Custom Blood Magic: Ritual

Diamond's Doom
This ritual is the trademark of John Diamond, Jonestown's sire. It enchants a wooden object into a powerful anti‐Kindred weapon. The object can be as large as a wooden stake or a cane, or as small as a letter opener; in any case, it must be roughly shaped like a stabbing weapon.

System: A Diamond’s Doom stake gains an additional trait for use in combat challenges. Like any common stake, it can be used to impale the heart of and immobilize a vampire. The attacker makes three simple tests, not two, and if any two of them succeed, the defender is staked. Once the enchanted weapon is in a vampire's heart, it takes root, and cannot be removed without ripping out the heart and putting the vampire into torpor‐‐a disaster for low‐generation Kindred. Furthermore, if weapon and heart are

removed‐‐a task involving considerable strength or crude butchery‐‐the vampire remains staked, similar to the results of staking a removed heart as in Heart of Darkness. If the heart is burned or exposed to the sun, the vampire is destroyed. Furthermore, if the heart is outside of the body of the kindred for more than one hour, it begins to decay, and will lead to the death of the kindred who’s heart it is (this ritual is not a cheap alternative to Heart of Darkness, and does not provide the protections of the heart that the Advanced Serpentis does).

Aegis may be blown to avoid death by heart deterioration. The heart will re‐form in the body when Aegis is blown. The weapon will release its grip and slide out easily if the true name of the one who wielded it is spoken as it is pulled. Anyone may remove it by this method. Other methods of removal would be by the use of Vicissitude (up to Bonecraft is required), the ritual Rotten Wood will destroy the stake, Decay (First Basic Hands of Destruction) will destroy the stake (the Second Basic Gnarl Wood will not work). Other methods such as burning the stake out with a blowtorch will only result in the death of the person so staked. The ritual Purity of Flesh will also expel the stake.

Those who can see auras will notice a shimmering cloud of menace and hate around the weapon if they think to check. Anyone who tries to use Spirit's Touch or its equivalent will be overwhelmed by visions of pain and violence from the malevolent intelligence that inhabits the weapon if they attempt to "read" it. Whether they win or lose, they will gain no useful information from the Spirit's Touch. This ritual can by no means be combined with Shaft of Belated Quiescence or Splinter Servant.

Domaldi, a legendary Swedish king, did not have a happy life. He became king when his two older half-brothers murdered their father Visbur, and his stepmother cursed Domaldi with a life of bad luck. This was one curse not made in vain; Domaldi's reign was marked by famine and plague. The first year of starvation, the Swedish chieftains sacrificed oxen, and when the harvest was still terrible, they offered up human beings the following year. Because the luck of the land was believed to be tied to the luck of the king, on the third year the chieftains reluctantly decided they had to sacrifice Domaldi (who was generally liked and well-regarded). Sagas relate that Sweden's luck changed once the altar was splashed with Domaldi's blood, and the next year's harvests were excellent.

Mechanics:The Koldun makes two cuts on the sides of his stomach, so that he may be full, but not eat, one cut representing each older brother. He places a maximum of as many small rocks (thumb-sized) as he has in his primary Koldunic Way multiplied by his Koldunism ability. He then heals the wounds (which are one lethal a piece) and ingests blood, which is suffused into the small rocks, sacrificing Domadli on the altar. One trait is absorbed into each. They may be activated no more than 3 per round to generate the blood trait infused in each small stone into the blood pool of the Koldun. Once cast, the stones will revert to blood if removed from the stomach. Each stone has a single use. They remain in the stomach until removed or used.

Advanced Ritual

This ritual enchants two doorways allowing passage from one through the other despite the distance between them; functioning similarly to the Hearth Path advanced level.  One trait of vitae is required from each participant (who need not be present at the rituals casting), which is collected in a clay jar, in which is placed a papyrus copy of Anubis leading of the dead through the underworld from the Book of the Dead.  Each door to be enchanted is carved with hieroglyphs and then painted in the vitae of those who are to be attuned to the doors, and, therefore be able to travel between them.

This passage works by creating a small passageway into Du'at through which the lector-priest - and those she has attuned to the doors - may travel.  This brings about its own unique difficulties.  If the ritual challenge is failed (after all applicable retests), another simple challenge is thrown (no traits risked).  Failure on this follow-up challenge means that not only was the passageway not constructed properly, but something has come through from Du'at and will trouble the caster until she finds a way to get rid of it (Storyteller's discretion).  Those who have not been attuned to the ritual who travel through the door, exit wherever the door would normally exit in the real world.

This ritual passageway lasts for one Sothic year (Year based on the rising of Sirrius), at which time it needs to be recast (using another trait of blood from each who wishes to pass through it) or the ritual lapses.

Long ago, upper and lower Egypt lived together in harmony.  In a spectacle of wonder, Set called forth his children to witness what would later be known as his final wonderwork and gift to his children.   As everything changed with the Silent Striders attacked.  Set, in his glory; maintained not only the effort of his work but also defended Egypt from the Silent Strider invasion.   Using their deaths and trapping their souls in the Du'at bonding it to Egypt to protect it.  Ultimately after many days and nights of battle and thousands dead, Set ended the invasion by the universal destruction of all who threatened Egypt.   When the dust settled and Egypt needed him most, Set was gone.   In his place, a great mystical Barrier stood preventing the Silent Striders from ever returning.   In 2017, the Silent Striders rallied a call for aid to lay Siege to Egypt once more.  Other Garou, as well as their mustered allies among Mages and Fae answered their call.   Their might eventually called to those long dead Ancestors bound in the Du'at to rise up as well.   The living and the dead throwing their lives at this great wonderwork endlessly until it could bear the weight no longer.   In the end, the living sacrifice their lives and the dead sacrificed their very souls but the deed was done and the barrier that separated the ancient tribe from their ancestral home was gone. 

Through dedicated research and effort a Lichter Priest walks an area meditating and reflecting on this and other ancient stories of Set and their great works, under the lightless night of the New Moon.   Marking the area with various Hieroglyphics with classic Egyptian tempera using their own blood as a thinning and bonding agent.  The Lichter Priest must spend a minimum of 1 blood point per "block" they enchant.  The Blessing lasts until the Lichter Priest is killed, or a Year and a Day; whichever comes first.   A "block" is used as it is a measurement that is unique and appropriate to each game the rituals may be used in, in which an ST may then add additional limits as appropriate for their chronicle's geography.

The Ritual "Echos of Du'at '' Calls upon the fragmented souls of the Du'at to call to those who escaped and draw them back to their proper home.   Any Silent Strider who sleeps more than 1 Hour inside the blessed area, finds that their mind is under siege by horrible nightmares (2pt Flaw).   These nightmares persist for as long as the Silent Strider continues to sleep within the blessed area.   As soon as the Silent Strider leaves, and sleeps at least 1 Hour outside the area, the nightmares fade, as does the flaw.

Alternatively, the Ritual "Draught of War" calls upon the seemingly endless wellspring of energy conjured on both sides of these ancient stories.  In which the Gnostic Energy of the Silent Striders is siphoned by the Du'at to claim what rightfully belongs to it.   Any Silent Strider which enters the protected area finds themselves unable to regenerate their own swells of Gnosis.   They may still call upon powers, spirits, and fetishes or talens to regain their Gnosis - they simply can not regain it naturally under their own power.   Should a Caern exist inside the protected area, the Caern is unaffected and the Silent Strider may regain gnosis at the Caern as normal.

While performed the same way, and an area may benefit from both rituals.  Each must be purchased  with experience points separately as advanced Akhu Rituals as well as cast as seperate challenges.

The caster spends the time necessary to cast this ritual in meditation, thinking upon the symbolic nature of the universe. When finished, the thaumaturge’s increased connection with the Atlas allows the materials present in the Atlas to help the thaumaturge solve symbolic problems.

Mechanics: Once per night, the caster can spend a temporary mental trait and retest one failed mental test involving deciphering, understanding, and solving runes, symbols or symbolic equations (such as various forms of mathematics). This counts as a magical retest, and requires the intermediate ritual, Forging the Atlas, to have been successfully cast.