Rituals

Ritual Rules

Rituals are complex magical processes which involve a series of required items, chants, and investments of Magic Points (MP). Below are rules associated with rituals which differentiate them from other forms of spellcasting.

Magic Point Investment

Magic Point Investment (MPI for short) is the amount of Magic Points needed to be spent in order to complete the ritual. Rituals remain active (albeit incomplete) for 24 hours after MP is invested, and the amount invested into the ritual is chosen by the one pouring their MP into it when doing so. MP invested into a ritual is spent and disappears upon the completion (or failure) of the ritual.

Anyone can invest their MP into a ritual so long as they have the MP to spare, and MP cannot be invested if it would cause the one investing to be overcasting unless otherwise specified (such as forcibly losing MP to a ritual).

Alternatively spellcasters can choose to absorb MP from their incomplete ritual instead, and doing so requires a Spellcasting check (DC 10 + ritual's current MPI), on a successful check the caster absorbs 2d6 MP for every 10 MP invested into the ritual (maximum of the ritual's MPI).

Casting Process

Rituals involve a process in order to be cast, and this process is often lengthy and for some rituals it can even be expensive to even attempt. Spellcasters are often those who partake in performing rituals due to non-spellcasters usually not being trained or well prepared for the finer minutia of most rituals and being firmly locked into performing the smaller and less complicated ones for comfort's sake.

When performing a ritual, the caster(s) must be within 6 squares of where the ritual is taking place unless otherwise stated within the ritual's text (as some may require the caster to be within their circle or another area), and they must have line of sight to their ritual they are about to perform. Unless stated within the ritual or chosen as the target of the ritual, one must be one of the casters when the ritual is completed in order to benefit from its effects if it specifies it affects the caster(s) present.

Rituals are completed and the Ritual skill is performed only after the ritual has successfully reached its total MPI.

Languages

Ritual are performed in different languages - especially depending on the region which the ritual is originally from. For example a European ritual would likely be performed in Latin or an old Celtic or Norse language, whereas in other regions they may use their native language or another older variation which the ritual was originally written in.

If you possess Language (Speak) corresponding to the language being chanted in, you are able to use the language as an exchange on your roll when casting the ritual.

Learning Rituals

Unlike learning spells, rituals are usually able to be found in magic libraries rather easily, and instructions or copies of instructions for many rituals exist already and are widely circulated. An instruction pamphlet of a ritual can be purchased for 20 silver a piece. Alternatively the caster can attempt a Research check against the ritual's Ritual DC to learn it free, and commit it to memory or write the instructions down.

Ritual List

Open Minor Leyline

Items Required: Faerie Dust or Dragon's Blood, and 4 metal rods

Chant: Hanc portam aperire secreta (Take this gate, and open its secrets)

Language: Latin

Ritual DC: 25

MPI: 30

Duration: 1d6 + (Primary Attribute) days | Casting Time: 2 hours

Description: Once completed the spellcaster creates a small leyline which occupies a single square, anyone standing within 2 squares of the leyline recover 1d6 MP per round (or 1d10 if they stand directly on the square of the leyline). This MP recovery is performed right after Stamina recovery at the beginning of a character's turn.

Alternatively someone standing atop the leyline can choose to focus all of their magic into the leyline itself to cause it to rupture and burst. Doing this creates a 6 square radius shockwave surrounding the spellcaster. Everyone (excluding the spellcaster) within that radius has a Spellcasting attack made by the spellcaster attempting this against their Bodily Defense(s). On a successful hit, those caught within the radius take 5d6 points of damage. On a failed hit, they only take 1d4 points of damage. This damage is doubled against armor and damage to the integrity of objects. Doing this removes 1d4 days off the Leyline's duration. If it brings the duration to 0 days or lower, the leyline fizzles out and disappears.

Commune

Items Required: Ritual pyre, and a flower

Chant: O (deus) Obsecro te pro tua sapientia. (Oh (name of entity) I beseech you for wisdom)

Language: Latin

Ritual DC: 22

MPI: 15

Duration: (Primary Attribute) x 10 minutes | Casting Time: 1 hour

Description: As part of their ritual, the spellcaster burns the flower which they are to use in the commune. This flower's first letter much coincide with the first letter of the entity you wish to commune with. For example, Yahweh would use a Yarrow or Yellow Archangel, and Odinn would require Orchid or Ox Eye Daisy).

After the completion of the ritual, the spellcaster can speak with the entity they're communing with and ask as many questions as they can within the time limit. The answers they receive from the deity must be in one of a couple forms; yes or no questions, or weal or woe questions. Weal or woe questions are if an action will yield good results (weal) or bad results (woe). In addition to these, answers can come up as both (yes and no/weal and woe) or neither.

Transportation

Items Required: 1 lbs. of soil, 10 silver worth of herbs and incense

Chant: Suscipe me et sociis meis locum destinatum (Take me and my allies to my destined location)

Language: Latin

Ritual DC: 40

MPI: 200

Duration: Instantaneous | Casting Time: 30 minutes

Description: The spellcaster and a group of allies must stand upon the soil during the Ritual, and allows the spellcaster to teleport themselves and a number of allies equal to 2 + Primary Attribute with them to a location they have been to within the past month.

Special: This may be used to travel from any natural leyline to any known and friendly Henge. See Kingdom rules.

Lycanthropy Infection

Items Required: 1 pint of the creature's blood, 1 gold of wolfsbane or belladonna

Chant: Ego in hoc homine intra praecordia sua, et mutant essentiam (I will take this person's insides, and change their very being)

Language: Latin

Ritual DC: 40

MPI: 180

Duration: Permanent | Casting Time: 3d8 hours

Description: By boiling the blood of a creature to be turned into the lycanthropic infection, the spellcaster is able to create a potion which, when imbibed, forcibly transforms the drinker into a lycanthrope of the creature whose blood was included. This drink is imparted to the individual after the casting time, not during. There is no attack roll for the infection as it immediately takes hold so long as at least 85% of the drink has been drunk.

Immunity to diseases or curses makes one immune to Lycanthropy Infection.

Once infected with lycanthropy, individuals receives the following;

Full Moon Transformation: On a full moon the character is forcibly transformed from their regular form to that of the creature whose blood was included in the concoction. When transforming the character receives natural Defense Points equal to (Power + Health) * 5 to all body parts, stacking with any armor the character wears (but not other forms of natural Defense Points), however these Defense Points are bypassed by silver weapons which deal damage directly to Hit Points. While in this state the character is frenzied, attacking anyone and everything, and has no self control. This lasts until sunrise, 8 hours, or until slain, whichever comes first.
Natural Transformation: Characters can choose to spend 15 MP and 10 Stamina in order to willingly transform into their animalistic form. This works just like the Full Moon Transformation except the character is in full control of themselves, not being in their frenzied state.
Lycanthropic Strength: Characters who become lycanthropes in this way receive a +1 bonus to two Physique or Dexterity sub-ability scores of their choice. This change lasts so long as the character isn't cured of their lycanthropy. These bonuses also remain regardless of whether they're transformed or not.
Infectious: This character's bite attack while transformed as their creature has the capacity to infect others; on a successful bite attack you roll another bite attack but this time against the opponent's Bodily Defense. On a successful hit they are infected with lycanthropy.

Pact

Items Required: An item of value to the entity summoned (varies depending on entity but typically worth between 1 gold and 80 gold)

Chant: Et petit auxilium de ipso supernae (I ask the assistance of the supernatural)

Language: Latin

Ritual DC: 50

MPI: 120

Duration: Instantaneous | Casting Time: 3 hours

Description: After communing with an entity (a non-deific supernatural creature such as an angel, demon, or other such creature) and once doing so the spellcaster must make a deal with the entity. This deal is done through telepathic communication, and is completed as soon as the deal is proposed so long as both parties agree.

After which the entity will attempt to grant the wish, assuming it is within their power to do so. There is always a price associated with the wish, determined by the entity before you agree upon it. Usually the difficulty of the wish determines the price, with more difficult wishes requiring great sacrifices or involving meddling within the results by the entity which you may not necessarily like. GMs are encouraged to get creative with this but some example of wishes and their prices are as follows;

"I wish to revive my fallen ally." (Price: The life of another ally or someone you care about. Result: Your ally is brought back to life.)
"I wish to become rich." (Price: Entity meddling. Result: The entity gives you 2 platinum however this money was stolen from another supernatural entity who is now hunting you down)
"I wish to become stronger." (Price: You a sub-ability score for each mental ability score; Intellect, Wisdom, and Charisma, down to 1. Result: You increase your Power sub-ability score by the amount your mental ability score is reduced by.)

Raise Dead

Items Required: A corpse, enough lavender or vermilion worth 50 silver, and the spellcaster's own blood

Chant: Et muros hos instauraretis cadaver in sepulcrum (I raise this corpse from the grave)

Language: Latin

Ritual DC: 40 (+10 for every additional corpse beyond the first)

MPI: 50 (+25 for every additional corpse beyond the first)

Duration: Permanent | Casting Time: 5 hours (+1 hour for every additional corpse beyond the first)

Description: By infusing a corpse (or multiple corpses) with the unholy energy, the spellcaster is able to raise them from the dead as a form of undead. The character loses their Intellect ability scores, and applies the following stat adjustments depending on the kind of undead created:

- Zombie: -1 to Precision, Agility, and Reaction. +1 to Power, loses Stamina, +2 to Health. Move speed decreases by 1 square.
- Skeleton: -2 to Power, +1 to Agility and Reaction, loses Stamina.

Dimensional Hold

Items Required: A drop of blood from a being able to naturally teleport, 1 lbs. of steel, and the bone of a crippled animal

Chant: Hunc habere aliquid in eum usum antiquissima. (Hold this unnatural entity in my grasp.)

Language: Latin

Ritual DC: 35

MPI: 80

Duration: 1d6 + (Primary Attribute) days. | Casting Time: 1 hour

Description: Creatures of the Outsider type are unable to exit the circle drawn, and cannot teleport out of it while trapped. Lastly for the duration of the circle they are unable to harm or be harmed, allowing for a safe conversation with an extraplanar being that is summoned. This circle lasts the duration listed or until it is activated, whichever comes first.

Misogi

Items Required: Kneeling underneath a waterfall

Chant: Harae-tamae-Kiyome-tamae-rokon-sho-jo!

Language: Japanese

Ritual DC: 35

MPI: 100

Duration: Instantaneous | Casting Time: 4 hours

Description: By kneeling under a waterfall - praying and chanting, this ritual can be performed. If this is not performed while under a waterfall, it will not work. On a successful casting of this ritual, you cleanse yourself of all curses, poisons, and diseases currently afflicting you. Any damage done by the diseases, curses, and poisons are undone upon the user. However this is not able to be used to cure old age or violence-related injuries.

Oharai

Items Required: Ritual circle (must be at least 1 square large AKA 5 ft. by 5 ft.), offerings of 20 silver per square

Chant: Kami! Kami! Kami!

Language: Japanese

Ritual DC: 45

MPI: 80

Duration: Instantaneous | Casting Time: 6 hours

Description: This is done by placing an individual within a circle (or no individual is required if a location is being blessed instead) and chanting during the whole duration of the ritual. Offerings must be made to the kami, and once done the area or individual will be purified of sin, recovering their life force and mind. They heal (3d8 + Primary Attribute) HP, and recovers (2d4 + Primary Attribute) of Resolve and Sanity.

Scholar's Knowledge

Items Required: Books (see below), 1 beverage containing caffeine or 1 dose of stimulants (such as methamphetamine or cocaine)

Chant: Vide per lens illustrationis. (See through the lens of enlightenment.)

Language: Latin

Ritual DC: 20 (+2 per book beyond the first)

MPI: 30

Duration: Instantaneous | Casting Time: 2 hours (+30 minutes per book beyond the first)

Description: Books are laid out in a circle around the caster (either open or closed) and you chant the phrase before ingesting the caffeinated beverage/stimulant, and upon doing so you begin to take in the knowledge that would've taken them long to acquire from the books.

Upon a successful casting of the spell, you absorb the knowledge from the books as if you had spent the time reading them from start to finish, the casting time of the spell being used in place of the time it would've taken them to read the texts.

For 24 hours, you receive a +5 bonus to Research checks in addition to any relevant Knowledge Skills the books being read may cover (up to the GM).

In order to be able to absorb the full knowledge of the books used, you must be able to understand the language the book is written in (whether through speech or literacy). If you don't understand the language the book is written in, you instead receive about 25% of the information contained, and do not receive any bonuses from doing so. This may be enough to understand a topic the book is covering, but full details and more advanced knowledge can't be understood.

Mirror Reality

Items Required: 1 pint of blood from a spellcaster or magical being and a mirror.

Chant: Transfige velum, et vide scientiam vetitam. (Pierce the veil, and behold the forbidden knowledge.)

Language: Latin

Ritual DC: 70

MPI: 340

Duration: Instantaneous | Casting Time: 3d6 hours

Description: Painting the blood upon the mirror along with the spell's incantation and investing magic, you pour a significant amount of energy into creating a doorway to the unknown - another reality which you may or may not have knowledge of.

Upon casting this spell, the mirror absorbs the blood and opens a gateway to a mirror world similar to that of the one you live on. This mirror reality can be entered and exited so long as the mirror remains intact, and acts as a two-way gate between the two worlds for you and any allies you choose to bring (they must be touching you or the mirror). Typically this mirror reality is one which resembles your existing one save for some minor changes (or minor on the cosmic scale anyways) - thus you could end up in an alternate reality where France was no more and Spain owns the land which once belonged to France, or you could end up in a reality where bread tastes slightly sweeter. These changes tend to be at least noticeable, however realities that are similar to one another tend to be close together and thus it is more common to jump into a reality which is more similar to your own than it is different.

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