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Level 4 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.
BONE OF LIES
This ritual enchants a mortal hone so that anyone who holds it must tell the truth. The hone in question is often a skull though any part of the skeleton will do-some Tremere use strings of teeth necklaces of finger joints or wands fashioned from ribs or arms. The hone grows blacker as it compels its holder to tell the truth until it has turned completely ebony and has no magic left.
This ritual binds the spirit of the individual to whom the bone belonged in life; it is this spirit who wrests the truth from the potential liar The spirit absorbs the lies intended to be told by the bone's holder and as it compels more truth it becomes more and more corrupt if summoned forth this spirit reflects the sins it has siphoned from the defeated liar (in addition to anger over its unwilling servitude) For this reason anonymous bones are often used in the ritual and the bone is commonly Curie. After it has been used to its full extent. A specific bone may never he used twice for this ritual
System: The bone imbued
with this magical power must he at least 200 years old and must absorb
10 blood points on the night that the ritual is cast Each lie the holder
wishes to tell consumes one of these blood points and the holder must speak
the truth immediately thereafter When all 10 blood points have been consumed
the bone magic ceases to work any longer