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.
Through the usage of this ritual, the caster has gained mastery over her bearing, manipulating the way she projects herself socially. Low humanity vampires or those on a Path of Enlightenment are viewed as creepy by mortals who are repulsed unconsciously by their inhumanity. This skilled thaumaturge gains +1 Beguiling social trait when acting humanely with mortals or those vampires on Humanity. This off-sets some of the negative social penalty to dealing with mortals while being so removed from them. If she performs an act that is considered inhumane while in the presence of a mortal or one on Humanity, this ritual ends and all benefits are immediately lost. It should be noted that an inhumane act must be an extreme one, not something of which a mortal is capable. When this ritual is active, the caster's appearance is no different than that of a humane vampire or a mortal and they cannot be detected as inhumane by appearance or bearing. They continue to experience trait penalties on socials with mortals as normal. The most common use of this ritual is likely to be in conjunction with the Impressive Visage ritual, allowing the caster to ameliorate all trait penalties from being quite inhumane. This ritual is only useful for Tremere who are low humanity or are on a Path. It has no obvious effect (and does not grant the bonus trait) on those who are Humanity 4 or 5, however if the ritual is active on a vampire who drops to Humanity 3, it will conceal the change (and grant the bonus at that time).
Sulieman's Bond
Custom Basic Ritual (Dur An Ki)
Requires: Sulieman's Law: Entrap Ephemera
Creator: Samyra
Mechanics: Upon successful casting of this ritual, the caster is able to choose one fetish created with the power Entrap Ephemera. This ritual will allow the user to "pre-activate" a fetish in this manner. Once this ritual is complete, the user may freely activate the affected item once without the standard activation challenge. This ritual may only be cast on a number of items equal to the caster's occult rating (may not exceed 5) and must be recast for each usage of the item that they wish to affect.
The demons called Asuras oppose the gods themselves. Indian blood magicians seldom deal with such powerful spirits. As asuras in flesh themselves, however, they sometimes — in fits of hubris — believe that they possess a right to treat with their powerful cousins. Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of divine beings or power-seeking deities related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hindu mythology.
Asuras are sometimes considered nature spirits. They battle constantly with the devas. Asuras are described in Indian texts as powerful superhuman demigods with good or bad qualities. The good Asuras are called Adityas and are led by Varuna, while the malevolent ones are called Danavas and are led by Vritra. In the earliest layer of Vedic texts Agni, Indra and other gods are also called Asuras, in the sense of them being "lords" of their respective domains, knowledge and abilities. In later Vedic and post-Vedic texts, the benevolent gods are called Devas, while malevolent Asuras compete against these Devas and are considered "enemy of the gods".
A master Sadhu can prepare the proper materials and perform this ritual to summon one of the mighty Asuras to their service for an evening. The Sadhu gather rituals components dedicated to the particular Asura they are looking to summon and command; he then sacrifices them into a dedicated fire along with some of his blood. If done correctly the Asura will manifest and offer his service to the Sadhu for one task.
System: This ritual costs one blood trait to enact. Once summoned the Asura will obey one command given to it by the caster before returning to its native realm. This task must be able to be accomplished in one night or the Asura will simply vanish. If they wish for the Asura to attack another creature the caster must also defeat the Asura in a contested Mental challenge retested with occult. Asura are built using the stats for Pit Lords in Laws of the Night: Sabbat Guide page 108. Note these creatures are not Demons. Rather they are Spirit Like entities but also separate from them native to India and other places of Hindi, Buddhist, or Jani faith.
System: If the caster succeeds at the challenge, she may command a single task of a Bau (the task must be able to be accomplished in a single night). If the caster fails the challenge, the Bau attacks the caster. To get the Bau to attack a specific target, the caster must have a sympathetic link or the True Name of the victim is REQUIRED. The Bau vanishes at dawn if not somehow banished prior.
Information on the various classes of spirits, as well as recommended templates for them can be found in Blood Sacrifice: The Thaumaturgy Companion, pages 23.
Bau are largely undefined creatures and there is very little mention of them in the source material. They are divine-image projections of the gods and are largely composed from existing systems, rather than having the unique powers they have per the flavor text. They are not quite wraiths and not quite spirits. Powers that target wraiths or spirits specifically shouldn’t be 100% effective against Bau. When such a power (wards, necromancy, certain infernal disciplines, etc.) is used against a Bau, it is recommended that a simple test be thrown with the user until there is a clear win or loss (not tie). If the user wins, the power works this time. If the Bau wins, the power has no effect on the Bau. The only thing that should always be effective against Bau is a Warding Cippus, as they are specifically designed for the purpose.
It is recommended that Bau be created using Oblivion. For those who do not have access to Oblivion or prefer to stick with Vampire templates for their game, you could alternately use the demon creation rules in the MET Sabbat guide. An example of Bau from each system is listed below. Storytellers are encouraged to alter these templates as best fits their chronicle.
Sample Bau using Oblivion traits:
Physical: 16, Mental: 14, Social: 8
Abilities: Brawl x 4, Dodge x 4, Survival x 4, Occult x 3
Angst: 8
Willpower: 8
Health Levels: 10
Arcanoi: Argos: Orienteering, Argos: Tempest Peek, Argos: Tempest Threshold, Argos: Enshroud, Argos: Phantom Wings, Argos: Flicker, Argos: Oubliette, Embody: Maintain the Material Form, Embody: Materialize, Outrage: Stonehand Punch, Pandemonium: Foul Humour, Fatalism: Kismet, Fatalism: Luck, Serpentis: Form of the Cobra
Sample Bau using MET Sabbat traits:
Physical: 16, Mental: 14, Social: 8
Abilities: Brawl x 4, Dodge x 4, Survival x 4, Occult x 3
Blood: 10
Willpower: 8
Health Levels: 10
Disciplines: Serpentis: Form of the Cobra, Potence: Prowess, Potence: Might, Potence: Vigor, Potence: Intensity, Potence: Puissance, Celerity: Swiftness, Celerity: Legerity, Fortitude: Endurance, Fortitude: Mettle, Fortitude: Resistance, Fortitude: Resilience, Fortitude: Aegis, Movement of the Mind: Repulse, Dementation: The Haunting, Necromancy Ritual: Esilo
Summon Lamashtu (intermediate Abyss Mysticism Ritual)
In Mesopotamian mythology, Lamashtu was a female demon, monster, malevolent goddess or demigoddess who menaced women during childbirth and, if possible, kidnapped their children while they were breastfeeding. She would gnaw on their bones and suck their blood, as well as being charged with a number of other evil deeds. She was a daughter of the Sky God Anu.
Lamashtu is depicted as a mythological hybrid, with a hairy body, a lioness' head with donkey's teeth and ears, long fingers and fingernails, and the feet of a bird with sharp talons. She is often shown standing or kneeling on a donkey, nursing a pig and a dog, and holding snakes. She thus bears some functions and resemblance to the Mesopotamian demon Lilith.
Among the Abyss the Lamashtu are the servants of Ereshkigal. They are her personal creatures of the Abyss. The Priestesses of Ereshkigal learn to summon these creatures and command them for a time. The Abyss Mystic speaks in the ancient forgotten Sumerian tongue and evokes their loyalty to Ereshkigal and using her name to command them.
System: This ritual costs 1 Blood trait to cast. Once summoned the Lamashtu will perform 1 task. After either the task is performed the Lamashtu will depart. Should stats for a Lamashtu be needed use the Demon creation rules from Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide page 108 using the stats for Fiends. The Lamashtu are not demons. Rather they are Abyss Spirits entities but are not vulnerable to the power Spirit Manipulation.
Side Effect: For a month after the Lamashtu has been summoned the caster must spend 1 additional blood trait to awaken for the evening.
Rakshasas can look like humans or various animals. In their natural form they have blue, green or yellow skin, and eyes turned vertically in their faces. Everything else varies: Rakshasas can be tall or short, thin or fat, have one, two or more legs, or even multiple heads. They are the most consistently malevolent of demons.
Rakshasas were believed to have been created from the breath of Brahma when he was asleep at the end of the Satya Yuga. As soon as they were created, they were so filled with bloodlust that they started eating Brahma himself. Brahma shouted "Rakshama!" (Sanskrit for "protect me!") and Vishnu came to his aid, banishing to Earth all Rakshasas (named after Brahma's cry for help).
Their literary origins can be traced to Vedic sources through Hymn 87 of the tenth mandala of the Rigveda. They are classified amongst the Yatudhanas, mythological beings that consume raw flesh.
Some sources credit Kashyapa with the origin of the rakshasa. For artistic reasons, the Hymns of the Vedas do not do so. The knowledge of the Rakshasa lineage traceable to Kashyapa may have been known at the time of the compilation of the Vedas.
A Sadhu with this ritual can summon forth and command one of the Rakshasa for a simple task before it vanishes. The Sadhu prepares a ritual incense and fire to pray it before offering his own blood as a means to summon and command the creature. If done correctly the Rakshasa will follow one command of the Sadhu for a night before departing.
System: This ritual costs 1 blood to cast. Once summoned the Rakshasas will fulfill one task it can complete in a night. This task may not be related to attacking another creature. They will not risk their own existence for the caster in a battle. They will however, steal from or trick another individual. Rakshasas are built using the Demon Creation rules in Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide page 108 using Servitor stats. The Rakshasa are NOT Demons. Rather they are Spirit Like entities but also separate from them native to India and other places of Hindi, Buddhist, or Jani faith.
Yakshas seem more like nature spirits. They generally look human, and several heroes married female yakshinis, but they too can change their form and cast illusions, as well as command natural phenomena such as trees and water.
A Yaksha is a nature spirit who are benevolent, sometimes mischievous custodians of treasures. Left: Yaksi, Right: Yaksa
Yaksha (Sanskrit: यक्ष yakṣa, Tamil: யகன் yakan, இயக்கன் iyakan, Odia: ଯକ୍ଷ jôkhyô, Pali: yakkha) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous and sexually aggressive or capricious caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots.[3] They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, as well as ancient and medieval era temples of South Asia and Southeast Asia as guardian deities. The feminine form of the word is yakṣī or Yakshini (yakṣiṇī).
In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist texts, the yakṣa has a dual personality. On the one hand, a yakṣa may be an inoffensive nature-fairy, associated with woods and mountains; but there is also a darker version of the yakṣa, which is a kind of ghost (bhuta) that haunts the wilderness and waylays and devours travelers, similar to the rakṣasas.
The Sadhu collects a rare collection of herbs and spices offering them in a sacrificial fire mixed with their own blood to summon a Yakshas. Once summoned the creature will answer one question that it could reasonably know or play a trick one person they desire.
System: This ritual costs 1 Blood trait to cast. Once summoned the Yakshas will either perform 1 trick on a target (in which case they will need a sympathetic link to the person) or answer 1 question the Sadhu desires. The Yaksha may not know the answer to the desired question but will try its best to do so before departing. Yaksha should only be able to answer a question hey would reasonably be able to know the answer to considering their spirit like status. After either the trick is performed or the question answered the Yaksha will depart. Should stats for a Yaksha be needed use the Demon creation rules from Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide page 108 using the stats for Fiends. The Yaksha are not demons. Rather they are Spirit Like entities but also separate from them native to India and other places of Hindi, Buddhist, or Jani faith.
Components: 1 Blood, Blood from an Innocent Being, Night of Castigation
Mechanics: After a night of severe castigation, ending in at least 1 Lethal Damage, the Sorcerer must draw, with the blood of the innocent being, a tree with a representation of what the Warrior is suffering temptation from. The representation can be in the form of the clan symbol that represents the blood of the kindred the Warrior consumed.
Upon waking the next night, the Warrior will have gained the ability to suppress their Clan Flaw with a willpower a night instead of 15 minutes.
This ritual only lasts one night.
The known final mastery of the Inscription Ritual. Its most potent form allows the Thuamturge to inscribe their most powerful rituals they may know. This generally requires the equivalent of a full page of paper. A reader can then unlock the power of that ritual by reading the inscription and following its instructions. The scribe uses his blood as a base for the ink, and his vitae’s power remains in the mixture to help fuel the ritual. An inscribed ritual is in imperfect form - it cannot be used to learn Thaumaturgy. It’s a simplified set of instructions, with the scribe’s vitae empowering the rite so that it overcomes any omissions or sloppiness on the part of the practitioner.
System: A thaumaturge who knows the techniques of Supreme Inscription can write an abbreviated form for any fifth-level ritual that he knows, at a cost of four blood points. Anyone who can read the language may then use the ritual notes later. Actually casting the ritual from the notes requires the use of the usual components and time, as well as the standard Mental Challenge, but the caster need not have any knowledge of Thaumaturgy. Once an inscription is complete, the power of the writer’s vitae is trapped in the object; his maximum blood pool is effectively reduced by three until the inscription is used. After use, the inscription dries into a fine, illegible ash, withal1 the power expelled from the vitae-based ink. The scribe can use the scroll himself (which is rather pointless) or give it to someone else. To prevent an inscription from reaching the wrong subject, many scribes also use Encrypt Missive (Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy, p. 87) with this ritual.
It is known that the blood powering Inscription can be used for links of Sympathy and Identity an incautious Tremere could find his blood in the hands of an enemy who can use it against him.
A Storyteller must be present for you to use Inscription. You give your Blood Trait cards to the Storyteller, who should make a special mark on your sheet (placing an “I” over each used Blood Trait circle is a good idea). Place your Inscription upon an item card, with a note of the ritual and your character’s name (so that the Storytellers can tell who wrote it when it’s used up).
Level: Intermediate (4xp)
Casting time: 30min
Requirements: This ritual may only be attempted with someone who is mortal or Supernatural, they can not "effectively" or "actually" be immortal however may possess Supernatural Regeneration. As such, it may only be performed on: Humans (Sorcerers, Psychics, Theurgists, Ghouls, Kinain, Kinfolk, Human Revenant Families (as opposed to the embraced ones), Mages without the Immortality merit, Fae without Fae Eternity merit, and shape shifters.
Reagents:
* Drop of Hearts Blood of the Lichter Priest, 1 Lethal unavoidable and can't be tested down.
* Removal of a Mortal/Supernatural Organ of choice
Description:
There are many who embody a very large portion of the everyday life of Followers of Set, a mortal's failing body presents noteable concerns for a Lichter Priest tending their various cults over the decades. Natural death may be an opportunity for study, but there are those within the flock who have a greater purpose, plans, or simply to deny the Aeons one of their flock's bodies into failure. Through continued understanding of Going Forth by Night, the Lichter Priest can remove a desired organ (failing or not), and through ritual, prayer and a single drop of their own hearts blood - their faith commands the magic within the mortal’s body to grow a replacement organ. The new organ fully grows while the mortal slumbers over the course of a few days and any ailments caused by the removed organ immediately heal, so long as the ritual is successfully performed. Secondary illnesses that occurred as a result of the illness remain, however without the underlying cause of the offending organ, the mortal's body is able to begin to heal naturally. This is very obviously a form of “Faith Healing”, but due to the surgical nature is not likely to be performed in a tent revival camp. Equally however it could be performed on an otherwise healthy mortal, assuming the ritual is successful there wouldn’t seem to be any side effects of having done so. The mortal then has relatively unique “post-op” care that focuses heavily on prayer. Through faith they were healed, and only by sustaining that faith is the illness kept at bay.
Casting:
The Lector Priest uses this ritual to replace a failing organ in a mortal subject. The subject is then healed over the course of a few days of the ailment to that organ (i.e., cancer, liver failure, or even spinal damage causing paralysis.). In exchange, the subject must undergo a recurring act to demonstrate their devotion to the same Faith as the Lector Priest. These acts must be performed regularly and frequently as well as observe every festival of the faith. If the subject fails to perform these acts they begin to suffer the effects of their original affliction and the magical organ begins deteriorating. The victim loses one physical trait per week (should the lose all their physical traits they die) or begin performing their regular and frequent dedications of faith, at which time they recover at a rate of one trait per week until fully restored.
Success or Failure:
If the ritual challenge is successful, the mortal awakens several days later fully healed of both the organ’s removal and any offending ailment, as well as the methods which removed it.
If the ritual challenge is not successful, the mortal may yet still live so long as an organ removed is one the mortal can live without. If an otherwise “fatal” organ was used, the mortal dies instantly. As the ritual process involves the act of removing the organ, casting the ritual again on the same organ has no effect. The organ must be replaced in other methods.
Level: Basic (2xp)
Casting time: 30min
Requirements: This ritual may only be attempted with someone who is mortal, they can not "effectively" or "actually" be immortal nor possess Supernatural Regeneration. As such, it may only be performed on: Humans (Sorcerers, Psychics, Theurgists, Ghouls, Kinain, Kinfolk, Human Revenant Families (as opposed to the embraced ones), and Mages without the Immortality merit.
Reagents:
Drop of Hearts Blood of the Lichter Priest, 1 Lethal unavoidable and can't be tested down.
Removal of a Mortal Organ of choice
Description:
There are many who embody a very large portion of the everyday life of Followers of Set, a mortal's failing body presents noteable concerns for a Lichter Priest tending their various cults over the decades. Natural death may be an opportunity for study, but there are those within the flock who have a greater purpose, plans, or simply to deny the Aeons one of their flock's bodies into failure. Through continued understanding of Going Forth by Night, the Lichter Priest can remove a desired organ (failing or not), and through ritual, prayer and a single drop of their own hearts blood - their faith commands the magic within the mortal’s body to grow a replacement organ. The new organ fully grows while the mortal slumbers over the course of a few days and any ailments caused by the removed organ immediately heal, so long as the ritual is successfully performed. Secondary illnesses that occurred as a result of the illness remain, however without the underlying cause of the offending organ, the mortal's body is able to begin to heal naturally. This is very obviously a form of “Faith Healing”, but due to the surgical nature is not likely to be performed in a tent revival camp. Equally however it could be performed on an otherwise healthy mortal, assuming the ritual is successful there wouldn’t seem to be any side effects of having done so. The mortal then has relatively unique “post-op” care that focuses heavily on prayer. Through faith they were healed, and only by sustaining that faith is the illness kept at bay.
Casting:
The Lector Priest uses this ritual to replace a failing organ in a mortal subject. The subject is then healed over the course of a few days of the ailment to that organ (i.e., cancer, liver failure, or even spinal damage causing paralysis.). In exchange, the subject must undergo a recurring act to demonstrate their devotion to the same Faith as the Lector Priest. These acts must be performed regularly and frequently as well as observe every festival of the faith. If the subject fails to perform these acts they begin to suffer the effects of their original affliction and the magical organ begins deteriorating. The victim loses one physical trait per week (should the lose all their physical traits they die) or begin performing their regular and frequent dedications of faith, at which time they recover at a rate of one trait per week until fully restored.
Success or Failure:
If the ritual challenge is successful, the mortal awakens several days later fully healed of both the organ’s removal and any offending ailment, as well as the methods which removed it.
If the ritual challenge is not successful, the mortal may yet still live so long as an organ removed is one the mortal can live without. If an otherwise “fatal” organ was used, the mortal dies instantly. As the ritual process involves the act of removing the organ, casting the ritual again on the same organ has no effect. The organ must be replaced in other methods.
Swallowing Darkness 2.1 (Advanced Abyss Mystic Ritual)
In modern nights, there have been reported incident after incident of ‘irregularities’ within the Abyss, if such a word is indeed applicable to The Void. Among these irregularities is a disturbing tendency for portals or holes into the Abyss to manifest in the world of the Kine, causing problems for Sabbat Dioceses nationwide. Swallowing Darkness provides the Mystic a tool for resolving such problems.
When confronted with an Abyssal Breach, portal, hole, or passage of any kind, the Mystic may cast this Ritual over the course of half an hour by chanting in ancient tongues. If the Mystic is disturbed during the course of the casting, they suffer the consequences for failing the Ritual. At the culmination of the Ritual, the Mystic opens his mouth wide and begins to inhale, making a Static Mental challenge against a difficulty determined by the size of the breach: 6 Traits for a relatively small breach, all the way up to 10 or more Traits for a truly disastrous rift. If the challenge is successful, the portal closes. The Mystic takes a level of Lethal Damage for each trait of difficulty in the challenge; this damage may not be prevented by any type of Armor, but may be reduced with Fortitude.
Should the breach in question be under the active control of an entity - Abyss Mystic, Demon, or Abyssal Spirit, for example - the Static Mental challenge is replaced with an opposed Mental Challenge between the two parties, with Occult or Abyss Lore being the appropriate retest, and the Mystic suffers an amount of lethal damage equal to the current Mental Traits of the opposing entity. Once again, the damage may not be prevented by Armor of any sort, but may be reduced with Fortitude.
Should the Mystic fail, the breach immediately begins vomiting forth a mixture of Things in Darkness and Hearts of Silence, which assault everyone in the area. There should be at least as many Abyssal entities vomited forth as the difficulty of the challenge.