Post by Skir on Jul 21, 2013 23:21:46 GMT -8
These are new rituals for suggested use as rare rituals belonging to mentors and as rewards for successful in game quests, intended to represent the idea that other powers in the world and participants in ongoing magical traditions have developed these powers in a similar manner to the way the players have available to them to do the same.
NEW THAUMATURGY
Alter Blood: Level 1 (Path of Blood 1)
This ritual will temporarily has, but not change or produce false readings, when Path of Blood's Taste of Vitae is used upon the ensorcelled Thaumaturge or a blood sample that she has likewise enchanted. To enact this ritual, a drop of bleach must either be ingested by the subject or mixed with the sample.
System: This ritual may be cast on either the Thaumaturge herself, another subject, or a sample of blood already taken. If another Thaumaturge attempts to use the Path of Blood power Taste of Vitae on the enchanted sample (or any sample of blood drawn from the subject after the ritual was cast), the only information she will gain is the relative generation of the Kindred compared to herself (higher or lower). This effect lasts until sunrise if used on a living or unliving subject and is permanent if used on an already extracted sample.
Note: This ritual only affects the Path of Blood power Taste of Vitae; it will not fool other rituals such as Blood Walk or any other similar effect from discerning information from the blood.
Bring Forth the Light Within: Level 1
This ritual may be cast on any mundane object to cause it to glow with a soft light, illuminating the immediate surroundings of the holder. The Thaumaturge must etch the object with the Hermetic sigil for Light. When the effect is activated, the sigil will always glow a bit brighter than the rest of the object, marking the effect for what it is.
System: An object once enchanted is permanent, although the object need not constantly glow. Once the object has been enchanted, anyone holding the object may make invoke the command word (usually Lux but the Thaumaturge may set a different command word should she choose) and make a Willpower roll at difficulty 4 to activate the object and set it to glow. Once active, the holder can control the brightness of the object from as dim as a candle flame to as bright as an LED. To douse the light again, the holder must say the inverse word (usually this is Nox but could be something else if the Thaumaturge set a different command word) and make the Willpower roll again. A failure on either roll suffers no penalty and the object simply fails to work. A botch on either of these rolls suffers the same effects as if the holder had botched a Thaumaturgy roll, even if the holder is not themselves a Thaumaturge. Such are the risks of the gifts of clan Tremere.
Ex Libris: Level 1
This simple ward is cast and scribed on the inside cover of a bound book where, after casting, the book cannot be opened without intoning the correct word of power as chosen by the Thaumaturge at the time of casting. Should the book be opened without the correct phrase being uttered, the book immediately combusts and burns to ashes in seconds.
System: The Thaumaturge must spend a point of blood to write the ward as this ritual is cast. Anyone holding the book when it combusts will immediately take 2 levels of aggravated damage from the fire and must roll for Rotschreck at a difficulty 7. This ward will lasts indefinitely until triggered or until unwoven by any Thaumaturge who knows this ritual and the specific command word. Any book thus enchanted will detect as a magic item under Aura Perception and Thaumaturgical Sight.
Rite of the Vanishing Blemish: Level 1
This simple ritual will remove any stain, regardless of size, age or material.
System: The Thaumaturge must hold a small amount of raw cotton or wool over the stain as he says the incantation and all of the stain is absorbed into nothingness. Regardless of size, all of the staining substance is absorbed by the cotton or wool over the course of the ritual. This works even if the stain is long dried.
Revelation of the Secondary Source: Level 1
A Thaumaturge's books are his most prized possessions. The mysteries within are jealously guarded. Within clan Tremere, the bitter rivalries and scheming from other apprentices are almost as much of a danger as the knowledge falling into the hands of an outside rogue Thaumaturge. This ritual is intended as a first line of defense. As clan Tremere has always understood, knowledge is power, and no repercussions will be felt for a crime no one knows has been committed. This ritual informs the caster if any of his texts have been copied, and when the last copy was made.
System: As part of this ritual, a copy of at least one page of the intended text must be made. This copy is not revealed in the results of the ritual. This copy may be made by hand, photocopy, or simply printed out in the case of a digital file, but it must be an exact copy of the chosen page, word for word, including any diagrams or illumination. Depending on the detail, this may require a Crafts check to reproduce by hand. The Thaumaturge takes the copy and burns it, taking care to collect the ash. The caster must then spread the ash over a fresh page of the same composition as the original text (paper, parchment, vellum). In the case of a digitally stored file, the ash must be spread on a new hard drive or other digital storage device of the same make and model as that of the original storage source. This ritual cannot target documents stored in any online medium such as Cloud Storage, as too many backups and secondary copies exist in different places to correctly identify an original. The caster then takes a single drop of ink and drips it in the top right corner of the new page, or in the center of the hard drive. After the ink dries, the caster shakes off the ash, revealing a new perfect copy of the burned page but with one alteration. In the top right corner where the drop of ink was placed will appear a date and time, showing the last time that the document in question was copied. If the document was never copied, the date and time will be the current one. If this ritual was cast on a digital document, the ink will be absorbed into the hard drive and a new file of the same type as the original will appear in the same way as the physical copy.
This ritual will only reveal complete copies of a given text from the original source. It will not reveal incomplete notes, nor will it reveal secondary or tertiary copies made from the copy taken. This ritual will also not reveal a transcription made from a Thaumaturge's own knowledge, even if that thaumaturge learned the ritual from the source in question. If a complete copy was made, it will reveal that copy regardless of whether it was copied by hand, photocopied, scanned, or copied magically.
Bottomless Pit: Level 2
A showman's ritual that has turned out to be just as useful as it is flashy. Bottomless pit turns any bag or container into exactly what its title says. Almost anything within the container's opening dimensions can fit inside of the bottomless pit and take up no more space than the container does itself.
System: The Thaumaturge must take a container of any shape or kind and place it within a circle, drawing sigils of connection to the Umbra. If the ritual is succeeds, the container becomes a portal to a pocket Umbral Realm for the remainder of the night, able to fit anything that can physically go inside of the container with no concern for depth. In order to retrieve an object placed in the pit, the Thaumaturge need only think of the object in question and reach into the container to find the desired object in his hand. Anything left in the container at the end of the night is considered lost in the Umbra, likely irretrievable without extraordinary means. Under no circumstances may any living or unliving being be placed within a Bottomless Pit.
Chairs of Water: Level 2 (Neptune's Might 2)
This ritual allows the Thaumaturge more detailed and fine control of water when employing the power of Neptune's Might. Where before he could only make chains to bind an interloper, now the Thaumaturge may make nearly any solid object from water. Chairs and tables are the most common uses for this ritual. The water remains completely contained within the effect; those who use these objects do not get wet at all, even while lying on a couch of water. The objects once created cannot be moved, and cannot be used to prevent passage through an area, thus having little to no combat value.
System: This ritual consists of the Thaumaturge anointing himself with water from the same source as he intends the object to be made from. A number of blood points must be spent relative to the size of the object to be created: one for a stool or chair, two for a small table, or three for a large table or sofa. This ritual cannot create objects larger than a full sized couch. At the storyteller's discretion, a Wits + Crafts roll may be required for any objects particularly ornate or complex, though this power may not create any object with more complex moving parts than a drawer. Objects created with this ritual usually last until sunrise, although the Thaumaturge may keep an object in existence longer by spending the same number of blood points as it took to make the object again, spilling this blood into the object in question just before sunrise.
Epistula Phasma (Ghost Letter): Level 2
This ritual, originally developed by the necromantic studies of High Saturday, has since made its way to some popularity among the rest of the Pyramid. This ritual allows the Thaumaturge to send a letter through the Lands of the Dead to mystically arrive at any recipient the Thaumaturge is familiar with.
System: The Thaumaturge must write the letter by hand in his own blood, costing at least one blood point, potentially more at Storyteller discretion if writing a novel, and then burn it in the flame of a tallow candle while invoking the name of the intended recipient. The letter will travel through the Shadowlands to its intended target where it will activate, appearing before the recipient in incorporeal form, invisible to all but the recipient. The recipient will gain an immediate knowledge that the missive is for him, and may choose to pluck it out of thin air. Once the recipient has accepted the letter by reaching out to touch it, the letter immediately rematerializes in the physical world in the hands of the recipient, exactly as it was before it was burned. The letter will wait for an opportune moment to manifest, rather than when the recipient is occupied, distracted, or traveling. Should the recipient choose not to accept the letter within 10 minutes of its appearance, the effect will end and the message will be forever lost.
The Thaumaturge can only send notes to someone she has personally met. Encrypt Missive and other Thaumaturgical effects can be attached to the letter and remain in effect when the note is received, so it is wise to be wary of such missives. The recipient gains no outside knowledge of whom the note was sent by, and the note cannot be read while it is still incorporeal.
Unreflected Ink: Level 2
The conveniences of modern technology have allowed for information to be copied and transmitted all around the world in a matter of seconds. Images and text can be taken and copied with no evidence and sent anywhere. For most people this is a convenience of modern life. For a Tremere, whose texts are more precious than any secret government document, this is a major hazard and security risk. This ritual does something to redress that security risk, although it requires a throwback to the old ways of doing things, a good thing to the minds of many an anachronistic elder Warlock. This ritual creates an ink that cannot be seen or detected by any means other than the naked eye, rendering anything written in it immune to copying any other way than by hand.
System: This ritual takes half an hour as the user must make a quantity of ink from scratch. Once the base ink is complete, the user brings the ink to a low boil, heating it over a flame burning rowan wood. Once the liquid is boiling, the Thaumaturge mixes in a quantity of his own vitae (one blood point per ounce of ink) and stirs the mixture counterclockwise with a silver spoon. The vitae is consumed in the ritual process and does not add to the overall quantity of ink. Once the ink is mixed and taken off the flame, the ink can be added to any pen and used normally. Anything written with that ink will not be detected by any means other than the mundane senses of a living or unliving being. This means the text will not appear in mirrors and cannot be captured by any modern means of recording such as photocopying, scanning, or even taking a picture. If a picture is taken of such a page, it will simply appear blank.
Note that one ounce of ink is enough to write approximately 300 pages, so some particularly large volumes may require more than a single ounce of ink.
Amulet of the False Aura: Level 3
This hour-long ritual creates an item that temporarily masks the aura of the wearer, appearing to be of a different creature type than he actually is.
System: To perform this ritual, the user must create an amulet of a material sympathetic to the the creature type in question and infuse it with a point of blood from the relevant creature type. The materials are silver for werewolves, cold iron for changelings, diamond for mages, ruby for vampires, onyx for wraiths, gold for mummies, jade for Cathayans, or tin for ordinary humans. The amulet need not be made entirely of the sympathetic material, but must contain an amount significant enough to be recognized for what it is.
Once made, the amulet retains its power indefinitely, granting the effect to any who wears it. Anyone viewing the aura of the wearer will see the aura of the creature type associated with the amulet and not his own. The amulet does not affect anything else that may show up in the aura such as emotional states, derangements, diablerie lines, etc. While this does change the creature type viewed, the aura will always appear affected by magic.
Deny the Sun's Weight: Level 3
This ritual allows the Thaumaturge to subsist on less rest than other Kindred, tending to rise just before sunset. For the duration of the ritual, he will always seem to be the firs to rise and the last to go to sleep, even if he's been out until near dawn. While other kindred may still be groggy, he is awake and aware.
System: This ritual lasts for 24 hours from the time of casting. For that duration, the Thaumaturge is considered to have Path Rating 10 for all purposes relating to waking and activities during the day, including the maximum dice pool allowed for actions during the day. The primary component of this ritual is a moonstone gem focus which must be with the caster for the full duration of the ritual and is often worn as a ring or pendant.
Empathic Jar: Level 3
This ritual creates a bottle that collects and condenses emotions. Through potent symbols with strong emotional significance, the emotional ambiance of an area is absorbed into the bottle, ready to be released at the Thaumaturge's command.
System: The player spends a blood point and rolls normally. The Thaumaturge must fill a bottle with a point of his blood, which must be drawn with a knife that has been used in a murder. A wedding ring is placed in wax and used to seal the bottle. Once sealed, the bottle begins to absorb emotions from the immediate area. The emotion absorbed will be whatever emotion is strongest in the area. The blood in the bottle becomes transparent as emotion is absorbed. Once the liquid is clear, the bottle is full of emotion. The liquid will have a slight colour to it, representing the emotion contained inside (see the Aura Perception colours chart to determine which colours correspond to which emotions).
The time required to fill the bottle depends upon the strength of emotions in the immediate area. A bottle left in a supermarket would take a year, while one in a church might take a few weeks. A bottle left at the scene of a recent or occurring murder might take a few hours. Anyone attempting to read the emotional state of anything in the vicinity where the bottle absorbed emotions via The Spirit's Touch or similar powers will find no emotional residue left. If the wax is removed before the blood is clear, or if the bottle ever breaks, the ritual ends and the emotion dissipates. As soon as the wax is placed on the bottle, the blood in the bottle becomes inert for all purposes other than the use of this ritual.
Once the liquid is clear, the wax can be removed and the emotion can be used, by pouring the liquid onto a person, place or item. If the liquid is poured on an item, the item then radiates that emotion permanently. This covers any other emotions on the object, unless they were very strong to begin with. Anyone attempting to use The Spirit's Touch or similar powers to read the emotional residue on an item thus treated will do so at +2 Difficulty and any less than 5 successes detects only the artificial emotion.
If the liquid is poured over an area, the area radiates the emotion. This will cause small changes in behaviour for anyone in the area. Storytellers should inform players of the "feelings" they get in a creation area. This effect lasts for the rest of the night. If the liquid is poured on a living (or unliving) creature, requiring a successful Dexterity + Athletics roll to splash the target, the individual is overcome with that emotion. Treat this effect as the Dementation 1 power Passion, targeting the relevant emotion, with the effect lasting for the remainder of the night.
Once the wax seal has been broken, the liquid must be used within five minutes, or the effect is lost. One bottle can only be used for one object, place or person. All of the content must be used for it to be effective.
Knowledge of the Childe's Peril: Level 3
With a blood point from a ghoul (the Thaumaturge's or not), the caster of this ritual may become attuned to said ghoul for a night, allowing the use of the ghoul's senses. This ritual may also be used on the Thaumaturge's own childe.
System: This ritual takes 30 minutes to cast and lasts for the rest of the night. One blood point from the Thaumaturge is mixed with one from the ghoul or childe, boiled down to one point combined and imbibed by the caster. This attunes the ghoul to the Thaumaturge. The same focus may be used more than once to cast this ritual on the same subject.
After the ritual is complete, at any time throughout the night, the Thaumaturge may spend a Willpower point to gain access to all the subject's senses for up to 1 hour, though the caster may choose to end the effect early. The Thaumaturge may choose to take any or all of the subject's senses at this time (see through the subject's eyes, hear through her ears, etc.), however whichever senses the Thaumaturge is using from the subject suppress her own senses of the same kind, rendering her effectively blind or deaf to her own surroundings while the effect persists. The subject is unaware that the ritual has been cast or enacted, however the caster has no control over the subject. When the hour is up, the caster may expend another Willpower point to gain the effects of the ritual again, however at the end of the night, the ritual is over and must be cast again on another night. Depending on which senses are shared, the caster may make himself vulnerable to rotschreck tests and wound penalties, etc. at Storyteller's discretion.
The name of this ritual is something of an inside joke among most Tremere elders who consider more the perils their children may bring them than the perils their children may meet.
Magic Mirror: Level 3
This ritual permanently enchants a pair of identical mirrors so that each will show the reflection of the other. Through this ritual, an individual may look into one mirror and see out of the other. A simple enchantment that this ritual incorporates also allows sound to transmit between these mirrors. This allows perfect, real-time communication regardless of distance.
System: Upon successful completion of this ritual, the pair of mirrors is permanently attuned to one another. In order to activate the mirrors, the holder of one must spend a blood point, spilling said blood onto the mirror which is absorbed to power the magic. This instantly triggers the paired mirror and allows for communication. The link between mirrors will last for a maximum of one hour, after which another blood point must be spent to reinitiate the link. The connection these mirrors provide is usable for communication only, and does not establish line of effect or sight for the purposes of any power or effect. The communication is based on the principle of Co-Location and does not travel through any intervening space on any plane of existence, thus being a very secure means of communication.
Only two mirrors may be enchanted by this effect.
Shape of the Familiar: Level 3
Through the casting of this ritual, the Thaumaturge may transform themselves into the innocuous form of a simple house cat. The Thaumaturge mixes equal measures of cat blood and their own vitae, and infuses it with fresh catnip from the ground to create a potion that can later be ingested to transform into a feline shape, along with all of her carried small possessions and and garments.
System: The player must spend a blood point in addition to making the usual Intelligence + Occult roll. After the ritual is performed, the potion remains viable until the next sunrise, ready to be drunk at any time. This potion only has an effect if drunk by the Thaumaturge herself. The transformation to a cat takes approximately one minute. The effect will last until the next sunrise, or until the Thaumaturge voluntarily ends it by spending a Willpower point.
Only small cat forms about the size of a domesticated house cat may be assumed by this ritual. The appearance of the cat form taken on will be identical to the cat from which the blood sample was taken. While in feline form, the Thaumaturge's attributes and abilities do not change, and she may use any discipline that does not rely on human speech.
Sight of the Dead: Level 3
This ritual, almost exclusively practiced by the members of House High Saturday, attunes the Thaumaturge to the realms of the dead, allowing him to see and hear ghosts. The caster must obtain dirt from a freshly dug grave, mix it with his own blood, and smear over his eyelids and behind his ears. While anointing himself with grave dirt, the Thaumaturge then repeatedly chants the Ashes to Ashes Bible verse backwards in Latin.
System: The Thaumaturge may spend any amount of blood points during the casting of this ritual. This ritual lasts for a number of hours equal to the number of blood points spent. For this duration the Thaumaturge can see and hear Wraiths from across the Shroud.
Transcription's Warning: Level 3
An expansion upon the principles of Revelation of the Secondary Source, this ritual allows the Thaumaturge to prepare a volume in advance, and know if that source is copied in any way in the future.
System: The thaumaturge picks any page and ritually prepares a copy of that page in the same manner as required for Revelation of the Secondary Source. That page must then be kept face down on top of the original for 7 days without being disturbed. At the conclusion of that time, the page has assumed the essence of the original that is to be taken in the next copy. The next time that page is copied by any means (see Revelation of the Secondary Source for what constitutes a copy) the writing on the copy made by this ritual will disappear and leave the page blank. The page will not go blank unless a complete copy is made.
There is a chance for someone copying a page protected by this ritual to know something is wrong, although it is very slight. The copying of the protected page takes up no ink from whatever medium is being used to produce the copy. This is only immediately obvious if the copy is made with an ink pen or other archaic writing device where ink consumption is obvious. However the scrupulous Tremere who knows of this ritual may wish to take such a precaution when attempting to copy rituals without permission.
Vistas of the Mind: Level 3
This ritual expands the mind of the Thaumaturge, increasing cognitive focus and memory. The Thaumaturge mixes a compound of her own vitae with ginseng and fish oil and drinks the sickly concoction, which expands the Thaumaturge's mind, allowing her to think faster and clearer than ever.
System: The player must spend a blood point to make the potion and in addition must spend a Willpower point to force herself to drink the sickly concoction and keep it down. After drinking the potion, the Thaumaturge gains 2 additional dice on all Intelligence based rolls. This ritual lasts for one hour per success.
Imprint of Blood's Power: Level 4
Based on the same principles as Blood Walk, this ritual delves deeper to discover more detailed information about the owner of the blood sample. Most notably, this will tell the caster which disciplines are known to the owner.
System: The player must acquire a point of blood from a subject to cast this ritual. The blood must be boiled over a low flame burning rowan wood (this consumes the blood sample) while the caster gazes into the boiling blood and makes his incantation.
The information gained is dependent on the number of successes scored in the casting of this ritual.
Successes Information
0 No information
1 Subject's clan
2 Subject's ratings in clan disciplines (but not paths of Blood Magic)
3 Any out of clan disciplines (Presence or absence, but not ratings)
4 Ratings in all out of clan disciplines (but not paths of Blood Magic)
5 Ratings in any paths of Blood Magic
6+ Any combination disciplines
This ritual cannot convey knowledge of Blood Magic rituals as this is not knowledge contained within the blood, but rather a wrote exercise the caster has been trained to perform. Neither can this ritual grant information about supernatural merits or any other supernatural abilities possessed by the subject.
Lightning Rod: Level 4 (Path of Levinbolt 4 or Weather Control 5)
With this ritual the Thaumaturge may trap and store bolts of lightning for later use.
System: An appropriate item must be pre-prepared to accept the bolt. A staff or sword is appropriate, although it must be made of a conductive metal. This process takes a week over which time the Thaumaturge must perform a nightly ritual taking 2 hours, rolling Intelligence + Occult (difficulty 7) each night. The Thaumaturge must accumulate a minimum of 35 successes. If any of these rolls fail or botch, the entire process is ruined and must be begun again. At the conclusion of the final ritual roll, the Thaumaturge must spend a Permanent Willpower to properly attune the item.
Once the lightning rod is made, it continues to function forever unless it is broken. At any point thereafter, the Thaumaturge may channel a lightning bolt via the Path of Levinbolt or Weather Control into the rod, which is stored within, ready to be used at the wielder's command. Lightning launched from the rod uses the standard Perception + Science roll to hit and deals a base damage of 10 dice of lethal damage. A bolt may be launched as a physical action, thus allowing the Thaumaturge to split his action for additional lightning bolts. Lightning launched from a Lightning Rod does not stack with additional uses of Levinbolt or Weather Control. Lighting from the rod cannot be channeled through a melee attack, though the Rod is a suitable conductor for channeling additional Levinbolt effects through. The rod can hold one lightning bolt per point of permanent willpower the Thaumaturge has. Any Thaumaturge may cast lightning into the rod once made, but only the maker may release the lightning.
If the Rod is broken, all of the lightning contained within is released at once, all remaining bolts striking the nearest person using the Perception + Science dice pool of the rod's maker.
Refresh the Wearied Mind: Level 4
The practice of Thaumaturgy is mentally and spiritually exhausting. Performing rituals takes a great deal of strain on the part of the caster, and it can be dangerous to practice Thaumaturgy when not at one's peak. The Tremere created this ritual to spiritually cleanse the mind and replenish the caster's will.
System: This ritual takes a full hour during which the Thaumaturge must meditate in a small, unventilated room. He must burn five candles made of beeswax, gingko biloba oil, and rosemary oil arranged in a traditional pentacle and runic circle. The traumataurge meditates by repeating a Latin mantra which causes the candles to burn quickly and completely (so new candles are required for each casting). The ritual is complete when the candles have burned out and the Thaumaturge draws the smoke into his lungs.
Upon completion of this ritual, the Thaumaturge replenishes all of his spent temporary Willpower. This ritual may only be used once per night.
Coexistent Circle: Level 5
While the Magic Mirror ritual allows for perfect communication for casual or formal needs and the Mirror Network expansion on those principles connects the Pyramid around the world, both of these rituals still fall short of the necessary degree of interaction needed for Thaumaturgical instruction or assistance in group rituals. The Coexistent Circle ritual bends space to make two locations temporarily occupy the same location, thus allowing full interaction of those within.
System: This ritual must be cast simultaneously by 2 Thaumaturges who each know the ritual. Each caster draws a binding circle containing a pentacle with the top of the star pointing in the exact geographical direction of its counterpart. It is vital that every detail of the interior of the circles is identical, from the composition of the floor, to the exact shade if the colors used to draw the circle, to any dust or stray particles that may have drifted in. Any variance can cause the ritual to fail, or worse, connect the Thaumaturge to an entirely different and undesired location which may or may not be part of the material world and may or may not allow the Thaumaturge to leave again.
Once both circles are complete, each Thaumaturge must perform the ritual. The entire ritual need not be performed in sync, but the final invocation, "Ut unum locus sit alterius, sinite utraque locis fount una (As one location is the other, let both locations become one)" must be spoken in perfect unison, likely requiring previous communication and synchronized clocks. This is unison requirement is likely what has kept such a ritual from being realized far sooner in the Pyramid's history, however with modern timekeeping and mundane communication methods, such synchronization presents no problem at all.
Once the ritual is complete, both casters step into the circle and now share the same space. While in the shared space they may take any action from speaking to instruction to casting joint rituals so long as neither leaves the circle. If either leaves the circle at any time the ritual immediately ends. A premature end to this connection causes both parties one level of unsoakable aggravated damage for each hour that the connection lasted. TO end the effect properly with no ill effect, both casters must once again invoke a simultaneous incantation, "duorum locorum sunt eadem, sinite distantium revenier, sinite spatiam expedier (Two locations are the same, let distance return, let space unfold)" and as one step out of the circle. To end the effect safely both casters must make the ritual roll again at this time, though ending the effect does not take the full ritual time.
Only such items as carried by the casters may be taken into the circle and only at the time of casting. Items may be exchanged over the course of this effect, however all items brought into the circle must be take out when the effect is ended. Any items not held by one of the two casters when the effect ends is lost in the void between realms. Under no circumstances may people other than the two casters be brought into the circle. For the purposes of this ritual a corpse is an object but a torpored or staked Kindred is a person.
Anyone viewing this ritual from outside the circle will see only the caster from the location being watched from. When looking out of the circle during the effect, each caster will only see their native surroundings, and not those of the other location.
It is notable that botches on this ritual are usually worse than most Thaumaturgy, often transporting the Thaumaturge to a random location either material or Umbral (Umbral is sometimes preferable as material can include any location in the material universe).
Craft Spirit Bloodstone: Level 5
This ritual enchants a small spherical stone crafted from an opal, which the Thaumaturge can subsequently track anywhere, even across planar boundaries.
System: This ritual functions exactly like Craft Bloodstone, except that it can be tracked even across planar boundaries, laying its trail in the Shadowlands, the Penumbra, or even deeper into the Umbra or Underworld.
Import Object: Level 5
This ritual is one of the great success stories of conversion to come out of the Horned Society, taking a previous ritual Aport Object that was based on Demonic principles and infernal energy and converting it fully to a purely Hermetic paradigm. This ritual, rather than being based on principles of co-location as in the aforementioned Dark Thaumaturgy predecessor, simply attaches an astral cord that connects the Thaumaturge and the item, similar to the silver cord of an Astrally Projecting vampire. By tugging this cord, the Thaumaturge is able to call the preprepared object to him with a moment's notice.
System: Preparing and marking an object for this ritual costs the Thaumaturge 3 blood points, which the object must be soaked in through a 90-minute ritual (though no damage is done to the object through this process, regardless of material), and the expenditure of a Willpower point to connect the cord to the Thaumaturge himself. In order to call an attuned item to her, the Thaumaturge must spend a Willpower point and mentally pull on the silver cord in question. The object will be instantly transported from wherever it is through the Umbra to the Thaumaturge. The Thaumaturge may attune any item up to twice her own mass with this ritual. In order to call an object either from or into a Circle Ward Versus Spirits, the Thaumaturge must test against the Ward as if he himself were crossing. Failure indicates that the object being called is lost forever in the Umbra.
If the Thaumaturge has a hand free, the item called will appear in his hand. If the item is too large or if the Thaumaturge does not have a free hand, the item will appear where the Thaumaturge wishes within five feet of him. However, the item will not appear embedded in any solid object or person.
It is noted that this ritual carries a risk. The silver cords that attach the marked objects to the Thaumaturge are visible in the Penumbra to any who can see that realm, such as those using Astral Projection or the first level of the Path of Spirit Manipulation, and of course to the Spirits themselves. Such cords can be followed between the Thaumaturge and the marked objects, though they cannot be severed in the same manner as a normal Astral Cord.
Invoke the Reflection of Revelation: Level 5
A mirror at least as big as the caster’s palm is enchanted as a focus for the spell. If the ritual is active, and the caster would be the target of a scrying effect (vis Scry, Seeing with the Sky’s Eye, Reflections of the Hollow Revelation, or Pool of Secrets), the scryer compares his successes on his scrying ritual to (1 + the caster's successes on Invoke Reflection of Revelation). If the scryer wins, his scry proceeds as normal. If the caster wins, the scry effect fails and the mirror focus reacts in a way determined by the particular ritual.
•Seeing with the Sky’s Eye: The mirror’s surface freezes in a single image of the scryer, and when the caster first gazes on the mirror, he gets a strong impression of the scryer’s location at the time that Seeing with the Sky’s Eye was cast upon him. As far as the scryer is concerned, he simply failed to activate the power.
•Scry or Pool of Secrets: The mirror’s surface ripples like water, and resolves into an image of the scryer. The mirror also emits the sounds around the scyer and shows the area. It is in all ways as if the effect was cast by the caster on the scryer instead of the other way around. As far as the scryer is concerned, he simply failed to activate the power.
•Mage magics: The mirror shatters dramatically, alerting the thaumaturge to the attempt but is unable to turn the effect on the originator.
•Other scrying effects: The ritual turns back on its caster, the mirror revealing the caster of said effect in the same manner as the effect itself.
In order to be effective, the mirror foci must be on the caster’s person. If it leaves the caster for any reason or length of time, the spell ends and must be performed again to provide protection. Assuming the caster is careful to maintain possession of the mirror, its power lasts until the sunset following the invocation.
Invoke the Shrouded Sanctum: Level 5
This ritual protects against scrying in a less versatile but more certain way than Invoke Reflection of Revelation, so it is particularly suited for use in warding Chantries against eldritch intrusion. The caster walks in a counter-clockwise direction around the structure to be effected. In his trail, he sprinkles a mixture of powdered glass and silver. Once finished, he installs a mirror focus in the center of the warded area and, using his vitae, draws a series of hermetic sigils upon it, enchanting it to block the passage of scrying magic across the boundary he has set. The mirror focus must be at least one foot in diameter per thousand square feet it protects. Completed, this ritual simply blocks the use of scrying magic into the affected area. Again, the attempt to use true magic to scry on the warded area fails, but shatters the mirror and renders the ward useless. This form of the ritual was once permanent, but recent alarming declines in the stability and potency of the hermetic principle make frequent re-castings necessary. To keep a Chantry protected, the ritual must be repeated roughly every year and a day
Mirror Attunement: Level 5
This ritual expands the use of the Mirror Walk ritual. While it is useful to be able to travel between mirrors close together, almost since the development of the Mirror Walk ritual, enterprising Tremere have been looking for a way around the proximity requirement. This ritual does just that, attuning two mirrors so that the caster may step between them regardless of distance.
System: This ritual requires a glass mirror. The caster must etch in hieroglyphics (properly and with good craftsmanship, as hieroglyphics are not only a language but a set of magical symbols as well) into the glass, a border of text containing a very lengthy and poetic description of a soul passing through its own reflection. Then the "mate" of this mirror must have the exact mirrored set of hieroglyphics etched by the caster, including any flaws or extended artistic whim in reverse. This requires 5 successes on a Dexterity + Crafts check. The caster then paints in, with her vitae, the etched hieroglyphs (the mirror image reflection on its mate, identically) and brings them to life. The blood must then be left to dry in the waxing half-moon moonlight.
After this preparation these two mirrors - no matter what location, distance, or angle - can be entered into by someone using the ritual Mirror Walk, and exit out the "mate" of the mirror entered. This still requires the use of the Mirror Walk ritual itself.
Mirror Network: Level 5
This ritual expands upon the principles of Magic Mirror to allow for more than two mirrors to be connected. Through the use of this ritual, whole networks of mirrors spanning Chantries around the world have been established, allowing the kind of smooth and safe communication that keeps the Pyramid functioning like the well-oiled machine it is.
System: This ritual follows all the same requirements as Magic Mirror, except that more than two mirrors may be enchanted. All mirrors used must be identical down to the last detail, except for a single identifying glyph etched into the exact center of the back of the mirror. When activating a mirror connected to the network, the user must draw the glyph of the mirror he wishes to contact in his own vitae (costing one point of blood as with Magic Mirror) to connect with the identified mirror. If so desired, more than one mirror may be connected to at a time, allowing for more than two Tremere around the world to conference in times of need, although each mirror to be contacted costs one point of blood (so while the first connection only requires one of the two to spend blood to establish a connection, if they both want to connect a third party, either they both must spend blood to add the third, or the third party must spend the same amount of blood on their end to establish the connections). Only mirrors within the same network may be connected via this ritual.
Teleport to a Safe Haven: Level 5
Via the utilization of a material focus and an attuned summoning circle the Thaumaturge is capable of teleporting from anywhere to their "Safe Haven". This is only used as a last resort as the mental strain of establishing such a link is quite taxing, but it has saved the lives of many Tremere who have found themselves in tight spots.
System: During the ninety-minute ritual a one-meter circle is drawn in the Thaumaturge's own vitae, requiring 10 points of blood and inscribed and enchanted with the proper arcane sigils denoting the Thaumaturge's own True Name. A material focus amulet must then be carved of white ceramic and similarly etched with silver. These two in tandem make the ritual capable of transporting and receiving the Thaumaturge's physical form (true body only, the ritual will fail if cast on a Possession vessel), into the summoning circle. The ritual is completed by the Thaumaturge walking the circumference of the summoning circle 7 times counterclockwise naked and intoning his own True Name aloud, sealing the ritual with the expenditure of a Permanent Willpower point. Note that the caster is retrieved naked, and all items are left behind.
After the amulet had been physically fashioned, it is then imbued with a Blood point of the Thaumaturge's physical form and will remain so enchanted until it is broken. When the amulet is broken (requiring a Strength + Potence of 5 as the amulet is supernaturally hardened by the ritual to protect it from the vagaries of chance), the physical form that is attuned to the circle is drawn to it at the end of the combat round, and thus teleported into the prepared summoning circle. The Thaumaturge's clothes and any other carried possessions fall to the ground. This ritual only functions once before needing to be recast in its entirety and the Thaumaturge may only have one such attunement placed upon him at a time.
Halfway Rituals
These rituals, created by the Horned Society, fall somewhere in between the "safe" magic of the Hermetic Paradigm and the infinitely more flexible but far more dangerous magic of Dark Thaumaturgy. For the purpose of Disciplines, these are considered rituals of Hermetic Thaumaturgy, although they have an unhealthy dose of Demonic power associated. These rituals are often used as a midway point while the practitioners of the Horned Society seek to convert the arts of Dark Thaumaturgy for general use by the Pyramid. Many rituals never make it past this stage as the Infernal influence proves too difficult to eradicate entirely.
Each Halfway ritual comes with a dangerous potential drawback that can only be overcome with exceptional skill. It has been postulated that these inherent drawbacks come from the resentment of the Demons at having their power so subverted. Demons, after all, hate giving away anything for free, so it makes sense that they would try to "twist" the power against the demonologist. This is generally not considered a problem, since one need only be diligent and exacting with one's rituals to stop such behavior.
System: Whenever a demon of any kind encounters someone with an active Halfway ritual effect, the demon can roll Perception + Awareness (difficulty 8). Success allows the demon to then attempt a Wits + Law check at a difficulty of the Demonologist's current Willpower (current willpower at the time the demon is attempting to pervert the ritual, not at the time of casting) to twist a single Halfway ritual away from its intended purpose. To successfully subvert a ritual, the demon must score more successes on the Wits + Law check than the Demonologist scored in casting the ritual. Over progressive rounds, the Demon can twist more and more Halfway rituals, but it can only try to subvert a given iteration of a ritual once, and it always makes attempts starting with the highest level Halfway ritual and working down. Only after it has successfully subverted a ritual does a Demon know what precisely it is (though many of the more experienced Demons can identify the particularly obvious rituals normally). The ability of Demons to affect Halfway rituals is not stopped by wards or warding circles, as the connection is already established by the Infernal power channeled by the ritual. The Thaumaturge has no way of knowing that a demon is affecting his Halfway rituals until the drawbacks manifest.
Halfway rituals are occasionally taught outside the membership, although most are considered too dangerous and unpredictable for the rest of the Pyramid.
Escape the Bonded Oath (Halfway): Level 2
This mind-enhancing ritual is used primarily for outwitting the demons that the Horned Society deals with. Opinion on this ritual varies widely between Horned Society members, with some praising it as a sensible precaution and others decrying it as unnecessary and far too dangerous. Demonologists with this ritual can remember more of the demon's history, accurately cite precedents from antiquity, and glibly make airtight proposals provided they have had opportunity to study the Demon's past.
System: In order to use this ritual, the Demonologist must have enough of the Demon's Celestial name to summon him (he need not actually have the ability to summon him, just have enough of his name), and spend one full night doing nothing but studying the terms, precedents, and history of the demon he intends to deal with. If successful, the Demonologist gets a pool of bonus dice equal to his successes that he can draw dice from to add to any Law or Demon Lore (or Fallen Lore should the Demonologist be knowledgable enough to have the Insider lore) roll made to get the best deal possible out of the specific Demon that he researched when casting the ritual. This ritual lasts for up to one week or until the end of the Demonologist's first encounter with the Demon in question.
Subversion: If successfully subverted, this ritual impedes the Demonologist, throwing up false memories and confusing images. The difficulty of all actions related to getting the best deal from the demon in question rise by 2.
Soulbound Apportation (Halfway): Level 2
One of the favorite Halfway rituals of the Horned Society general membership, this ritual allows the caster to temporarily bind an object into her soul. By slicing a symbolic representation of the desired object into the back of her hand and pressing the item to the wound, forcing her vitae to engulf it and transfer it between states, the caster stores the item in her soul. For the rest of the night, the caster need only touch the scar with her other hand and murmur a brief Latin summons to have the bonded item appear in her hand in a cloud of noxious black smoke.
System: Slicing the back of the hand deals one health level of unsoakable lethal damage, and commanding her vitae to emerge and absorb the item costs a blood point (the ritual does not heal the damage done so the caster must then heal this damage on her own). The item can be anything that the caster can support on the back of her hand for the entire ten minute casting time. The Demonologist need not hold the object aloft or balanced on the back of her hand for the ritual, merely rest it atop her hand, so theoretically the item could be of any size, though at least the majority of the weight must be over the back of the hand. While this ritual is active, the item literally vanishes, entering the caster's soul and merging with it. Once the item is called forth, it cannot be replaced without performing the ritual a second time.
Any item that has once been merged with the Thaumaturge's soul by means of this ritual will thereafter always count as a personal possession and a sympathetic link to the caster so significant that any holding it may be considered to know the Demonologist's True Name for future Thaumaturgical purposes.
Subversion: When this ritual is subverted, the Demon tears the affected item out of the caster's its hand. The Demonologist then takes unsoakable aggravated damage for every level of Concealability code the item has.
Concealability Damage
Pocket 1 Agg
Jacket 2 Agg
Trench coat 3 Agg
N/A (smaller than caster) 5 Agg
N/A (approx. same size as caster) 7 Agg
N/A (significantly larger than caster) Death
Clause of Duality: Level 3
This ritual is a very dangerous tool practiced exclusively by members of the Horned Society. When working with Demonic powers, particularly the arts of Dark Thaumaturgy, one of the greatest challenges involved is having new members learn the arts without crossing the line from demonologist to Infernalist. This ritual works around the problem by compelling a particular demon whom the caster has made a compact with to grant the same compact to another demonologist, thus effectively allowing the caster to "teach" Dark Thaumaturgy.
System: The demonologist must draw three joined pentagrams. One to represent the master, one the student, and one to bind the Demon. He must then successfully summon the demon in question into the circle using Call forth the Host and Bind the Interloper, Infernal Compact, or some other method of summoning and binding the Demon. The demonologist must then enter a contested Wits + Law check at difficulty 4 + the level of the power he wishes to pass to his student (the demon always rolls at difficulty 7) with the demon to negotiate a new compact acting as a representative for the student. If the caster scores more successes than the demon, the demon is forced to grant the same deal to the student as he granted to the caster. If the demon scores more successes, he can never be compelled by this ritual to teach this power again. If either botch their rolls, the effects are more extreme. Should the demonologist botch, the demon may revoke the original contract, stripping the power from the demonologist. Should the demon botch, the student gains the power with no cost or contract. This ritual can benefit from the effects of Escape the Bonded Oath, though most demonologists are wary of facing a demon with multiple Halfway rituals active.
Subvert: Should the demon successfully subvert this ritual, he may invoke a hidden clause in the contract for the power given, to be triggered at any point he chooses. This may manifest in the power acting differently under specific circumstances, or even just not working entirely. Specific clauses are up to the Storyteller to adjudicate but are rarely going to be good for either demonologist.
Demand the Dark Gift: Level 5
This extremely dangerous ritual is exclusively practiced by members of the Horned Society, and is often mistrusted even among Tremere demonologists. This ritual goes beyond mere coercion and forces a demon to grant the demonologist its power without a sacrifice or cost.
System: The Demonologist must draw two joined pentagrams in blood laced with St. John's Wort and rosemary, costing him a total of 10 blood points. He must then enchant the demon's circle with a Circle Ward Versus Demons. He must then summon a demon he wishes to compel into the circle using Call forth the Host and Bind the Interloper, Infernal Compact, or some other method of summoning and binding the Demon. Once in the circle, the Demon will be powerless to leave and will try all manner of tricks to avoid the compulsion to come.
If the Demonologist is successful, he may then make an opposed Willpower roll with the demon at a difficulty of 6 + the level of the power to be demanded. The Demon will always roll at difficulty 8. This is not a bargain, it is the demonologist forcing the power out of the demon and into himself. Should the demonologist score more successes than the demon, he may learn the power in question with no additional costs or compacts, though this still counts as Infernalism for all powers that detect such. Should the demon score more successes, his will overcomes the strength of the ritual and leaves him free to leave his circle and attack the demonologist as he desires.
Subversion: Should the demon successfully subvert this ritual, he may take control of the demonologist's body and soul completely. Treat this effect as though Taking the Spirit had been used on the demonologist to strip all of his willpower away, save that his Willpower will not recover for a full year afterward.
NEW THAUMATURGY
Alter Blood: Level 1 (Path of Blood 1)
This ritual will temporarily has, but not change or produce false readings, when Path of Blood's Taste of Vitae is used upon the ensorcelled Thaumaturge or a blood sample that she has likewise enchanted. To enact this ritual, a drop of bleach must either be ingested by the subject or mixed with the sample.
System: This ritual may be cast on either the Thaumaturge herself, another subject, or a sample of blood already taken. If another Thaumaturge attempts to use the Path of Blood power Taste of Vitae on the enchanted sample (or any sample of blood drawn from the subject after the ritual was cast), the only information she will gain is the relative generation of the Kindred compared to herself (higher or lower). This effect lasts until sunrise if used on a living or unliving subject and is permanent if used on an already extracted sample.
Note: This ritual only affects the Path of Blood power Taste of Vitae; it will not fool other rituals such as Blood Walk or any other similar effect from discerning information from the blood.
Bring Forth the Light Within: Level 1
This ritual may be cast on any mundane object to cause it to glow with a soft light, illuminating the immediate surroundings of the holder. The Thaumaturge must etch the object with the Hermetic sigil for Light. When the effect is activated, the sigil will always glow a bit brighter than the rest of the object, marking the effect for what it is.
System: An object once enchanted is permanent, although the object need not constantly glow. Once the object has been enchanted, anyone holding the object may make invoke the command word (usually Lux but the Thaumaturge may set a different command word should she choose) and make a Willpower roll at difficulty 4 to activate the object and set it to glow. Once active, the holder can control the brightness of the object from as dim as a candle flame to as bright as an LED. To douse the light again, the holder must say the inverse word (usually this is Nox but could be something else if the Thaumaturge set a different command word) and make the Willpower roll again. A failure on either roll suffers no penalty and the object simply fails to work. A botch on either of these rolls suffers the same effects as if the holder had botched a Thaumaturgy roll, even if the holder is not themselves a Thaumaturge. Such are the risks of the gifts of clan Tremere.
Ex Libris: Level 1
This simple ward is cast and scribed on the inside cover of a bound book where, after casting, the book cannot be opened without intoning the correct word of power as chosen by the Thaumaturge at the time of casting. Should the book be opened without the correct phrase being uttered, the book immediately combusts and burns to ashes in seconds.
System: The Thaumaturge must spend a point of blood to write the ward as this ritual is cast. Anyone holding the book when it combusts will immediately take 2 levels of aggravated damage from the fire and must roll for Rotschreck at a difficulty 7. This ward will lasts indefinitely until triggered or until unwoven by any Thaumaturge who knows this ritual and the specific command word. Any book thus enchanted will detect as a magic item under Aura Perception and Thaumaturgical Sight.
Rite of the Vanishing Blemish: Level 1
This simple ritual will remove any stain, regardless of size, age or material.
System: The Thaumaturge must hold a small amount of raw cotton or wool over the stain as he says the incantation and all of the stain is absorbed into nothingness. Regardless of size, all of the staining substance is absorbed by the cotton or wool over the course of the ritual. This works even if the stain is long dried.
Revelation of the Secondary Source: Level 1
A Thaumaturge's books are his most prized possessions. The mysteries within are jealously guarded. Within clan Tremere, the bitter rivalries and scheming from other apprentices are almost as much of a danger as the knowledge falling into the hands of an outside rogue Thaumaturge. This ritual is intended as a first line of defense. As clan Tremere has always understood, knowledge is power, and no repercussions will be felt for a crime no one knows has been committed. This ritual informs the caster if any of his texts have been copied, and when the last copy was made.
System: As part of this ritual, a copy of at least one page of the intended text must be made. This copy is not revealed in the results of the ritual. This copy may be made by hand, photocopy, or simply printed out in the case of a digital file, but it must be an exact copy of the chosen page, word for word, including any diagrams or illumination. Depending on the detail, this may require a Crafts check to reproduce by hand. The Thaumaturge takes the copy and burns it, taking care to collect the ash. The caster must then spread the ash over a fresh page of the same composition as the original text (paper, parchment, vellum). In the case of a digitally stored file, the ash must be spread on a new hard drive or other digital storage device of the same make and model as that of the original storage source. This ritual cannot target documents stored in any online medium such as Cloud Storage, as too many backups and secondary copies exist in different places to correctly identify an original. The caster then takes a single drop of ink and drips it in the top right corner of the new page, or in the center of the hard drive. After the ink dries, the caster shakes off the ash, revealing a new perfect copy of the burned page but with one alteration. In the top right corner where the drop of ink was placed will appear a date and time, showing the last time that the document in question was copied. If the document was never copied, the date and time will be the current one. If this ritual was cast on a digital document, the ink will be absorbed into the hard drive and a new file of the same type as the original will appear in the same way as the physical copy.
This ritual will only reveal complete copies of a given text from the original source. It will not reveal incomplete notes, nor will it reveal secondary or tertiary copies made from the copy taken. This ritual will also not reveal a transcription made from a Thaumaturge's own knowledge, even if that thaumaturge learned the ritual from the source in question. If a complete copy was made, it will reveal that copy regardless of whether it was copied by hand, photocopied, scanned, or copied magically.
Bottomless Pit: Level 2
A showman's ritual that has turned out to be just as useful as it is flashy. Bottomless pit turns any bag or container into exactly what its title says. Almost anything within the container's opening dimensions can fit inside of the bottomless pit and take up no more space than the container does itself.
System: The Thaumaturge must take a container of any shape or kind and place it within a circle, drawing sigils of connection to the Umbra. If the ritual is succeeds, the container becomes a portal to a pocket Umbral Realm for the remainder of the night, able to fit anything that can physically go inside of the container with no concern for depth. In order to retrieve an object placed in the pit, the Thaumaturge need only think of the object in question and reach into the container to find the desired object in his hand. Anything left in the container at the end of the night is considered lost in the Umbra, likely irretrievable without extraordinary means. Under no circumstances may any living or unliving being be placed within a Bottomless Pit.
Chairs of Water: Level 2 (Neptune's Might 2)
This ritual allows the Thaumaturge more detailed and fine control of water when employing the power of Neptune's Might. Where before he could only make chains to bind an interloper, now the Thaumaturge may make nearly any solid object from water. Chairs and tables are the most common uses for this ritual. The water remains completely contained within the effect; those who use these objects do not get wet at all, even while lying on a couch of water. The objects once created cannot be moved, and cannot be used to prevent passage through an area, thus having little to no combat value.
System: This ritual consists of the Thaumaturge anointing himself with water from the same source as he intends the object to be made from. A number of blood points must be spent relative to the size of the object to be created: one for a stool or chair, two for a small table, or three for a large table or sofa. This ritual cannot create objects larger than a full sized couch. At the storyteller's discretion, a Wits + Crafts roll may be required for any objects particularly ornate or complex, though this power may not create any object with more complex moving parts than a drawer. Objects created with this ritual usually last until sunrise, although the Thaumaturge may keep an object in existence longer by spending the same number of blood points as it took to make the object again, spilling this blood into the object in question just before sunrise.
Epistula Phasma (Ghost Letter): Level 2
This ritual, originally developed by the necromantic studies of High Saturday, has since made its way to some popularity among the rest of the Pyramid. This ritual allows the Thaumaturge to send a letter through the Lands of the Dead to mystically arrive at any recipient the Thaumaturge is familiar with.
System: The Thaumaturge must write the letter by hand in his own blood, costing at least one blood point, potentially more at Storyteller discretion if writing a novel, and then burn it in the flame of a tallow candle while invoking the name of the intended recipient. The letter will travel through the Shadowlands to its intended target where it will activate, appearing before the recipient in incorporeal form, invisible to all but the recipient. The recipient will gain an immediate knowledge that the missive is for him, and may choose to pluck it out of thin air. Once the recipient has accepted the letter by reaching out to touch it, the letter immediately rematerializes in the physical world in the hands of the recipient, exactly as it was before it was burned. The letter will wait for an opportune moment to manifest, rather than when the recipient is occupied, distracted, or traveling. Should the recipient choose not to accept the letter within 10 minutes of its appearance, the effect will end and the message will be forever lost.
The Thaumaturge can only send notes to someone she has personally met. Encrypt Missive and other Thaumaturgical effects can be attached to the letter and remain in effect when the note is received, so it is wise to be wary of such missives. The recipient gains no outside knowledge of whom the note was sent by, and the note cannot be read while it is still incorporeal.
Unreflected Ink: Level 2
The conveniences of modern technology have allowed for information to be copied and transmitted all around the world in a matter of seconds. Images and text can be taken and copied with no evidence and sent anywhere. For most people this is a convenience of modern life. For a Tremere, whose texts are more precious than any secret government document, this is a major hazard and security risk. This ritual does something to redress that security risk, although it requires a throwback to the old ways of doing things, a good thing to the minds of many an anachronistic elder Warlock. This ritual creates an ink that cannot be seen or detected by any means other than the naked eye, rendering anything written in it immune to copying any other way than by hand.
System: This ritual takes half an hour as the user must make a quantity of ink from scratch. Once the base ink is complete, the user brings the ink to a low boil, heating it over a flame burning rowan wood. Once the liquid is boiling, the Thaumaturge mixes in a quantity of his own vitae (one blood point per ounce of ink) and stirs the mixture counterclockwise with a silver spoon. The vitae is consumed in the ritual process and does not add to the overall quantity of ink. Once the ink is mixed and taken off the flame, the ink can be added to any pen and used normally. Anything written with that ink will not be detected by any means other than the mundane senses of a living or unliving being. This means the text will not appear in mirrors and cannot be captured by any modern means of recording such as photocopying, scanning, or even taking a picture. If a picture is taken of such a page, it will simply appear blank.
Note that one ounce of ink is enough to write approximately 300 pages, so some particularly large volumes may require more than a single ounce of ink.
Amulet of the False Aura: Level 3
This hour-long ritual creates an item that temporarily masks the aura of the wearer, appearing to be of a different creature type than he actually is.
System: To perform this ritual, the user must create an amulet of a material sympathetic to the the creature type in question and infuse it with a point of blood from the relevant creature type. The materials are silver for werewolves, cold iron for changelings, diamond for mages, ruby for vampires, onyx for wraiths, gold for mummies, jade for Cathayans, or tin for ordinary humans. The amulet need not be made entirely of the sympathetic material, but must contain an amount significant enough to be recognized for what it is.
Once made, the amulet retains its power indefinitely, granting the effect to any who wears it. Anyone viewing the aura of the wearer will see the aura of the creature type associated with the amulet and not his own. The amulet does not affect anything else that may show up in the aura such as emotional states, derangements, diablerie lines, etc. While this does change the creature type viewed, the aura will always appear affected by magic.
Deny the Sun's Weight: Level 3
This ritual allows the Thaumaturge to subsist on less rest than other Kindred, tending to rise just before sunset. For the duration of the ritual, he will always seem to be the firs to rise and the last to go to sleep, even if he's been out until near dawn. While other kindred may still be groggy, he is awake and aware.
System: This ritual lasts for 24 hours from the time of casting. For that duration, the Thaumaturge is considered to have Path Rating 10 for all purposes relating to waking and activities during the day, including the maximum dice pool allowed for actions during the day. The primary component of this ritual is a moonstone gem focus which must be with the caster for the full duration of the ritual and is often worn as a ring or pendant.
Empathic Jar: Level 3
This ritual creates a bottle that collects and condenses emotions. Through potent symbols with strong emotional significance, the emotional ambiance of an area is absorbed into the bottle, ready to be released at the Thaumaturge's command.
System: The player spends a blood point and rolls normally. The Thaumaturge must fill a bottle with a point of his blood, which must be drawn with a knife that has been used in a murder. A wedding ring is placed in wax and used to seal the bottle. Once sealed, the bottle begins to absorb emotions from the immediate area. The emotion absorbed will be whatever emotion is strongest in the area. The blood in the bottle becomes transparent as emotion is absorbed. Once the liquid is clear, the bottle is full of emotion. The liquid will have a slight colour to it, representing the emotion contained inside (see the Aura Perception colours chart to determine which colours correspond to which emotions).
The time required to fill the bottle depends upon the strength of emotions in the immediate area. A bottle left in a supermarket would take a year, while one in a church might take a few weeks. A bottle left at the scene of a recent or occurring murder might take a few hours. Anyone attempting to read the emotional state of anything in the vicinity where the bottle absorbed emotions via The Spirit's Touch or similar powers will find no emotional residue left. If the wax is removed before the blood is clear, or if the bottle ever breaks, the ritual ends and the emotion dissipates. As soon as the wax is placed on the bottle, the blood in the bottle becomes inert for all purposes other than the use of this ritual.
Once the liquid is clear, the wax can be removed and the emotion can be used, by pouring the liquid onto a person, place or item. If the liquid is poured on an item, the item then radiates that emotion permanently. This covers any other emotions on the object, unless they were very strong to begin with. Anyone attempting to use The Spirit's Touch or similar powers to read the emotional residue on an item thus treated will do so at +2 Difficulty and any less than 5 successes detects only the artificial emotion.
If the liquid is poured over an area, the area radiates the emotion. This will cause small changes in behaviour for anyone in the area. Storytellers should inform players of the "feelings" they get in a creation area. This effect lasts for the rest of the night. If the liquid is poured on a living (or unliving) creature, requiring a successful Dexterity + Athletics roll to splash the target, the individual is overcome with that emotion. Treat this effect as the Dementation 1 power Passion, targeting the relevant emotion, with the effect lasting for the remainder of the night.
Once the wax seal has been broken, the liquid must be used within five minutes, or the effect is lost. One bottle can only be used for one object, place or person. All of the content must be used for it to be effective.
Knowledge of the Childe's Peril: Level 3
With a blood point from a ghoul (the Thaumaturge's or not), the caster of this ritual may become attuned to said ghoul for a night, allowing the use of the ghoul's senses. This ritual may also be used on the Thaumaturge's own childe.
System: This ritual takes 30 minutes to cast and lasts for the rest of the night. One blood point from the Thaumaturge is mixed with one from the ghoul or childe, boiled down to one point combined and imbibed by the caster. This attunes the ghoul to the Thaumaturge. The same focus may be used more than once to cast this ritual on the same subject.
After the ritual is complete, at any time throughout the night, the Thaumaturge may spend a Willpower point to gain access to all the subject's senses for up to 1 hour, though the caster may choose to end the effect early. The Thaumaturge may choose to take any or all of the subject's senses at this time (see through the subject's eyes, hear through her ears, etc.), however whichever senses the Thaumaturge is using from the subject suppress her own senses of the same kind, rendering her effectively blind or deaf to her own surroundings while the effect persists. The subject is unaware that the ritual has been cast or enacted, however the caster has no control over the subject. When the hour is up, the caster may expend another Willpower point to gain the effects of the ritual again, however at the end of the night, the ritual is over and must be cast again on another night. Depending on which senses are shared, the caster may make himself vulnerable to rotschreck tests and wound penalties, etc. at Storyteller's discretion.
The name of this ritual is something of an inside joke among most Tremere elders who consider more the perils their children may bring them than the perils their children may meet.
Magic Mirror: Level 3
This ritual permanently enchants a pair of identical mirrors so that each will show the reflection of the other. Through this ritual, an individual may look into one mirror and see out of the other. A simple enchantment that this ritual incorporates also allows sound to transmit between these mirrors. This allows perfect, real-time communication regardless of distance.
System: Upon successful completion of this ritual, the pair of mirrors is permanently attuned to one another. In order to activate the mirrors, the holder of one must spend a blood point, spilling said blood onto the mirror which is absorbed to power the magic. This instantly triggers the paired mirror and allows for communication. The link between mirrors will last for a maximum of one hour, after which another blood point must be spent to reinitiate the link. The connection these mirrors provide is usable for communication only, and does not establish line of effect or sight for the purposes of any power or effect. The communication is based on the principle of Co-Location and does not travel through any intervening space on any plane of existence, thus being a very secure means of communication.
Only two mirrors may be enchanted by this effect.
Shape of the Familiar: Level 3
Through the casting of this ritual, the Thaumaturge may transform themselves into the innocuous form of a simple house cat. The Thaumaturge mixes equal measures of cat blood and their own vitae, and infuses it with fresh catnip from the ground to create a potion that can later be ingested to transform into a feline shape, along with all of her carried small possessions and and garments.
System: The player must spend a blood point in addition to making the usual Intelligence + Occult roll. After the ritual is performed, the potion remains viable until the next sunrise, ready to be drunk at any time. This potion only has an effect if drunk by the Thaumaturge herself. The transformation to a cat takes approximately one minute. The effect will last until the next sunrise, or until the Thaumaturge voluntarily ends it by spending a Willpower point.
Only small cat forms about the size of a domesticated house cat may be assumed by this ritual. The appearance of the cat form taken on will be identical to the cat from which the blood sample was taken. While in feline form, the Thaumaturge's attributes and abilities do not change, and she may use any discipline that does not rely on human speech.
Sight of the Dead: Level 3
This ritual, almost exclusively practiced by the members of House High Saturday, attunes the Thaumaturge to the realms of the dead, allowing him to see and hear ghosts. The caster must obtain dirt from a freshly dug grave, mix it with his own blood, and smear over his eyelids and behind his ears. While anointing himself with grave dirt, the Thaumaturge then repeatedly chants the Ashes to Ashes Bible verse backwards in Latin.
System: The Thaumaturge may spend any amount of blood points during the casting of this ritual. This ritual lasts for a number of hours equal to the number of blood points spent. For this duration the Thaumaturge can see and hear Wraiths from across the Shroud.
Transcription's Warning: Level 3
An expansion upon the principles of Revelation of the Secondary Source, this ritual allows the Thaumaturge to prepare a volume in advance, and know if that source is copied in any way in the future.
System: The thaumaturge picks any page and ritually prepares a copy of that page in the same manner as required for Revelation of the Secondary Source. That page must then be kept face down on top of the original for 7 days without being disturbed. At the conclusion of that time, the page has assumed the essence of the original that is to be taken in the next copy. The next time that page is copied by any means (see Revelation of the Secondary Source for what constitutes a copy) the writing on the copy made by this ritual will disappear and leave the page blank. The page will not go blank unless a complete copy is made.
There is a chance for someone copying a page protected by this ritual to know something is wrong, although it is very slight. The copying of the protected page takes up no ink from whatever medium is being used to produce the copy. This is only immediately obvious if the copy is made with an ink pen or other archaic writing device where ink consumption is obvious. However the scrupulous Tremere who knows of this ritual may wish to take such a precaution when attempting to copy rituals without permission.
Vistas of the Mind: Level 3
This ritual expands the mind of the Thaumaturge, increasing cognitive focus and memory. The Thaumaturge mixes a compound of her own vitae with ginseng and fish oil and drinks the sickly concoction, which expands the Thaumaturge's mind, allowing her to think faster and clearer than ever.
System: The player must spend a blood point to make the potion and in addition must spend a Willpower point to force herself to drink the sickly concoction and keep it down. After drinking the potion, the Thaumaturge gains 2 additional dice on all Intelligence based rolls. This ritual lasts for one hour per success.
Imprint of Blood's Power: Level 4
Based on the same principles as Blood Walk, this ritual delves deeper to discover more detailed information about the owner of the blood sample. Most notably, this will tell the caster which disciplines are known to the owner.
System: The player must acquire a point of blood from a subject to cast this ritual. The blood must be boiled over a low flame burning rowan wood (this consumes the blood sample) while the caster gazes into the boiling blood and makes his incantation.
The information gained is dependent on the number of successes scored in the casting of this ritual.
Successes Information
0 No information
1 Subject's clan
2 Subject's ratings in clan disciplines (but not paths of Blood Magic)
3 Any out of clan disciplines (Presence or absence, but not ratings)
4 Ratings in all out of clan disciplines (but not paths of Blood Magic)
5 Ratings in any paths of Blood Magic
6+ Any combination disciplines
This ritual cannot convey knowledge of Blood Magic rituals as this is not knowledge contained within the blood, but rather a wrote exercise the caster has been trained to perform. Neither can this ritual grant information about supernatural merits or any other supernatural abilities possessed by the subject.
Lightning Rod: Level 4 (Path of Levinbolt 4 or Weather Control 5)
With this ritual the Thaumaturge may trap and store bolts of lightning for later use.
System: An appropriate item must be pre-prepared to accept the bolt. A staff or sword is appropriate, although it must be made of a conductive metal. This process takes a week over which time the Thaumaturge must perform a nightly ritual taking 2 hours, rolling Intelligence + Occult (difficulty 7) each night. The Thaumaturge must accumulate a minimum of 35 successes. If any of these rolls fail or botch, the entire process is ruined and must be begun again. At the conclusion of the final ritual roll, the Thaumaturge must spend a Permanent Willpower to properly attune the item.
Once the lightning rod is made, it continues to function forever unless it is broken. At any point thereafter, the Thaumaturge may channel a lightning bolt via the Path of Levinbolt or Weather Control into the rod, which is stored within, ready to be used at the wielder's command. Lightning launched from the rod uses the standard Perception + Science roll to hit and deals a base damage of 10 dice of lethal damage. A bolt may be launched as a physical action, thus allowing the Thaumaturge to split his action for additional lightning bolts. Lightning launched from a Lightning Rod does not stack with additional uses of Levinbolt or Weather Control. Lighting from the rod cannot be channeled through a melee attack, though the Rod is a suitable conductor for channeling additional Levinbolt effects through. The rod can hold one lightning bolt per point of permanent willpower the Thaumaturge has. Any Thaumaturge may cast lightning into the rod once made, but only the maker may release the lightning.
If the Rod is broken, all of the lightning contained within is released at once, all remaining bolts striking the nearest person using the Perception + Science dice pool of the rod's maker.
Refresh the Wearied Mind: Level 4
The practice of Thaumaturgy is mentally and spiritually exhausting. Performing rituals takes a great deal of strain on the part of the caster, and it can be dangerous to practice Thaumaturgy when not at one's peak. The Tremere created this ritual to spiritually cleanse the mind and replenish the caster's will.
System: This ritual takes a full hour during which the Thaumaturge must meditate in a small, unventilated room. He must burn five candles made of beeswax, gingko biloba oil, and rosemary oil arranged in a traditional pentacle and runic circle. The traumataurge meditates by repeating a Latin mantra which causes the candles to burn quickly and completely (so new candles are required for each casting). The ritual is complete when the candles have burned out and the Thaumaturge draws the smoke into his lungs.
Upon completion of this ritual, the Thaumaturge replenishes all of his spent temporary Willpower. This ritual may only be used once per night.
Coexistent Circle: Level 5
While the Magic Mirror ritual allows for perfect communication for casual or formal needs and the Mirror Network expansion on those principles connects the Pyramid around the world, both of these rituals still fall short of the necessary degree of interaction needed for Thaumaturgical instruction or assistance in group rituals. The Coexistent Circle ritual bends space to make two locations temporarily occupy the same location, thus allowing full interaction of those within.
System: This ritual must be cast simultaneously by 2 Thaumaturges who each know the ritual. Each caster draws a binding circle containing a pentacle with the top of the star pointing in the exact geographical direction of its counterpart. It is vital that every detail of the interior of the circles is identical, from the composition of the floor, to the exact shade if the colors used to draw the circle, to any dust or stray particles that may have drifted in. Any variance can cause the ritual to fail, or worse, connect the Thaumaturge to an entirely different and undesired location which may or may not be part of the material world and may or may not allow the Thaumaturge to leave again.
Once both circles are complete, each Thaumaturge must perform the ritual. The entire ritual need not be performed in sync, but the final invocation, "Ut unum locus sit alterius, sinite utraque locis fount una (As one location is the other, let both locations become one)" must be spoken in perfect unison, likely requiring previous communication and synchronized clocks. This is unison requirement is likely what has kept such a ritual from being realized far sooner in the Pyramid's history, however with modern timekeeping and mundane communication methods, such synchronization presents no problem at all.
Once the ritual is complete, both casters step into the circle and now share the same space. While in the shared space they may take any action from speaking to instruction to casting joint rituals so long as neither leaves the circle. If either leaves the circle at any time the ritual immediately ends. A premature end to this connection causes both parties one level of unsoakable aggravated damage for each hour that the connection lasted. TO end the effect properly with no ill effect, both casters must once again invoke a simultaneous incantation, "duorum locorum sunt eadem, sinite distantium revenier, sinite spatiam expedier (Two locations are the same, let distance return, let space unfold)" and as one step out of the circle. To end the effect safely both casters must make the ritual roll again at this time, though ending the effect does not take the full ritual time.
Only such items as carried by the casters may be taken into the circle and only at the time of casting. Items may be exchanged over the course of this effect, however all items brought into the circle must be take out when the effect is ended. Any items not held by one of the two casters when the effect ends is lost in the void between realms. Under no circumstances may people other than the two casters be brought into the circle. For the purposes of this ritual a corpse is an object but a torpored or staked Kindred is a person.
Anyone viewing this ritual from outside the circle will see only the caster from the location being watched from. When looking out of the circle during the effect, each caster will only see their native surroundings, and not those of the other location.
It is notable that botches on this ritual are usually worse than most Thaumaturgy, often transporting the Thaumaturge to a random location either material or Umbral (Umbral is sometimes preferable as material can include any location in the material universe).
Craft Spirit Bloodstone: Level 5
This ritual enchants a small spherical stone crafted from an opal, which the Thaumaturge can subsequently track anywhere, even across planar boundaries.
System: This ritual functions exactly like Craft Bloodstone, except that it can be tracked even across planar boundaries, laying its trail in the Shadowlands, the Penumbra, or even deeper into the Umbra or Underworld.
Import Object: Level 5
This ritual is one of the great success stories of conversion to come out of the Horned Society, taking a previous ritual Aport Object that was based on Demonic principles and infernal energy and converting it fully to a purely Hermetic paradigm. This ritual, rather than being based on principles of co-location as in the aforementioned Dark Thaumaturgy predecessor, simply attaches an astral cord that connects the Thaumaturge and the item, similar to the silver cord of an Astrally Projecting vampire. By tugging this cord, the Thaumaturge is able to call the preprepared object to him with a moment's notice.
System: Preparing and marking an object for this ritual costs the Thaumaturge 3 blood points, which the object must be soaked in through a 90-minute ritual (though no damage is done to the object through this process, regardless of material), and the expenditure of a Willpower point to connect the cord to the Thaumaturge himself. In order to call an attuned item to her, the Thaumaturge must spend a Willpower point and mentally pull on the silver cord in question. The object will be instantly transported from wherever it is through the Umbra to the Thaumaturge. The Thaumaturge may attune any item up to twice her own mass with this ritual. In order to call an object either from or into a Circle Ward Versus Spirits, the Thaumaturge must test against the Ward as if he himself were crossing. Failure indicates that the object being called is lost forever in the Umbra.
If the Thaumaturge has a hand free, the item called will appear in his hand. If the item is too large or if the Thaumaturge does not have a free hand, the item will appear where the Thaumaturge wishes within five feet of him. However, the item will not appear embedded in any solid object or person.
It is noted that this ritual carries a risk. The silver cords that attach the marked objects to the Thaumaturge are visible in the Penumbra to any who can see that realm, such as those using Astral Projection or the first level of the Path of Spirit Manipulation, and of course to the Spirits themselves. Such cords can be followed between the Thaumaturge and the marked objects, though they cannot be severed in the same manner as a normal Astral Cord.
Invoke the Reflection of Revelation: Level 5
A mirror at least as big as the caster’s palm is enchanted as a focus for the spell. If the ritual is active, and the caster would be the target of a scrying effect (vis Scry, Seeing with the Sky’s Eye, Reflections of the Hollow Revelation, or Pool of Secrets), the scryer compares his successes on his scrying ritual to (1 + the caster's successes on Invoke Reflection of Revelation). If the scryer wins, his scry proceeds as normal. If the caster wins, the scry effect fails and the mirror focus reacts in a way determined by the particular ritual.
•Seeing with the Sky’s Eye: The mirror’s surface freezes in a single image of the scryer, and when the caster first gazes on the mirror, he gets a strong impression of the scryer’s location at the time that Seeing with the Sky’s Eye was cast upon him. As far as the scryer is concerned, he simply failed to activate the power.
•Scry or Pool of Secrets: The mirror’s surface ripples like water, and resolves into an image of the scryer. The mirror also emits the sounds around the scyer and shows the area. It is in all ways as if the effect was cast by the caster on the scryer instead of the other way around. As far as the scryer is concerned, he simply failed to activate the power.
•Mage magics: The mirror shatters dramatically, alerting the thaumaturge to the attempt but is unable to turn the effect on the originator.
•Other scrying effects: The ritual turns back on its caster, the mirror revealing the caster of said effect in the same manner as the effect itself.
In order to be effective, the mirror foci must be on the caster’s person. If it leaves the caster for any reason or length of time, the spell ends and must be performed again to provide protection. Assuming the caster is careful to maintain possession of the mirror, its power lasts until the sunset following the invocation.
Invoke the Shrouded Sanctum: Level 5
This ritual protects against scrying in a less versatile but more certain way than Invoke Reflection of Revelation, so it is particularly suited for use in warding Chantries against eldritch intrusion. The caster walks in a counter-clockwise direction around the structure to be effected. In his trail, he sprinkles a mixture of powdered glass and silver. Once finished, he installs a mirror focus in the center of the warded area and, using his vitae, draws a series of hermetic sigils upon it, enchanting it to block the passage of scrying magic across the boundary he has set. The mirror focus must be at least one foot in diameter per thousand square feet it protects. Completed, this ritual simply blocks the use of scrying magic into the affected area. Again, the attempt to use true magic to scry on the warded area fails, but shatters the mirror and renders the ward useless. This form of the ritual was once permanent, but recent alarming declines in the stability and potency of the hermetic principle make frequent re-castings necessary. To keep a Chantry protected, the ritual must be repeated roughly every year and a day
Mirror Attunement: Level 5
This ritual expands the use of the Mirror Walk ritual. While it is useful to be able to travel between mirrors close together, almost since the development of the Mirror Walk ritual, enterprising Tremere have been looking for a way around the proximity requirement. This ritual does just that, attuning two mirrors so that the caster may step between them regardless of distance.
System: This ritual requires a glass mirror. The caster must etch in hieroglyphics (properly and with good craftsmanship, as hieroglyphics are not only a language but a set of magical symbols as well) into the glass, a border of text containing a very lengthy and poetic description of a soul passing through its own reflection. Then the "mate" of this mirror must have the exact mirrored set of hieroglyphics etched by the caster, including any flaws or extended artistic whim in reverse. This requires 5 successes on a Dexterity + Crafts check. The caster then paints in, with her vitae, the etched hieroglyphs (the mirror image reflection on its mate, identically) and brings them to life. The blood must then be left to dry in the waxing half-moon moonlight.
After this preparation these two mirrors - no matter what location, distance, or angle - can be entered into by someone using the ritual Mirror Walk, and exit out the "mate" of the mirror entered. This still requires the use of the Mirror Walk ritual itself.
Mirror Network: Level 5
This ritual expands upon the principles of Magic Mirror to allow for more than two mirrors to be connected. Through the use of this ritual, whole networks of mirrors spanning Chantries around the world have been established, allowing the kind of smooth and safe communication that keeps the Pyramid functioning like the well-oiled machine it is.
System: This ritual follows all the same requirements as Magic Mirror, except that more than two mirrors may be enchanted. All mirrors used must be identical down to the last detail, except for a single identifying glyph etched into the exact center of the back of the mirror. When activating a mirror connected to the network, the user must draw the glyph of the mirror he wishes to contact in his own vitae (costing one point of blood as with Magic Mirror) to connect with the identified mirror. If so desired, more than one mirror may be connected to at a time, allowing for more than two Tremere around the world to conference in times of need, although each mirror to be contacted costs one point of blood (so while the first connection only requires one of the two to spend blood to establish a connection, if they both want to connect a third party, either they both must spend blood to add the third, or the third party must spend the same amount of blood on their end to establish the connections). Only mirrors within the same network may be connected via this ritual.
Teleport to a Safe Haven: Level 5
Via the utilization of a material focus and an attuned summoning circle the Thaumaturge is capable of teleporting from anywhere to their "Safe Haven". This is only used as a last resort as the mental strain of establishing such a link is quite taxing, but it has saved the lives of many Tremere who have found themselves in tight spots.
System: During the ninety-minute ritual a one-meter circle is drawn in the Thaumaturge's own vitae, requiring 10 points of blood and inscribed and enchanted with the proper arcane sigils denoting the Thaumaturge's own True Name. A material focus amulet must then be carved of white ceramic and similarly etched with silver. These two in tandem make the ritual capable of transporting and receiving the Thaumaturge's physical form (true body only, the ritual will fail if cast on a Possession vessel), into the summoning circle. The ritual is completed by the Thaumaturge walking the circumference of the summoning circle 7 times counterclockwise naked and intoning his own True Name aloud, sealing the ritual with the expenditure of a Permanent Willpower point. Note that the caster is retrieved naked, and all items are left behind.
After the amulet had been physically fashioned, it is then imbued with a Blood point of the Thaumaturge's physical form and will remain so enchanted until it is broken. When the amulet is broken (requiring a Strength + Potence of 5 as the amulet is supernaturally hardened by the ritual to protect it from the vagaries of chance), the physical form that is attuned to the circle is drawn to it at the end of the combat round, and thus teleported into the prepared summoning circle. The Thaumaturge's clothes and any other carried possessions fall to the ground. This ritual only functions once before needing to be recast in its entirety and the Thaumaturge may only have one such attunement placed upon him at a time.
Halfway Rituals
These rituals, created by the Horned Society, fall somewhere in between the "safe" magic of the Hermetic Paradigm and the infinitely more flexible but far more dangerous magic of Dark Thaumaturgy. For the purpose of Disciplines, these are considered rituals of Hermetic Thaumaturgy, although they have an unhealthy dose of Demonic power associated. These rituals are often used as a midway point while the practitioners of the Horned Society seek to convert the arts of Dark Thaumaturgy for general use by the Pyramid. Many rituals never make it past this stage as the Infernal influence proves too difficult to eradicate entirely.
Each Halfway ritual comes with a dangerous potential drawback that can only be overcome with exceptional skill. It has been postulated that these inherent drawbacks come from the resentment of the Demons at having their power so subverted. Demons, after all, hate giving away anything for free, so it makes sense that they would try to "twist" the power against the demonologist. This is generally not considered a problem, since one need only be diligent and exacting with one's rituals to stop such behavior.
System: Whenever a demon of any kind encounters someone with an active Halfway ritual effect, the demon can roll Perception + Awareness (difficulty 8). Success allows the demon to then attempt a Wits + Law check at a difficulty of the Demonologist's current Willpower (current willpower at the time the demon is attempting to pervert the ritual, not at the time of casting) to twist a single Halfway ritual away from its intended purpose. To successfully subvert a ritual, the demon must score more successes on the Wits + Law check than the Demonologist scored in casting the ritual. Over progressive rounds, the Demon can twist more and more Halfway rituals, but it can only try to subvert a given iteration of a ritual once, and it always makes attempts starting with the highest level Halfway ritual and working down. Only after it has successfully subverted a ritual does a Demon know what precisely it is (though many of the more experienced Demons can identify the particularly obvious rituals normally). The ability of Demons to affect Halfway rituals is not stopped by wards or warding circles, as the connection is already established by the Infernal power channeled by the ritual. The Thaumaturge has no way of knowing that a demon is affecting his Halfway rituals until the drawbacks manifest.
Halfway rituals are occasionally taught outside the membership, although most are considered too dangerous and unpredictable for the rest of the Pyramid.
Escape the Bonded Oath (Halfway): Level 2
This mind-enhancing ritual is used primarily for outwitting the demons that the Horned Society deals with. Opinion on this ritual varies widely between Horned Society members, with some praising it as a sensible precaution and others decrying it as unnecessary and far too dangerous. Demonologists with this ritual can remember more of the demon's history, accurately cite precedents from antiquity, and glibly make airtight proposals provided they have had opportunity to study the Demon's past.
System: In order to use this ritual, the Demonologist must have enough of the Demon's Celestial name to summon him (he need not actually have the ability to summon him, just have enough of his name), and spend one full night doing nothing but studying the terms, precedents, and history of the demon he intends to deal with. If successful, the Demonologist gets a pool of bonus dice equal to his successes that he can draw dice from to add to any Law or Demon Lore (or Fallen Lore should the Demonologist be knowledgable enough to have the Insider lore) roll made to get the best deal possible out of the specific Demon that he researched when casting the ritual. This ritual lasts for up to one week or until the end of the Demonologist's first encounter with the Demon in question.
Subversion: If successfully subverted, this ritual impedes the Demonologist, throwing up false memories and confusing images. The difficulty of all actions related to getting the best deal from the demon in question rise by 2.
Soulbound Apportation (Halfway): Level 2
One of the favorite Halfway rituals of the Horned Society general membership, this ritual allows the caster to temporarily bind an object into her soul. By slicing a symbolic representation of the desired object into the back of her hand and pressing the item to the wound, forcing her vitae to engulf it and transfer it between states, the caster stores the item in her soul. For the rest of the night, the caster need only touch the scar with her other hand and murmur a brief Latin summons to have the bonded item appear in her hand in a cloud of noxious black smoke.
System: Slicing the back of the hand deals one health level of unsoakable lethal damage, and commanding her vitae to emerge and absorb the item costs a blood point (the ritual does not heal the damage done so the caster must then heal this damage on her own). The item can be anything that the caster can support on the back of her hand for the entire ten minute casting time. The Demonologist need not hold the object aloft or balanced on the back of her hand for the ritual, merely rest it atop her hand, so theoretically the item could be of any size, though at least the majority of the weight must be over the back of the hand. While this ritual is active, the item literally vanishes, entering the caster's soul and merging with it. Once the item is called forth, it cannot be replaced without performing the ritual a second time.
Any item that has once been merged with the Thaumaturge's soul by means of this ritual will thereafter always count as a personal possession and a sympathetic link to the caster so significant that any holding it may be considered to know the Demonologist's True Name for future Thaumaturgical purposes.
Subversion: When this ritual is subverted, the Demon tears the affected item out of the caster's its hand. The Demonologist then takes unsoakable aggravated damage for every level of Concealability code the item has.
Concealability Damage
Pocket 1 Agg
Jacket 2 Agg
Trench coat 3 Agg
N/A (smaller than caster) 5 Agg
N/A (approx. same size as caster) 7 Agg
N/A (significantly larger than caster) Death
Clause of Duality: Level 3
This ritual is a very dangerous tool practiced exclusively by members of the Horned Society. When working with Demonic powers, particularly the arts of Dark Thaumaturgy, one of the greatest challenges involved is having new members learn the arts without crossing the line from demonologist to Infernalist. This ritual works around the problem by compelling a particular demon whom the caster has made a compact with to grant the same compact to another demonologist, thus effectively allowing the caster to "teach" Dark Thaumaturgy.
System: The demonologist must draw three joined pentagrams. One to represent the master, one the student, and one to bind the Demon. He must then successfully summon the demon in question into the circle using Call forth the Host and Bind the Interloper, Infernal Compact, or some other method of summoning and binding the Demon. The demonologist must then enter a contested Wits + Law check at difficulty 4 + the level of the power he wishes to pass to his student (the demon always rolls at difficulty 7) with the demon to negotiate a new compact acting as a representative for the student. If the caster scores more successes than the demon, the demon is forced to grant the same deal to the student as he granted to the caster. If the demon scores more successes, he can never be compelled by this ritual to teach this power again. If either botch their rolls, the effects are more extreme. Should the demonologist botch, the demon may revoke the original contract, stripping the power from the demonologist. Should the demon botch, the student gains the power with no cost or contract. This ritual can benefit from the effects of Escape the Bonded Oath, though most demonologists are wary of facing a demon with multiple Halfway rituals active.
Subvert: Should the demon successfully subvert this ritual, he may invoke a hidden clause in the contract for the power given, to be triggered at any point he chooses. This may manifest in the power acting differently under specific circumstances, or even just not working entirely. Specific clauses are up to the Storyteller to adjudicate but are rarely going to be good for either demonologist.
Demand the Dark Gift: Level 5
This extremely dangerous ritual is exclusively practiced by members of the Horned Society, and is often mistrusted even among Tremere demonologists. This ritual goes beyond mere coercion and forces a demon to grant the demonologist its power without a sacrifice or cost.
System: The Demonologist must draw two joined pentagrams in blood laced with St. John's Wort and rosemary, costing him a total of 10 blood points. He must then enchant the demon's circle with a Circle Ward Versus Demons. He must then summon a demon he wishes to compel into the circle using Call forth the Host and Bind the Interloper, Infernal Compact, or some other method of summoning and binding the Demon. Once in the circle, the Demon will be powerless to leave and will try all manner of tricks to avoid the compulsion to come.
If the Demonologist is successful, he may then make an opposed Willpower roll with the demon at a difficulty of 6 + the level of the power to be demanded. The Demon will always roll at difficulty 8. This is not a bargain, it is the demonologist forcing the power out of the demon and into himself. Should the demonologist score more successes than the demon, he may learn the power in question with no additional costs or compacts, though this still counts as Infernalism for all powers that detect such. Should the demon score more successes, his will overcomes the strength of the ritual and leaves him free to leave his circle and attack the demonologist as he desires.
Subversion: Should the demon successfully subvert this ritual, he may take control of the demonologist's body and soul completely. Treat this effect as though Taking the Spirit had been used on the demonologist to strip all of his willpower away, save that his Willpower will not recover for a full year afterward.
