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.
Advanced Rituals: (Pre-regs: Mortis Path of skulls 1 , Mortis: Grave's Decay 5)
The potent power Dissolve the Flesh is one of the Harbringer's most potent weapons a cursing poison that dissolves the very flesh. Through the use of both of these paths, this ritual empowers the ritual caster's use of Dissolve the flesh to leave the skull behind. As long as a physical creature dies, this art leaves the skull behind perfectly intact. This skull is able to be used for all levels of the path of skulls.
Preserve the Flesh
Every necromancer learns that first priority in thanatology is actually getting the varied remains and viscera back to the lab. With some unusual corpses or old vampires this can be difficult as their forms corrupt and wither away quickly upon their passing. So consuming was Malic's frustration with the all to rapid decay of vampires that he'd 'find' that he developed this art to ensure the these samples would make it back to his lab and survive for further study.
The Necromancer lays the flesh to be enchanted upon a layer of salt. Then he applying a layer of his blood to the flesh, a point typically, but more may be required for larger remains. The necromancer then expends a number of mental traits equal to the months he halts the decay of the flesh while sprinkling salt upon on the meat. It should be also be noted that successive applications over time are cumulative to the duration of the preservation
It is said that limits are broken at one's own peril, but may be bent with the careful application of a steady hand and strategic mind. Nowhere outside of Clan Ventrue is this saying more appreciated than within House Hephaestus. It is no surprise, then, that members of the House have created a thaumaturgical means to temporarily boost the effectiveness of their mortal influence. By lightly manipulating the existing forces surrounding an influence contact (the contact's emotions, the overarching emotional tone of the office/factory/organization/etc., and a pinch of good luck), the magus generates a quick burst of motivation in his influence contact and the contact's direct environment. The "motivation" finds the most appropriate (and subtle) avenue - fear, anger, revenge, inspiration, serendipity, etc. - and generates a brief increase in the production effectiveness of the influence.
System: The caster must create a wrapped bundle, approximately forearm-sized, containing all of the required ritual components, including a magical representation of the particular avenue of influence the caster wishes to affect (for example: a legal document for Bureaucracy, money for Finance, a campaign poster for Politics, a machine gear for Industry, etc.). The magus places the bundle amidst a pile of logs in a fireplace and ignitesthe materials. The fire will burn for 24 hours.
During that time the caster may access a single type of influence as if he possessed one higher level of influence in that field. This is a single 'boost' for a single influence action. Production Incentive does not 'stack' with any other rituals, and a caster may only affect a type of influence once per season/quarter (i.e., four times a year).
Prophecy of Naamah
Naamah wandered the lands of nod alone and frightened. Cast from the gardens of Ialdabaoth and his Elohim. She ran from the sun and from the fires of the skies. Burning her for the curse to dare to seek freedom and choice. As she wandered the night alone and frightened she called to Sophia and Selene to end her misery. For her greatest curse of all was to take from her the gift all women are given. The gift of life. For Naamah could bear no children for her hubris of rebellion against Ialdabaoth. She could live without the beauty of the sun. She could survive without the warmth of the fire. But the ability to bear children was one she could not live without. As she stood at the edge of a mighty cliff, ready to end her misery it was great Selene who came to her. Offering her the comfort of the night of the moon. “Why do you cry” great Selene asked of the woman. “I am cursed to never know the gift of life, and this I cannot live without” Naamah replied. “You chose this for living in ignorance and servitude was equally unbearable. But fear not child of the moon. For you also mine. Where the sun has turned its back on you, I welcome you. Where the fire burns you, my light comforts you. And where he who is greatest of us all has has taken from you mortal life, I will give you immortal life.” Enraptured in the light of the moon, Naamah was consumed in smoke and darkness. Reborn again. No longer mortal, but something else. With new eyes Naamah looked upon the world. With tears of blood, she looked to Selene. “Go now my Daeva, let the world know your sorrow. Go forth my Lilith, the Mother of Monsters.”
Mechanics: When completing the casting of this ritual, the Bahari gains +2 physical traits per rank they are in the Cult of Lilith (i.e. Neophyte gives +2 while Hierophant gives +6). During this time, the user gains a visual negative in that their eyes are jet black, and her eyes continuously bleed tears (i.e. Negative Social Trait: Eerie x2)
Basic Ritual
Duration: 1 hour or scene
Description: The caster combines a point of their vitae with a point of blood taken directly from a human's brain. The paper to be used is then placed in the solution while the caster chants and signs the ritual.
Once cast, it will remain active for one hour. During that time, whenever it is shown to someone, check their willpower. If it is greater than 8, it simply does not work. If it is less than 4, then it automatically works. If it is between 4 and 8, then engage the target in a static mental challenge versus the casters mental traits at the time of the casting. If successful, the target sees whatever the user wants the paper to be. This ritual automatically fails against supernatural creatures. Examples include court orders, warrants, and such. If unsuccessful, the target sees a blank piece of paper.
Description: While Ex Nihlio allows one to travel to and from the Underworld, it does require resources to use. After the treaty between Clan Giovanni and the Hierarchy the Chief Necromancer of La Crosse found that the sort of repeated trips one needed to take to bring across large amounts of building supplies quickly burned through the resources available to him and demand for goods greatly outpaced his ability to deliver them. As such he invented a ritual that allows easier repeat passage.
First the necromancer must retrieve a volume of dirt from the cave at the tip of Cape Matapan that will fill an are 1 inch deep by 3 1/2 feet wide by 10 1/2 feet long. Then they must personally weave 3 foot wide by 10 foot long rug that depicts the story of Pysche and Cupid. This rug is then placed over the dirt from the cave at the tip of Cape Matapan.
Next the ritual of Pyche's Passage is performed over the rug resting upon the dirt from the cave at the tip of Cape Matapan and one to three willpower traits are invested into the rug. For a number of months equal to the Willpower traits invested if the necromancer who performed Pyche's passage uses Ex Nihlio while on the rug while holding 2 coins from Greece (modern coins will do) in their mouth and one honeyed Barley cake in each hand, then the 2 blood and willpower expended to pass into the Shadowlands will return one hour after it was spent for passage into the Shadowlands. The one willpower spent to return to the skin lands does not return at the end of the hour. The coins and honeyed barley cakes are consumed by the passage into the Shadowlands.
During the time that Pyche's Passage is active, the Necromancer may not regain the willpower invested in the ritual. The maximum willpower they may have is lowered by the number of traits invested. This penalty decreases by one for each month that passes. While willpower is invested in this ritual it also comes with a Ban, for as Hades and Persephone respected the love Pyche had for Eros and allowed her safe passage so too must you respect true romantic love. You may not cause harm to any one with the True Love merit, Any attempt to do so simply fails. Nor may you feed from them (IE prey exclusion True Love is gained).
Fortunately for you, Pyche is a merciful goddess, who provides you with a sign so you do not accidently violate this ban. When the necromancer see's anyone with True love they will have a pair of ghostly butterfly wings sticking out of their back.
Advanced Ritual
Time Required: One Hour
Duration: One Night
Components: Glove or other vessel
Prerequisites:
Thaumaturgy: Path of Blood - Cauldron
Disciplines: Auspex: Telepathy
Ability: Occult – 5; Investigation – 2
When young Tremere are found suspect of waning in the wishes of their Elders, sometimes a little more than a pep talk is required to solidify their commitment – made so many years past. The ritual was developed as a preemptive maneuver against potential rogue activity or to more easily convince rogue Tremere to correct their mistakes and return fully to the clan.
The ritual requires the caster to use the blood of another who is bound to the Inner Council. It cannot be the caster’s blood that is used. The participant must bleed into a stone bowl from her eye socket after the caster has removed her eye and ground it into the blood mixture. A glove or similar vessel is then dipped in the mixture and then kept in a prepared bag for later use. After the caster completes the preparation of the ritual, she must drink the remaining blood and spend a Willpower to seal its effects. The injured participant may heal the wound as soon as the ritual has been completed. For the remainder of the night, the ritual must be refueled with a temporary mental trait every hour. The results of the ritual act in two fold.
While under the effect of the ritual, the caster will see a light purple haze around any targets that are bound to the Inner Council of the Tremere. This haze settles around the form of the target usually within an inch of their body or clothing. The mark is thin enough that it is easily seen through, though present enough that it is easily seen. The haze has a mystical glow that will even appear in complete darkness, though it is hidden under the normal limitations of Obfuscate or Obtenebration. Targets who are more than one point bound to the Inner Council have been reported to have additional vapor trails of the same nature that fall behind them as they walk, though these claims have not always been consistent with intelligence used to determine the level of the bond being observed.
The second power of the ritual has far more reaching effects. The caster may cause the target to experience a false level of the bond, if she is able to spread a portion of the blood on the target’s skin. Often the caster will retrieve the glove from the bag and wear it just prior to making contact with the target. The same principle applies to other vessels: such as a towel, scarf, dagger, or drinking glass. After the target has come in skin contact with the blood, the caster must succeed in a metal challenge against the target to ensure success. If the caster wins the challenge, the target begins to feel a false level of the bond increasing over a period of ten minutes per level, up to the three-point bond. This three-point bond will haunt the target for one week or until one of the Inner Council members is destroyed, whichever comes first. Any attempt to perform the ritual against the target again before the duration has past will be an automatic failure.
This ritual cannot be cast on anyone who is not already at least one-point bound to the Inner Council. Er go, you cannot make the Gangrel Anarch suddenly love the Tremere.
Material Components: Target item holding a Core Memory Back-up
Target: Core Memory Back-up Item
Casting Time: 5 Minutes
Level: Basic
Mechanics: Mental Challenge diff 12 retest Occult
This ritual allows any Core Memory Back-up item to be viewed via Eyes of the Past in any location regardless of if the memory is from the room they are in.
Basic Seidr Ritual
1) By spending time preparing each participant a drink mix of ashes, stone powder and some type of booze. The caster recounts the story of Baldr's Draumar and prepares a drink for the participants. The caster declares to the participants who the target for them that night. Upon completing the ritual, everyone drinks from their cup.
2) Static ritual challenge vs 6 with the retest being rituals.
3) Effect: +1 Defensive Retest against the Named Target.
4) Duration: Until the next sunrise
Materials Required: Appropriate trait of Kindred vitae, target’s True Name
Discipline Prerequisites: Hermetic Thaumaturgy
Fluff: Mistakes happen, deals are broken, something needs to change.
For whatever reason, sometimes someone learns something they should not have. An infiltrator to the Sabbat learns Vicissitude to escape Final Death; someone accidently learns Obtenebration without getting on the registry. Someone gets something because of being in a faction, and now they are not. And rather than kill the target of this ritual, the problem can be corrected. Death is referred to in Kindred circles as Final for a reason.
The target of the ritual has a restricted discipline (for whatever reason, and of whatever sort). Using their True Name to forge a link, and a trait of blood from a vampire with the restricted discipline in clan, the thaumaturge can remove the discipline in question.
System:
Take their True Name, and a trait of the blood of a vampire that has the discipline to be removed in-clan. As this ritual has no capability to affect the target’s in-clans, obviously the target’s blood may not be used on the target. The trait works like a filter, getting rid of the discipline specified at the time of the casting.
This ritual requires an unresisting target (willing or in torpor). The targeted discipline is "removed" for a number of weeks equal to the number of temporary traits of the appropriate category spent at the time of casting. Vicissitude and Obtenebration would be physical, Obeah would be mental, Chimerstry would be social. Trait type based on the type of challenge used for the power. Cannot do anything to native blood magic, or the target's in-clans. Native blood magic is defined as blood magic inherent to the blood of the target: Hermetic Thaum for Tremere, Dur’an’ki for Assamites, Necromancy for Giovanni and Samedi.
The removal is temporary as per above. After the removal, the character if subjected to tests that would determine the presence of that discipline will report a negative result; however, any secondary consequences (such as infernal taint generated by the presence of Dark Thaumaturgy, for example, are still detectable, and not hidable during the removal/suppression time. Any combination disciplines that require the removed Discipline as a pre-requisite may not be used, but are not lost.
Due to the changes to the target's very Pattern/Soul, only one Discipline may be affected per actual calendar year; no Discipline, Gift, Sphere, Arcanoi, Art, ritual or magics of any sort can accelerate the passage of time to reduce that. Likewise, the target cannot re-learn the same Discipline during the same year, as their Pattern will refuse to accept the alterations.
This grueling ritual takes from sunset to sunrise to complete and requires the caster to be trapped in the Astral Plane with their cord having been severed. They also require at least a small portion of the remains of their body, the ability to cast Power of the Pyramid, an assistant in the Skinlands who also possesses Power of the Pyramid, and a new body to tether their newly forged silver cord to. Vires Acquirit Eundo may not be used to modify this ritual in any way.
Papa Legba – Loa of the Crossroads/equated to St. Anthony (Patron Saint of lost things)
Papa Ghede – Samedi’s good counterpart
Baron Samedi – Loa of Resurrection
Ghede Linto – Loa who performs miracles, assists with either preparing for trouble or how to avoid it
Grand Bois, Matire Carrefour, Baron Cimetière – Triad of Magicians who represent the journey of life (rich earth that you spring from and dark woods, various roads and paths you choose to travel on, the end of the trip)
The caster must invoke each of the following Loa in turn, calling to them for their aid in reclaiming their Silver Cord and being returned to the lands of the living: Papa Legba, Papa Ghede, Ghede Linto, Grand Bois, Maitre Carrefour, Baron Cimetière, the Baron Samedi, and finally Papa Legba a second time.
The caster in the Skinlands lays out an apropriate offering to each of the Loa as they are named, forming a circle around a small pile of the primary caster’s ashes. (Tobacco and Water; a Cheap Cigar and an Apple; Rum and a lit Cigarette; Honey and Spiced Rum; Rum infused with Gunpowder; a Fine Cigar and fine Wine; Tobacco and Rum).
Once the Loa have been called to, both Casters will enact the ritual Power of the Pyramid, drawing the force of their wills together and then shifting it wholly to the caster trapped in the Astral Plane. They then forge a new silver cord by shaping the energies of the Astral Plane with the combined force of the two wills. This is passed back to the secondary Caster and is anchored to the primary Caster’s remains as the ashes are sealed into a small packet that has been blessed by those Loa who were summoned.
The packet must be placed onto the new host body within a lunar cycle or the caster’s soul becomes lost to the Abyss as the ritual fails.
Mechanics:
The ritual must be started at sunset and is completed upon sunrise and requires two participants to be successful, the one with the ritual being the caster seeking to reattach their Astral form to a body, and an assistant in the Skinlands. Both must be capable of casting the ritual Power of the Pyramid, and a portion of the remains of the caster's body are required in addition to the mundane components. In addition, the primary caster must expend two permanent traits of willpower, with the assistant expending one permanent trait of willpower.
Once the ritual is completed, they have precisely one lunar cycle to attach the newly formed silver cord to a new host body, though how the soul currently inhabiting said body is removed is an entirely different problem. Should the packet containing the caster's remains ever part company with the new body, their soul is immediately sucked into the Abyss as the ritual fails.