Embedded Files
Many Paths and Rituals require touching a person or object. Unfortunately people aren't always willing. See: Touching an Opponent (Under: Combat). Additionally Obfuscate instantly ends if a Necromantic power is invoked or being used by the blood mage, blood magic is visceral and vulture and its arcane nature breaks the scene quiet discipline.
Path Rolls
Unless stated otherwise paths are rolled as such:
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Resolve + Occult + Necromancy – Ghost's Resistance (Sometimes also other applicable minus') or level of power attempted
Action: Instant
Dramatic Failure: You do not want to dramatically fail.
Failure: The effect does not happen, and the Vitae point is still spent.
Success: The effect happens as described in the text.
Exceptional Success: Extra successes are usually their own reward. In some cases, an exceptional success indicates an increased duration or effect.
Ritual Rolls
Unless stated otherwise rituals are rolled as such:
Cost: 1 Vitae
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Occult + Necromancy – level of ritual being attempted
Action: Extended*
The number of successes required to activate a ritual is equal to the level of the ritual times three (so a level-three ritual requires nine successes to enact). Each roll represents five minutes of ritual casting per ritual level.
Dramatic Failure: The ritual fails in some spectacular fashion.
Failure: Any failed roll means the ritual fails and must be began and paid for again
Success: The ritual takes place as described.
Exceptional Success: The ritual takes place as described. In many cases, extra successes are their own reward, causing additional damage or conferring extra duration or capacity.
Necromantic Paths:
Necromantic Rituals:
Rituals sometimes require special ingredients or reagents to work -- these are noted in each ritual's description. Common components include herbs, animal bones, ceremonial items, feathers, eye of newt, tongue of toad, etc. Acquiring magical components for a powerful ritual may form the basis for an entire story.
A character can purchase dots in Paths other than her primary path for x4 New Dots XP; secondary paths can never be higher than one lower than your rating in Necromancy until Necromancy reaches the fifth dot, at which point secondary paths can go up to five dots. Path ratings never exceed 5, though the overall Necromancy score may go above five if the character is Generation 7 or lower. If a character reaches a rating of 5 in her primary path and increases her Necromancy score afterward, she may allocate her “free” path dot to a different path.
Additional rituals are learned separately, as part of a story and they must find someone to teach the rituals in question. Additional rituals other than the free ones provided when buying a new dot of Necromancy are bought at the same EXP cost as merits of the same dots. That is a 1 dot ritual costs 2 XP, a 2 dot ritual costs 4 XP, a 3 dot ritual costs 6 XP, a 4 dot ritual costs 8 XP, and a 5 dot ritual costs 10 XP. You cannot purchase a ritual which has a dot rating higher than your rating in Necromancy.
When a character first learns Necromancy, the player selects a path for the character. That path is considered the character’s primary path, and she automatically receives one dot in it, as well as two free Level One rituals. Thereafter, whenever the character increases her level in Necromancy, her rating in the primary path increases by one as well, and she gains a number of "dots" worth of rituals for free equal to the Necromancy rating that she is purchasing. (i.e. when a character purchases Necromancy 3 her primary path increases to level 3 and she gains 3 dots worth of rituals to buy either three 1 dot rituals, one 3 dot ritual, or one 2 dot ritual with a single 1 dot ritual.)
Mechanics
Over the centuries, the various schools of vampiric Necromancy have evolved and diversified from an earlier form of death magic, leaving several distinct paths of necromantic magic available to Cainites. Nearly all modern necromancers learn the Sepulchre Path first before extending their studies to other paths.
Necromancy is both a Discipline and a school of blood magic devoted to the command of the souls of the dead. It’s similar to Thaumaturgy in that it has several “paths” and accompanying “rituals” rather than a strict linear progression of powers. The study of Necromancy is not widespread among the Kindred, and its practitioners — primarily the Giovanni — are shunned and despised for their foul practices (until those practices become useful, of course).
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse