Custom Blood Magic: Ritual
Some chronicles allow for their players to develop customized powers for their characters. The following is a compilation of player created custom content in OWBN. At this time, custom content that is created and/or used by vampire PC's is required to be listed.
For centuries the Tremere have gathered and studied knowledge. The members of House Arcanum know this better than anyone. Their libraries are of the utmost importance. This ritual secures the collected knowledge of House and Clan.
System: The caster spends 1 blood trait, mixed with the ink of an octopus to consecrate an amulet to be placed on an outside wall of the chantry. In total, 4 amulets must be consecrated and placed on the 4 corners of the chantry. They must use this same formula to place glyphs (which will fade from view after written on the book) on each individual book in the chantry library. If any of the marked books are removed from the Chantry, the pages of the book become blank immediately with no way to retrieve the content. Once the book is returned to the Chantry Library, the contents immediately return.
System: This ritual was developed by a young aspiring member of Wards and Measures, as a means of further ensuring that valuable secrets of the Chantry do not fall into the hands of their enemies. To enact this ritual, the caster must drain a Blood Trait from each member of the Chantry and cast it into a fire fueled by the blueprints of the Location that they are attempting to cast this protection upon. A copy and not the original will suffice. After the fire dies down, the ritualist must anoint a small spot above each portal leading into the protected location. This leaves small telltale black marks for those who know what to look for and are often mistaken as just a dirty spot on the surface it sits upon.
Until the end of a month, while inside the protected location, the participants in the ritual are aware whenever another entity uses supernatural powers to actively spy upon the Chantry and them. Thus allowing them to end conversations before giving away valuable secrets or hide whatever secret materials the hidden observer was after. The participants also discovers the type of attempted surveillance - listening, watching, telepathic contact, etc.
This ritual does not protect against supernatural powers that do not directly spy on the user; for example, it will not detect a Nosferatu using Obfuscate to stand in the corner and listen to what is being said, because Obfuscate is not providing him with any information. However, if they used Heightened Senses to listen in on the conversation, the ritual functions normally. Likewise, this ritual won’t immediately detect a character employing Telepathy to send the recipient a message, but Telepathy attempting to plumb the user’s mind for information would be detected. Last but not least, it does not block conventional eavesdropping. If the participants are careless enough to let someone overhear or otherwise spy on them directly, that’s their own problem.
At storyteller’s discretion, particularly mighty elders or similarly powerful creatures may be immune to this ritual, though this should be rare and reserved for those who have specifically cultivated their talent at supernatural surveillance, or else this ritual quickly loses its usefulness
This is considered a Haven Ritual and may be augmented by other rituals that affect havens as well.
Advanced Ritual
Cast in a similar manner to Draining the Well of Life, The necromancer gathers his wraiths around him and then drains a mortal vessel fully, sacrificing the mortal as a material component of this ritual. He may then drain from the passion pools of wraith(s) within his willpower in yards. For every five (5) that he drains from their passion pools, he may replenish one willpower.
Law of the Word (Intermediate Ritual)
For the longest time the Law of the Word was one of the Laws of Haqim, but it has become apparent that it was not followed in this day and age like it once was. This ritual was created to ensure that whatever answers were given by one under the effects of this ritual. That those answers were true and unblemished.
Mechanics:
This ritual affects a general area about the size of a room along with the single individual you wish to question within its aura of effect. The ashipu prepares the ritual location by burning incense and smoking khalife as they fill the air of the enclosed space with the pungent aroma. After the air is saturated with the aromas there is one more step. The spilling of blood. Whoever you wish to speak the truth when asked questions must have their blood added to the air by a few drops in a burning flame, so it may turn to smoke and permeate the ritual area. This binds the one that has bled in this way and to tell the truth and follow the word of the law. No falsehood may be spoken within the area of effect regardless of the speakers wish. They must answer any direct questions fully and candidly with no creative omissions.
This may be done against the person’s will and might require challenges to get the blood from their system or other means of storage. This ritual is not restricted to one person at a time under its effects. This ritual lasts a scene or an hour.
Advanced necromancy ritual This ritual allows a Necromancer a quick leap into the Shadowlands. Mechanics: The Necromancer chants over a finger bone that they have removed from themselves for 6 hours, bathing the finger bone in 3 traits of their blood, burning a Willpower, and investing as many mental traits as she wants into the bone. The finger bone in preserved by the ritual for the duration of the casting but must be reattached to the spot it came from for the ritual to be complete. Once the ritual is complete, the bone becomes a one-shot leap for the Necromancer into the Shadowlands. When the finger bone is broken you make a static challenge of the mental traits invested into the finger bone vs. the level of the shroud. If you succeed, you leap into the Shadowlands at the end of the round. To return you just need to expend a willpower trait. You can take with you only the inanimate objects that you carry. You cannot pull living or undead creatures in with you. The caster my only use this ritual on himself for obvious reasons and if more than one finger bone from the caster’s hands are prepared in this way the caster is down one trait on all dexterity and blood magic related challenges including combat. Additionally, if the finger is broken in combat, the effects still occur regardless of if the Necromancer is willing or not.
Advanced necromancy ritual
This ritual allows a Necromancer a quick leap into the Shadowlands.
Mechanics: The Necromancer chants over a finger bone that they have removed from themselves
for 6 hours, bathing the finger bone in 3 traits of their blood, burning a Willpower, and investing
as many mental traits as she wants into the bone. The finger bone in preserved by the ritual for
the duration of the casting but must be reattached to the spot it came from for the ritual to be
complete. Once the ritual is complete, the bone becomes a one-shot leap for the Necromancer
into the Shadowlands. When the finger bone is broken you make a static challenge of the mental
traits invested into the finger bone vs. the level of the shroud. If you succeed, you leap into the
Shadowlands at the end of the round. To return you just need to expend a willpower trait. You
can take with you only the inanimate objects that you carry. You cannot pull living or undead
creatures in with you. The caster my only use this ritual on himself for obvious reasons and if
more than one finger bone from the caster’s hands are prepared in this way the caster is down
one trait on all dexterity and blood magic related challenges including combat. Additionally, if
the finger is broken in combat, the effects still occur regardless of if the Necromancer is willing
or not.
Advanced
Mechanics: The Necromancer chants over a finger bone that they have removed from themselves for 6 hours, bathing the finger bone in 3 traits of their blood, burning a Willpower, and investing as many mental traits as she wants into the bone. The finger bone in preserved by the ritual for the duration of the casting but must be reattached to the spot it came from for the ritual to be complete. Once the ritual is complete, the bone becomes a one-shot leap for the Necromancer into the Shadowlands. When the finger bone is broken you make a static challenge of the mental traits invested into the finger bone vs. the level of the shroud. If you succeed, you leap into the Shadowlands at the end of the round. To return you just need to expend a willpower trait. You can take with you only the inanimate objects that you carry. You cannot pull living or undead creatures in with you. The caster my only use this ritual on himself for obvious reasons and if more than one finger bone from the caster’s hands are prepared in this way the caster is down one trait on all dexterity and blood magic related challenges including combat. Additionally, if the finger is broken in combat, the effects still occur regardless of if the Necromancer is willing or not.
Description: Sometimes the chains of the Aeons reach so deep that they are almost insurmountable, shackling even the mystic essences of the soul such as the akh and sekhem. This long and horrific sorcerous surgery, relying on the principles learned by Heart of Darkness and fundamental principles of other rituals, particularly Emancipation of the Ka, inverts malignant energies influencing a vampire—and only a vampire can survive this process—to undermine and erode even terribly potent shackles on the subject’s will. It is even possible to completely remove the lingering remnants of certain powerful chains if they have been sufficiently weakened. The lector-priest must have the subject somewhere they can perform the ritual securely, as it requires six uninterrupted hours of thanatological surgery.
The lector-priest must have specially-prepared canopic jars, with the four Sons of Horus inscribed on the jars in the opposite directions (Amset on the north jar, Khebsemuf on the east, and so on). The inscriptions are necessary as the lector-priest engages in a further blasphemous subversion and creates lids for each jar with the head of the sha, or Set-animal, instead of the four Sons of Horus. A mixture of tainted perfumes and the target’s vitae is poured into each jar so the organs may be submerged.
The lector-priest opens the body cavity of the subject and isolates the major arteries and veins of the stomach, intestines, lungs, liver, and gall bladder with delicate clamps made of gemstones for the arteries (turquoise, lapis lazuli, carnelian, obsidian) and metals for the veins (silver, tin, iron, bronze – never gold, for gold is the flesh of Ra). After each organ has been isolated from the circulatory system with these clamps, they are surgically removed and placed into the appropriate (by direction, not deity) canopic jars. Over the course of the ritual, they mix with the brews in their jars and dissolve into a kind of sludge. This sludge is poured back into the body cavity and it is sealed. The sludge then diffuses through the body, crawling its way towards the heart (or chest cavity) and brain, where it will dissolve into the flesh of the subject and disrupt the energies of other supernatural influences.
This entire process is deeply agonizing and can potentially kill a subject if they were already seriously injured, but if they have the strength of mind and will to endure it, even monumentally powerful tools used by the Aeons and their agents can be weakened or overthrown.
System: This ritual causes four unsoakable Aggravated wounds and the subject’s subconscious (i.e. the player’s choice) must be willing to receive the benefits of this ritual or it will not work. This is represented by the subject spending a permanent Willpower. This ritual can alleviate madness, subvert oaths, and even more break potent supernatural influences on the subject, including reducing a blood bond by one step or a Vinculum rating by three, potentially removing these bonds entirely if they were low enough. This ritual can even free the subject from the influence of Elder powers (Chain the Psyche, Obedience, etc.).
Casting time: 1 hour
Cost: 1 Willpower point + 1 blood point for each influence moved.
"Where there's fame, there are eyes. Where there are eyes, there's power."
Description:
Inspired by the ancient Expedited Papers ritual, this modern version was developed for mages connected to global and digital structures. Instead of traditional bureaucratic documents, the ritual anchors itself in highly visible international NGOs, using their networks and reputation to generate "living paths" of influence between cities and countries.
By activating this ritual, the Tremere can transfer, borrow, or use Influence linked to the NGO without the use of Fame. The NGO functions as a symbolic anchor, a living body of public reputation that makes spiritual roles dynamic, flexible, and transitory.
Components: A printed or digital dossier with seals from the NGO involved, a lit candle with black wax (or digitally symbolized by a flashing light on a dark screen), and a symbol of the destination location (a currency from the country, soil, a local newspaper, or even a geographic IP address).
Effect: Allows you to temporarily transfer/borrow/use up to 3 types of Influence from one location to another for one night.
The destination must be within the network of the symbolic NGO used in the ritual, and its use is equivalent to the fame level of the magi linked to the NGO.
Additional Notes:
If a Tremere dies, their Influence points automatically go to a Magi in their city, also linked to the NGO.
The affiliated NGO can also assist those who wish to return to humanity/reclaim humanity or simply want to engage with mortals. To do this, the ST must use the NGO's practical area of activity to interact with Magi (since helping others is a virtue).
System: Adding a drop of the caster's blood and a single drop of black ink to a crucible containing burning heliotrope incense, the caster gains additional ability to obscure her influence manipulations. The thaumaturge generates one additional free Stealth influence action when this ritual is cast.
Advanced
The power of thaumaturgical rituals is tempered by the fixed nature of their effects. This ritual allows a determined adept to make a slight change in a ritual’s effect in exchange for a drastic increase in the effort required.
System: Allows the thaumaturge to change a single word in a ritual write up. Affected rituals are cast as though advanced and the normal expenditures are doubled.
Note: The Storyteller is the final arbiter of what effects will and will not be permitted in their game. Additionally, Storytellers should are encouraged to adjust the expenditures as they deem appropriate.