. Each time a
bolt is fired, you must win a Simple Test or expend a Mental Trait to keep the ritual from
ending. The ritual’s duration is only until the next dawn. This ritual requires a piece of
sandstone soaked in vinegar.
Fire Walker
This ritual protects you from fire for up to an hour. Whenever you are attacked by
fire and wi n a Simple Test, no damage is taken. A special salve must be rubbed on the
soles of your feet, and two Mental Traits must be spent to cast this ritual.
Friend of the Trees
Anyone who tries to follow you through woods after you cast this ritual is
immediately subject to interference from the surrounding foliage. These plants animate
slightly, slowing down pursuers to half speed. You must plant an acorn and spend two
Mental Traits to cast this ritual. It lasts as long as you remain in the woods or until
the next sunrise.
The Haunting
By casting this ritual, you may summon a malevolent spirit to cause fear in a target.
Like a poltergeist, this spirit will play tricks on a subject, but its intentions are to frighten,
to death if it can. This spirit usually has little effect on Kindred, but it will make
werewolves uneasy and frighten mortals. The spirit cannot directly harm the victim, but
if it wins a Soc ial Challenge against her, the spirit makes Simple Tests until it loses to
determine how much harm it can do. One success freezes the target in place for a few
minutes; two causes her to faint; three causes her to become Incapacitated. Four can kill
the target unless she wins a Static Physical Challenge, the difficulty equal to the spirit’s
Social Traits. Survivors may awaken to find their hair turned white from the experience.
Exactly what the spirit does and how long it haunt the victim is determined by the
Narrator playing the spirit.
Keening of the Banshee
With a horrifying scream, you can cause the person nearest to you to age 13 years
minus his total Physical Traits. His hair also turns white. You must win a Mental
Challenge against the target in order to affect him. This ritual requires a necklace with
a pendant carved from an old tombstone. This does nothing to Kindred but can harm
mortals, ghouls and werewolves.
Mirror Walk
With this ritual, you are able to enter a mirror of a size big enough to crawl through.
This allows you to use the mirror as a gate to the nearest mirror of large enough size to
allow you access. You may safely take one person with you through the mirror. The
mirror seems to liquefy, ripples cascading across the surface, returning to normal after
you have gone through. You must be wearing a ring with an emerald when this ritual is
in effect. If you are being chased, this ritual may be used as a Fair Escape. However, the
pursuers, or anyone within five feet of the mirror when this is cast, may immediately
state their intention to follow you through the mirror; otherwise the opportunity
to follow is lost.
If the person does not come through the mirror willingly, she must win a Static
Physical Challenge against a difficulty of 6 or be killed, one half of her lying in front of
the entrance mirror and the other half lying in front of the exit mirror. You must expend
three Mental Traits to enact this ritual.
Respect of the Animals
Through use of this ritual you are able to travel through wilderness areas without
danger from animals. Animals neither like nor dislike you, but simply ignore you. Two
Social Traits must be expended to enact this ritual, which lasts four hours.
Touch of Nightshade
This ritual gives you a touch that is literally fatal. After you have cast this ritual, the
first mortal you touch must engage in a Physical Challenge with you. If he loses, he dies,
instantly and painfully. If he ties, he is in severe pain from cramps for the rest of the
evening, and is down two Traits in all tests during that time. Winning the Challenge
allows the victim to avoid the effects, but he remains unaware of the attack. To complete
this ritual you must rub juice from some form of nightshade onto your hands. The attack
is only good for a single target; the second mortal you touch after performing the ritual is
safe from its effects.
Advanced
Chill of the Windsaber
You can decapitate a victim with sheer telekinetic force. This very potent ritual costs
two Willpower Traits and a Mental Challenge against the target. You must prepare it in
one hour of solitary, uninterrupted ritual (the player must remain alone, out of game) by
creating a voodoo doll of the intended victim using some piece of the victim’s clothing,
hair, flesh or blood (a card representing the item or a Blood Trait from the target character
must be shown to a Storyteller before the challenge can occur). Next, you must chant over
the doll and tuck it safely away with a small piece of glass. To activate the ritual, you must
be within 50 feet of the individual, snap the piece of glass in half, point your finger at the
target and engage in a Mental Challenge. If you win, the telekinetic force of your ritual
chops off the victim’s head. There is no warning for this very advanced and rare ritual,
unless the targeted character manages to find out what is going on and put a stop to it before
you can enact the ritual. Storytellers should disallow this ritual if it unbalances their game.
Invisible Chains of Binding
You can render another creature immobile by summoning a supernatural force of
invisible chains and shackles. You may chain up to four people with this ritual, but must
spend one Willpower Trait for each. You must be able to see your victims while making
bold hand gestures like tying, and you must be sure the victim(s) sees you. If the victim
wishes, he may spend a Willpower Trait to resist, after which a challenge between your
Mental Traits and the victim’s Physical Traits occurs. You or the Storyteller should
inform any victim of Invisible Chains of Binding of his option to spend a Willpower Trait
to initiate a Physical Challenge, as most players are unaware of this option.
Thirst Unquenchable
Within another vampire, you can create the sensation of the Hunger for the
remainder of the evening. No matter how much the victim feeds, he will remain starving.
To do so, you must stand in the victim’s presence for five minutes and sprinkle salt around
her in a circle. The prolonged effects of this ritual almost always induce frenzy.
Dominion
This three-hour ritual, the effects of which last for a week, provides an effective
defense against certain vampiric Disciplines. Proper casting of this ritual renders an area
up to 500 square feet immune to all effects of Animalism, Dominate and Presence, except
those you yourself create. Preparing the area pro perly mandates that iron seals be
embedded over all doors within the area of effect, and they must remain so for the duration
of the ritual’s effect. If any of the seals are marred or removed, the effect ends instantly.
You must expend three Mental Traits to cast this ritual.
Eyes of the Beast
Similar to Eyes of the Nighthawk, this ritual allows you to see through the eyes of
any animal you have previously enchanted to serve as a conduit for the power. To prepare
an animal properly, you must touch it on the forehead (not as easy as it sounds) and then
win a Static Mental Challenge against seven Traits. Thereafter (at least for the duration of
the ritual), you can close your eyes and, by concentrating, see through the enchanted
beast’s eyes. The ritual’s effects last for six weeks, no matter how far the animal wanders
from you. You may only cast this ritual on one animal at a time.
Lion Heart
By casting this ritual, you may increase your combat abilities. The ritual bestows upon
you the Physical Traits Brawny, Tough, Quick and Enduring. When in a challenge that
might cause you to flee, or be subject to a Fear frenzy, you gain an extra Willpower Trait.
Finally, you also gain two Abilities in Brawl and two Abilities in Leadership. This ritual
only lasts for 20 minutes. A Willpower Trait mus t be spent in order to enact this ritual. If
you do not rest within two hours after the completion of this ritual, you will take one
Health Level of damage for every 10 minutes you do not rest. The amount of time necessary
to be considered rested is one hour.
Mindcrawler
An insidious force within a victim’s mind is created by this ritual. You must place your
hand upon a victim’s head, whi ch may require a Physical Challenge; the victim feels a slight
burning sensation. For each day afterward, the victim loses one Mental Trait until all are
lost. After all Mental Traits are lost, the ritual ceases. The victim may regain these lost Traits
by putting forth effort in recovering them, at a rate of one Mental Trait per week. You must
dye a small tick red, paint it with an arcane sigil, crush it, apply it to the victim’s head,
and then win a Mental Challenge against the target.
Paper Flesh
For one night, the victim of this ritual is bereft of most of the benefits of Fortitude and
endurance-related Physical Traits. Victims of eighth generation or higher lose all but one
endurance-related Physical Traits and Fortitude powers. With each succeeding generation,
the victim hangs onto an additional Trait and Fortitude power. In order to inflict Paper Flesh
on a target, you must defeat her in a Mental Challenge and subsequently tear a picture of her
in half.
Spirit of Torment
Similar to The Haunting, this ritu al lets you summon a spirit to do your bidding. This
time, the spirit is capable of taking on physical form and doing real damage to others. In
order to summon the spirit, you must win a Social Challenge. Once the challenge is won,
the spirit obeys your commands to the letter, until to it takes damage to its physical form.
At that point, the spirit flees. The spirit has 13 Physical Traits, three Social Traits and seven
Mental Traits. It has three Willpower Traits, the Abilities of Brawl x 4, Intimidate x 3 and
Occult. It also has the following Disciplines: Heightened Senses, Aura Perception, Might,
Unseen Presence, Mask of 1000 Faces and Cloak the Gathering. When trying to frighten
someone, the spirit gains three bonus Social Traits (Frightening x 3). Furthermore,
by winning a Mental Challenge, the spirit can see and identify anything in the local Near
Umbra. In its normal form, the spirit is incorporeal, but it can spend a Mental T rait in
order to become corporeal for fi ve minutes. The appearance, actions and other details
of the spirit are left to the discretion of the Narrator
