Rites_level3 Thamaturgy

Level 3 Rituals

    Rituals are Thaumaturgical formulas, meticulously researched and prepared, that create powerful magical effects. Rituals are less versatile than paths, as their effects are singular and straightforward, but they are better suited toward specific ends.
    All thaumaturges have the ability to use the rituals, though each individual ritual must be learned separately. By acquainting herself with the arcane practice of blood magic; the thaumaturge gains the capacity to manipulate these focused effects.
    Thaumaturgical rituals are rated from 1 to 5, each level corresponding to both the level of mastery of Thaumaturgy the would-be caster must possess and the relative power of the ritual itself. Unless stated otherwise, a ritual requires five minutes per level to cast. For example, Jean Claude the Tremere wishes to cast Ward Versus Ghouls, a Level Two Ritual. Invoking this ritual requires 10 minutes, and Jean Claude must know Thaumaturgy at 2 or greater.
    Casting rituals requires a successful Intelligence + Occult roll, for which the difficulty equals 3 + the level of the ritual (maximum of 9). Only one success is required for a ritual to work, though certain spells may require more successes or have variable effects based on how well the caster's roll goes. Thus uncertainly of effect is a recent development; Tremere ecuted them successfully. Many thaumaturges fear that the movements of awakening Antediluvians have caused imbalance in the flow of magic, making the success of rituals more precarious than in previous nights. Should a roll to activate a ritual fail, the Storyteller is encouraged to create strange occurrences or side effects, or even make it appear that the ritual was successful, only to reveal its failure at a later time. A botched ritual roll may even indicate a catastrophic failure or summon an ill-tempered demon.
    Rituals sometimes require special ingredients or reagents to work -- these are noted in each ritual's description. Common components include herbs, animal bones, ceremonial items, feathers, eye of newt, tongue of toad, etc. Acquiring magical components for a powerful ritual may form the basis for an entire story.
    At the first level of Thaumaturgy, the vampire automatically gains a single Level One ritual. To learn further rituals, the thaumaturge must find someone to teach him, or learn the ritual from a scroll, tome or other archive. Learning a new ritual can take anywhere from a few nights (Level One ritual) to months or years (Level Five ritual). Some dread Warlocks have studied individual rituals for decades, or even centuries. Precisely what these rituals do is unknown, but their effects are surely grave.

INCORPOREAL PASSAGE

    Use of this ritual allows the thaumaturge to make herself insubstantial. The caster becomes completely immaterial and thus is able to walk through walls pass through closed doors escape manacles etc. The caster also becomes invulnerable to physical attacks for the duration of the ritual. The caster must follow a straight path through any physical objects and may not draw back. Thus a Kindred may walk through a solid wall but may not walk down through the earth (as it would he impossible to reach the other side before the ritual lapsed). This ritual requires that the caster carry a shard from a shattered mirror to hold her image as she moves insubstantially.

    System: This ritual lasts a number of hours equal to the number of successes scored on a Wits + Survival roll (difficulty 6). The thaumaturgy may prematurely end the ritual (and thus her incorporeality) by turning the mirror shard away so that it no longer reflects her image.

PAVIS OF FOUL PRESENCE

    The Tremere joke privately that this is their ritual for the Venture. Kindred who invoke the Presence Discipline on the subject of this ritual find the effects of their discipline reversed as if they had used the power on themselves. For example a vampire using Presence to instill utter fear in a Kindred undertow influence of this ritual feels the fear herself. This ritual is an unbroken secret among the Tremere and the Warlocks maintain that its use is unknown outside their clan. The magical component for this ritual is a length of blue silk which must he worn around the neck of the person protected by the magic.

    System: This ritual lasts until the sunrise after it is enacted. Note that the Presence Discipline power must actually succeed before being reversed by the ritual.