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.
This ritual modifies a specific Gargoyle’s use of Obfuscate so that it functions on technological objects, much as the Nosferatu merit False Reflection. This ritual enchants for a period of one month a prepared necklace to modify a single level of Obfuscate (Cloak of Shadows, Unseen Presence, Mask 1K, or Vanish; but not Cloak the Gathering or anything more powerful) to function against technology. This ritual only works for a specific Gargoyle and may only be enchanted for a single level of Obfuscate that the Gargoyle possesses at the time of enchantment. A Stone Shield may only be attuned once per Gargoyle. A new attunement destroys any other Stone Shields attuned to that Gargoyle.
System: This ritual enchants a prism pendant for a single month, but the enchantment may be maintained by soaking the pendant in the same solution used to enchant it (the gargoyle’s blood and clear oil), exposed to the night air. The prism may only be enchanted for a specific Gargoyle, who must be present at the time of the casting. To enchant the pendant, the prism must be dipped in a mixture of the Gargoyle’s blood, and a clear oil, which is absorbed by the pendant by the time the ritual is done. As the ritual finishes, the Gargoyle names the level of Obfuscate (which he must possess at the time of the casting) that is to be attuned to the pendant. For the next month, when wearing that pendant, that specific named level of Obfuscate will function against technology, as per the Nosferatu merit False Reflection (Nosferatu Clanbook: Revised, p.71). The enchanted pendant will only affect the named level of Obfuscate as generated by the specifically named gargoyle. Both the named gargoyle and the named level of Obfuscate must be written on the item card.
While neonates of the Tower fear and respect the Tremere for their command of the paths of Thaumaturgy, those in the know are aware that ritual magic is where the strength of the Pyramid shines, and no ritual magic is more feared than those that use or manipulate sympathetic links and objects. By using this ritual, a thaumaturge can strengthen a sympathetic link for a short period of time (a year and a day), rendering objects casually handled by others dangerous in the prepared thaumaturgist's hands.
System: This ritual takes a weaker sympathetic link and turns it into a stronger sympathetic link for a limited use.
Specific effects are up to ST discretion but should be primarily story/plot driven. For example, a stone pulled out from tires of a vehicle being investigated may have a link strengthened to the point where it will function for a Scrying attempt of the locale the stone came from. Any link strengthened in this matter will function as a sympathetic link a maximum number of times equal to the temporary Willpower spent at the time of the casting, to a maximum of three. Past that, the ritual effect destroys any sympathetic links attached to the object at the time of the casting of this ritual, though new sympathetic links can be formed as normal.
Should the thaumaturge spend the requisite 3 Willpower, the sympathetic object maybe be substituted for a trait of blood requirement in an appropriate ritual that does not require the blood to be drunk. This irrevocably destroys the object in question after a single use.
When this ritual is cast, an item card should be created, noting the item, the person or place the sympathetic link is relevant to, and a creation date, as the ritual will maintain the link for a year and a day.
Cost:
Each night when casting the ritual over the weapon for 15 minutes a blood trait is spent. When the ritual is used on a successful strike 1 willpower is spent.
Mechanics:
By soaking a weapon in three pints of blood of a terminally ill cancer patient for at least three nights a weapon can bypass Supernatural Powers that negate damage or nullify it. Whether this is the blood of one patient or several doesn't matter. Latin is used with verses to curse the weapon upon those it strike. Fifteen minutes per night of the soaking with the ritual starting at midnight while wearing dark robes with a specific patterns that are those of misfortune and destruction in several cultures. Whether that is a bladed or blunt one matter not. The target may not use Supernatural Powers to negate the damage of the power. .
After the ritual is completed on the blade it is good for one strike up to a month after the ritual. The strike causes the base damage of the weapon in lethal damage. No add on damage can be added for this strike. Furthermore, The caster can only have one active casting of this ritual at a time. They cannot "stack" castings, cast this on multiple weapons, etc.
Custom Content Category: Blood Magic: Ritual
Blood Magic Category: Thaumaturgy - Hermetic
XP Cost: 6XP
MET Mechanics:
Cost:
Each night when casting the ritual over the weapon for 15 minutes a blood trait is spent. When the ritual is used on a successful strike 1 willpower is spent.
Mechanics:
By soaking a weapon in three pints of blood of a terminally ill cancer patient for at least three nights a weapon can bypass the advantages conferred by the Visceratika Discipline. Whether this is the blood of one patient or several doesn't matter. Latin is used with verses to curse the weapon upon those it strike. Fifteen minutes per night of the soaking with the ritual starting at midnight while wearing dark robes with a specific patterns that are those of misfortune and destruction in several cultures. Whether that is a bladed or blunt weapon it matters not. The target may not use Visceratika to negate the damage of the power. .
SUMMARY
No one knows exactly how the Shadowlands is shaped, only that it is affected by the intense emotions of the mortal world. Talented necromancers harness this power to shape small pockets of the Shadowlands into Stygian Fortresses. These locations offer heightened privacy and security, even if they come with an added bit of danger.
OWBN MET MECHANICS
While in the Shadowlands, you must combine 1 point of your Blood with the ashes of white heather, gladiola, and churchyard dirt in a copper bowl, and then paint the exterior of a door with the mixture. As you do, the Shadowlands surrounding you ripple and shift, mutating and changing. This continues for 15 minutes at which time she can open a door directly into a Stygian Fortress; a structure that exists in the Shadowlands.
Although each Stygian Fortress differs aesthetically, they are nearly mechanically identical. Each Stygian Fortress Has the Following Backgrounds to it and is up to the Staff how potent each one is. (Lore of the Clans pg 221) Guardians, Library, Research, Sanctity and Stores. You may expand upon a Stygian Fortress through downtime actions for higher rating at ST discretion. It is also suggested that none of these background ratings may be higher than your current Background in Haven.
A necromancer may only have one Stygian Fortress in existence at any given time. The door to the Stygian Fortress can only be opened by the necromancer who cast this ritual, though others may attempt to gain access to the fortress through a difficult series of quests into the Shadowlands but it is advised that these should be regulated to normal Haven raid mechanics. Should anyone exit the fortress, rather than exiting to the Shadowlands, they will return to the last location this ritual was cast. The door and the fortress will retain its potency for 30 days, though the ritual may be refreshed once per month through a downtime action. If the ritual lapses, you may cast it again to gain access to the same fortress with all its previous belongings. Others may attempt to find a lapsed Stygian Fortress as described above.
Stygian Fortress The massive estate juts out of the twisting ephemera of the Shadowlands, offering a safe haven to those who dare enter the land of the dead. Though the aesthetics are always slightly different, the heart of the building is the same — a sprawling villa reminiscent of Ancient Rome. Ivy and turrets might be added by the necromancer, but the building is always recognizable.
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.