Level Two

Dragon's Blood §

Creates very toxic and caustic blood in the system of the caster, which can be used to inflict damage, or excreted to dissolve locks or bindings.

System: 1-hour ritual. When activated, caster takes 1 point of aggravated damage. Blood can be excreted through skin and causes aggravated burns on contact.

Embalm the Necrid Flesh §

This is a very ancient ritual, used to preserve vampire body parts. The ritual was actually created by Sumerian priests who made talismans and other artefacts out of vampire hands, bones and skulls, and needed some way of preserving them after the demise of the vampire. Normally, any detached body part crumbles when the vampire dies, but this stops it from happening.

The ritual is easy to perform but many of the ingredients for the recipe are expensive and difficult to come by.

System: 1-hour ritual. The limb (or other part) must be painted with a ring of preservative sigils, then soaked in a noxious mixture of hellbane, blood and various preservative herbs and essences. There are a variety of incantations used by hedge witches and ancient priests, all of which are effective but complicated.

Uses: Although devised purely to create talismans, the ritual has some other unpleasant uses. If a vampire loses a limb and it is captured and made into a talisman, the limb will never regrow until she either recaptures it, or it is destroyed. If recovered intact, the talisman limb can be re-attached, but it is withered and useless with aggravated wounds, and must be healed.

If the limb is at any time exposed to sunlight after the ritual is completed, it dessicates slightly but remains intact.

Note: some eccentric vampires have encrusted their whole body with preservative tatoos, in the hope that it will save them from Destruction. This is not the case - the vampire will still die, but their body will be preserved intact after their True Death.

[RH - 16/9/99]

Eye of Watchfulness *

Thirty-minute ritual, requires 1 BP and several of the caster's eyelashes. This ritual functions in a similar way to Rune of Vigilance.

During the ritual the caster burns the eyelash, mixes it with a little of his blood and inscribes a symbolic eye on any flat surface. The eye is invisible until activated, in the same way as the Rune of Vigilance. When activated, the rune-eye glows dimly whilst it briefly transmits images of what activated it to the caster. NB The Eye will be activated by someone Obfuscated, but the caster will not be aware of it unless they have a higher Auspex. The caster can have more than one Eye in operation in the same way as the rune above.

False Mask of Virtue †§

After 1/2 hour of preparation, the Kindred can appear to be anyone she desires until the end of the evening.

[The person must be someone known to them, success requires Percep+Empathy: diff 5 for a close friend, up to 10 for a photograph. The caster must carry a personal possession of the target's - the Mask is broken if this is lost or destroyed. As with Obfuscate, those with a higher Auspex than the caster's Thaumaturgy can pierce the Mask.]

Fireclaw †

15 minute ritual, lasts for one hour. Causes fingertips to flame brightly, burning any who come in contact with them. Treat them as a chemical fire (2 Aggravated wounds, T# 9 to resist) in addition to normal hand to hand damage. This ritual requires that the caster put her hands into a lit brazier which is soaked with Fortitude. Target number is 6.

The Liar's Mind §

This half-hour ritual lasts one night, and projects a false stream of consciousness to those attempting to use Telepathy on the subject (Auspex 4). Requires Manip+Acting (Diff 4 + Int of target) whilst being read. The other benefit is that the caster is instantly aware of anyone trying to read their mind.

Light of Life §

Simple 30-minute ritual which conveys a Bright Aura on a subject for Willpower hours. During this time the aura will look as bright as a mortal's. The ritual requires use of a sprig of mistletoe, which the subject must carry at all times, or the effect is cancelled.

Retreat of Umbral Protrusion §

Allows the caster to see for a short time into the Penumbra. During this time, her body in the physical realm becomes less noticeable, like Obfuscate 1, and she cannot move.

System: ½ hour ritual, requires a large full-length mirror big enough to see the whole body, incense and a preserved Garou pelt.

The pelt is very difficult to come by and a dangerous object to possess, hence this otherwise quite simple ritual is rather rare.

Roll Perception+Occult, successes is number of minutes viewing time. The mirror must be smashed after use, otherwise it will become a doorway for emanations of the Umbra, potentially including all those annoyed lupines!

Shaft of Lunarcy §

Captures the essence of the moon-beasts' Rage. Creates a Frenzy in which all physical stats are increased to five, and movement is unimpeded by injury. Wounds can be healed with up to five points of blood in a single turn (or five plus amount for higher generations). Aggravated injuries cost three Bps plus a willpower, per health level, one health level per turn.

System: 3-hour ritual which must be performed under a full moon with an obsidian mirror. Ritual activates when the mirror is broken, hence it can be prepared well in advance, but the effect is destroyed if it the mirror is exposed to sunlight. Hence, it cannot be used in the daytime.

Summon the Favoured Blade §

[Written by R How from an idea suggested by Kristina Witney]

Summons a specially-prepared weapon into your hand, at any time you wish.

Ritual: The magus must remove one of the fingers from her favoured hand, and paint the stump with natural tar. Suspend the finger in sulphuric acid until dissolved, then reduce the solution over a flame until it is reduced to an essential salt. Ritually cleanse the chosen weapon. Combine the salt with sealing, wax, and place a seal on the weapon with sigils of Body and Return. Finally, bathe the weapon in 1 pt of the caster's blood, and cleanse.

Time: 2 hour ritual, excluding the time the finger takes to dissolve (like beans - 8 hours or leave to soak overnight, kids!)

Use: At any time, spending a point of blood will return the weapon to your favoured hand. The object will actually hurtle through the air to your hand, and the range of the spell is [Current Willpower] x 100 yards (or m if you prefer) regardless of obstructions.

Note: (1) The spell is broken when the caster removes the tar stump-seal, regrows their finger, if the seal is removed from the weapon, or if it is destroyed.
(2) Though the weapon used is traditionally a bladed one, any kind of weapon can be used. However, remember that for mechanical weapons, they might not necessarily be loaded or in a suitable firing condiction - they are simply transported 'as is'.

Walk the Blood-Moon Path §

Simple 10-minute ritual which must be performed on a Cairn, opening a Moon-Path for travel through the Umbra. (NB This is VERY dangerous, as they are often travelled by Garou - who are even more powerful in the Umbra than they are in the Gaia Realm!) The ritual is also used to travel Blood-Paths, though for this a blood-point must be spent and the ritual takes only a few minutes. Destinations of these paths are normally pre-determined.

 

§ - Order of Draco Ritual, by (c) Robert D How, 1998

† - by Deird're Brookes

* - by Cameron Blackwood