Advanced Thaumaturgical Rituals
| Blood Contract |
By spending three nights in the writing of a contract with your own blood, you create an unbreakable bond between yourself and any one signatory. You use two Blood Traits to make the contract - one to write it, and one for both parties to sign it. The Blood Contract enforces compliance of both parties to the literal terms listed. Should either party break the terms of the contract, the individual immediately suffers enough aggravated health levels of damage to fall into torpor, and this damage cannot be resisted in any way. The only way to finish the contract is to fulfill its terms or to physically hum it.
Cobra's Favor
Echoing the curse laid upon the Assamites, elder Tremere created this ritual to make their vitae so poisonous that it would burn anything living it touched. After combining one Trait of her blood with a brew of toxic herbs and snake venom, the thaumaturge then recites a complicated incantation over it, calling upon the spirit of all things baneful. After this, the concoction turns a fetid black, and the ritualist must ingest the elixir (suffering a level ofunsoakable aggravated damage). For one full month, the thaumaturge's blood turns to a deadly poison and inflicts one level aggravated damage per Trait to anyone ingesting it. Needless to say, this makes creating ghouls or childer near impossible.
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| Court Of Hallowed Truth |
Once created for Tremere tribunals, this ritual has seen much wider use in these treacherous nights. Indeed, princes who know of this ritual often call upon the Tremere to cast it for them, and the Tremere will, of course, oblige - for the right price. By placing a pair of crossed bones before every entry into a room (including windows), the ritualist weaves a powerful magic through the chamber. While this ritual is in effect, no falsehood may be spoken within the room regardless of how much the speaker wishes to deceive, and direct questions from the presiding judge or power must be answered completely candidly, with no creative omissions. This power lasts for a single night in the room, after which it must be cast again to be effective. Princes who rely too heavily upon this power quickly lose the respect of their peers and become ridiculously indebted to the Warlocks, not to mention eroding their own power-bases. Most Kindred resent such heavy-handed tactics and may refuse to attend meetings where this will be used.
Nectar of the Bitter Rose
Hidden among the most vile of diablerists, the Nectar of the Bitter Rose breaks the usual constraints of diablerie, allowing multiple vampires to share in the fruits of a victim's power. You must restrain the victim in some fashion while casting this ritual over him. At the ritual's completion, up to five vampires may attempt to gain the benefit of diablerizing the subject. Each would-be diablerist must make a Simple Test (win or tie) to gain the benefits. Nectar of the Bitter Rose does not allow a vampire to gain benefits from diablerizing a victim of weaker or lesser generation - it simply lets multiple people share in a diablerie. Obviously, even the mere knowledge of this ritual is grounds for destruction within the Camarilla.
Severed Hand
Developed during the Dark Ages, this ritual forms a particularly effective method of punishment for Kindred who have transgressed, but have not been deemed worthy of destruction. Use of this powerful rite (which requires an entire night of preparation) prevents a Kindred's severed appendage from healing normally, even if they attempt to reattach the body part. The thaumaturge must possess the severed body part (which maybe a hand, arm, foot, eye, tongue or anything else) and have lengthy access to the victim's stump (or socket, or... ). By swabbing both pieces with volatile and mysterious compounds, the thaumaturge ensures that the Kindred becomes permanently maimed. Kindred affected in this way will have an appropriate Flaw given to them by the Storytellers (such as One Arm, Bad Sight, Mute, etc.); the appendage may not be regenerated by any means short of supernatural healing (such as Obeah).
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| Stone Of The True Form |
This ritual forces the transformation of any form-altering creature back into its natural state. By coating a small pebble in one Trait of his vitae, the thaumaturge creates a talisman capable of rendering even enraged Garou unable to shift their shape at will. Anyone touched by the pebble (which is good for one use) must assume his "natural" shape; Garou shift to their breed form, Gangrel using Protean are forced into their usual vampiric shape (including the temporary loss of Wolf Claws), a Nosferatu's Mask of 1000 Faces vanishes, and Tzimisce altered through Vicissitude return to the shape they had at the time of their Embrace. The Warlock must successfully touch the target with the pebble, probably requiring a Physical Challenge; the victim's inability to change form lasts for a scene, after which they may resume their shapeshifting.
Stone Slumber
Inspired by the Gargoyles they kept enslaved for so long, this ritual enables Warlocks to transform their bodies into solid stone, becoming completely immune to most of the dangers they might face during the day. This ritual is highly precise - any mistake might result in that morning being the last sunrise the thaumaturge will ever see. Beginning exactly one hour before sunrise, the thaumaturge first smears her body with the blood of a 12-hour-old corpse. Then, she must stand completely still in an open area, facing east. If the ritual has been performed correctly, she turns to stone as the sun's rays strike her. In this form, the Kindred is completely protected from all forms of physical damage, most types of flame (including sunlight) and heat (unless the heat is great enough to melt rock, such as lava). Telepathy and other mental Disciplines are useless, as the thaumaturge's mind is dormant. The Kindred is not aware other surroundings during this time, will not dream, and will wake 10 minutes after sunset that evening, although she must spend an additional Blood Trait to rouse herself.
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| Paper Flesh |
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This fearsome ritual allows you to strip a vampire of most of his supernatural resilience, leaving him as defenseless as an ordinary mortal. However, you must know his mortal birth name, which is much harder to learn of paranoid (or senile) elders than it is of innocent neonates. To enact Paper Flesh, sketch your target's face on a sheet of unblemished white paper, using one Blood Trait of your own blood for ink (Static Physical Challenge against a difficulty of the subject's Social Traits, retest with an appropriate Crafts Ability). Then write his birth name across the image's forehead in black ink and cut the image's throat with a silver dagger. For the rest of the night, the subject loses any Fortitude he may have had except for Endurance, as well as all of the following Physical Traits: Enduring, Resilient, Robust, Rugged and Tireless. If your target is a vampire who is of seventh generation or greater, he may retain one additional level of Fortitude and two of the affected Physical Traits for every generation he is above eighth. For instance, a sixth-generation target would retain both Basic Fortitude powers, the first Intermediate Fortitude power and four of the affected Physical Traits (assuming he had these powers and Traits to begin with).
Umbra Walk
The Tremere powers of Auspex allow them to search sublime planes of consciousness, but there are still other levels of existence to the infinite cosmos. Through the power of this ritual, which requires the sacrifice of an intelligent being (almost certainly costing you a Humanity Trait), you enter the Umbra, a spirit reflection of the physical world. You arrive naked, though certain magical items may come with you at the Storyteller's discretion. You can even bring other people, though each additional traveler requires another sacrifice. The Umbra is a dangerous place, traveled by werewolves and unfriendly spirits. Umbra Walk lasts until you choose to step back into the material plane. See Laws of the Wild for more detailed information about the spirit worlds.