Animate Sanguine Gargoyle (Crúac
⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫)
This ritual animates a gargoyle in an alchemical
ritual. The sorcerer must have a stone body
prepared, which may not be of a Size higher than 6.
The body must have two cavities, one in the chest
and one in the head, which are filled with a number
of points’ worth of Sanguine Elixir equal to the
gargoyle’s Size, then the ritual is cast. If it is
successful, the gargoyle animates and is under the
sorcerer’s complete control (this is considered to be
a Vinculum for all intents and purposes) and may be
directed verbally. The gargoyle receives a Stamina
attribute equal to the stone’s Durability
automatically, and starts with one dot in each other
attribute. Successes on the ritual may be used to
raise attributes on a one-for-one basis, and they may
also be used to raise skills, up to a maximum equal
to the sorcerer’s dots in that skill.
If the sorcerer did not score an extraordinary
success on the ritual’s final roll, the gargoyle
remains animate indefinitely, but if it is touched by
sunlight or fire, it will become inanimate for a
number of minutes equal to the damage points a
vampire would have suffered from that source
(gargoyles of that kind are inanimate throughout the
day if they are out in the open). If an extraordinary
success was scored, the gargoyle is immune to that
effect, though most are ordered to remain motionless
until further notice to prevent a visit from the Sheriff
about violating the Masquerade.
Coven (Crúac ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫)
This powerful ritual has a set of harsh
prerequisites, but the benefits are substantial, even if
they come at some cost. Despite the names of the
ritual participants, it can be cast with male vampires,
though the coven must always consist of all-male or
all-female vampires. To cast the ritual, all
participants inflict a similar wound on themselves
with a ritual dagger (usually either the arm or the left
hand are cut).
The ritual can only be cast at Midwinter, when
vampires are most powerful. The casting vampire,
also called the crone (lower case), must have been in
torpor for at least one day since the last Midwinter
(staking doesn’t count, though), she must have sired
a childe at some point in her existence, and she must
have a Blood Potency of at least 3. The second
participant, the mother, must have sired a childe, and
must not have been in torpor long enough to lower
her Blood Potency. Additionally, she must have at
least 3 dots of Crúac. The last participant, the
maiden, must have a Blood Potency of 1 or 2, and
she must not have sired a childe or been in torpor
long enough to lower her Blood Potency. She must
also know at least 1 dot of Crúac.
The casting roll is resisted by the highest
Composure of the participating vampires, plus their
highest Blood Potency. If the ritual is successful, its
effects endure until one of the participants is either
destroyed or violates the requirements of their status
(e.g. once the maiden reaches Blood Potency 3, sires
a childe, or enters torpor long enough to warrant
Blood Potency loss (even if she is at Blood Potency
1 anyway), the ritual’s effects end at once).
While the ritual is in effect, each participant
gains +2 dice on all Crúac rolls. If the participants
are actually in one another’s presence, add a further
+1 bonus for each additional coven member, for a
maximum of +4 when all members are present. The
first time each night this bonus is used, the wounds
cut during the ritual open again. This does not cause
vitae loss, but it may come at inopportune moments
and spook onlookers.
Honoring Grandmother Spider
(Crúac ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫)
This ritual binds those who perform it into a pact
with a spirit that calls itself Grandmother Spider. In
exchange for offerings of blood Grandmother Spider
gifts the ritualists with investments of her power.
All ritualists may pass through webs or
cobwebs without leaving a trail (For the
duration of the ritual they pass through
them and actually cannot touch them at all
even if they wanted to).
For every skill they possess they gain a
specialty in spiders, if applicable.
Whenever they are in a location with
unbroken webs or dense cobwebs the
Stealth specialty applies and when climbing
the Athletics specialty applies.
By spending one blood point they may
climb vertical surfaces, at their standard
movement (they may not climb slick
surfaces like metal or glass) for a scene
without having to make Athletics rolls,
though they must have their hands and feet
bare to do so.
The penalty for using the Animalism
Discipline to affect spiders is reduced to -2.
All of the ritualists find that they wake hungrier than
usual. It costs them an additional blood point to rise
each day. This is tithed to Grandmother Spider. If
they cannot pay their tithe at sunset, they do not gain
any of the ritual's benefits until they can.
The ritualist who oversees the ritual also learns if
any of the participants are actively keeping
something secret from him. He also knows if any of
the others breaks the pact. The pact may be broken
by either dying or intentionally killing a spider. If
the one who led the ritual breaks the pact it ends for
everyone. Breaking the pact with Grandmother
Spider angers her. To again use this ritual an
additional human sacrifice must be supplied for
every time the ritual leader has broken the pact in his
unlife.
To perform this ritual the leader of the pact must
know the Crúac 5 version of the ritual, but to
participate in it requires only a Crúac 1 version that
has no effect apart from permitting the caster to join
in the pact. If one already knows the one-dot version
of this ritual the five-dot version costs 2 XP less to
learn. A maximum of 6 participants may be affected
by this ritual, and the roll to activate it is penalised
by the number of participants beyond the pact leader.
The ritual must be performed in a dark location that
is currently habituated by spiders. During the course
of the ritual the ritualists spatter a bound human
sacrifice with their vitae. Upon the successful
completion of this ritual the spiders inhabiting the
area will skitter out to consume the blood, wrap the
victim in webs and leave it an exsanguinated husk.
This ritual’s effect last one lunar month.
Join the Cycle (Crúac ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫)
The roll to activate this powerful ritual is
penalised by the Acolyte’s Humanity – it is
necessary to abandon oneself to the Beast and its
instinctual cycles to gain the benefit of this ritual. If
the ritual is cast successfully, the sorcerer enjoys a
bonus of +2 dice to all rolls when the moon is full or
almost full, and increases his Blood Potency by 2 for
the purposes of determining the number of blood
points he may spend per turn only (these bonuses
lasts for one week around the full moon). During the
two weeks when the moon is waning or waxing, no
bonus is garnered, and for one week during the new
moon, all rolls are at -2 dice, and Blood Potency is
reduced by 2 for determining the number of blood
points that may be spent per turn (however, at least
one blood point may be spent per turn).
The ritual’s effects last for one month. It cannot
be terminated prematurely. Degeneration rolls are
never affected.
Threefold Malediction (Crúac
⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫)
This very powerful ritual must be enacted by three
Acolytes with at least three dots of Crúac, although
only one of them has to know the ritual and be able
to perform it. It must be cast within line of sight to
the target location, and the sorcerers must each
splash one point of vitae onto an object taken from
the target and placed in the centre of the casting
Acolytes. The rolls to activate the ritual are
penalised by the size of the target (use Haven size
dots). The ritual’s successes can be used in five
ways, decided upon by the casting sorcerer, and the
effects last until the next sunrise:
1. They can be used as a penalty to any rolls
undertaken by or in the vicinity of the
target. Not even the sorcerer herself is
exempt.
2. They can be used as a bonus to all actions
or events that might harm the target or
anything in its vicinity.
3. Any actions that would benefit the target or
anything in its vicinity but fail become
Dramatic Failures.
4. Any actions that would harm the target or
anything in its vicinity become
extraordinary successes if they succeed at
all (i.e. they count as five successes
minimum, or more if more successes were
actually scored).
5. If used against structures, its Durability or
armour is reduced by the number of
successes.
This ritual can be used to weaken bridges so they are
shaken apart by storms, to allow the storming of a
castle by strengthening the attackers, to cause a
massive accident on a motorway, or to cause all
operations in a hospital to go horribly wrong.
Waters of Life and Death (Crúac
⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫)
This ritual is mainly employed by the Sanam, a
Daeva bloodline with megalomaniac tendencies. It
must be cast on a virgin (usually a child) and a
voluntary mortal beneficiary, and the roll to activate
it is contested by the child’s Resolve+Stamina. If the
ritual is successful, the beneficiary stops ageing, and
the child ages in her stead, although this does not
mean maturing – the child simply becomes a dwarf
with the features of an old man, and will never grow
up. Once cast, the ritual’s effect is permanent. If the
child dies, the ritual’s beneficiary starts ageing
normally again (that’s the main reason a child is
used as the victim – children will live for a long
time, reducing the necessity of repeating the ritual).
There is a serious drawback to the ritual,
however: Whenever the child’s mirror image is
viewed in water drawn directly from a natural
spring, she appears as a normal child, and whenever
the beneficiary’s image is viewed in this water, she
appears to be her true age. If she is splashed with the
water that is currently showing the two mirror
images, the beneficiary starts catching up in years at
once, ageing one year per turn, and if she dies, the
child is restored to her age at the time the ritual was
cast, without memories of what has transpired.
Steal the Heart (Crúac ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫)
This ritual can only be used on a Kindred target
that does not physically resist the Acolyte, and all
activation rolls are resisted by the target’s
Stamina+Resilience+Blood Potency (if Resilience is
active). The sorcerer must cut open the target’s chest
prior to the ritual, laying bare the heart (this causes 3
points of lethal damage).
If the ritual is successful, the sorcerer removes
the target’s heart and may place it in a specially
prepared container made from clay or bone (Size 1,
Durability 2-3). The target immediately sinks into
torpor and can never regain consciousness until the
heart is either returned (by taking it from the jar and
replacing it in the vampire’s chest) or the container
is destroyed (the latter causes 3 levels of aggravated
damage to the target of the ritual, but allows the
torpid Kindred to regenerate the heart. Once the
aggravated damage caused by destroying the
container has been healed, the torpid Kindred
awakens, unless he still has to face torpor because of
injuries sustained before the ritual was enacted).
The container is highly vulnerable to sunlight
and fire. It suffers damage from these anathema like
a vampire, and the torpid vampire suffers the same
damage on top of the damage caused by the
container’s destruction (usually, this isn’t quite
enough to destroy the Kindred in question). This
ritual has a similar effect to staking, but it is much
harder to end the effect, and rumours are it used to
be used to force the associates of the Kindred who
had his heart stolen to serve the keeper of the heart
for a time if they wanted their ally to reawaken. The
ritual is also highly effective for exchanging
vampiric hostages, because both sides hold
something that the other side needs, but is incapable
of inflicting further harm on the other side.
It is possible to feed the heartless vampire vitae
to heal the injuries caused by the removal of the
heart. It is just not possible to awaken the torpid
vampire.
The Red Feast (Crúac ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫)
This extremely potent ritual allows a vampire to
consume a mortal’s soul after draining all the blood
in a manner akin to diablerie. The rolls to activate
the ritual are penalised by the target’s Resolve or
Composure, whichever is higher, and the ritual must
be cast on the victim before any blood is drained. If
the victim is not a virgin, the ritual rolls suffer an
additional -3 step penalty, and the ritual can only be
used on mortals (so ghouls, proximi, wolf-blooded
or mortals with minor supernatural templates cannot
be consumed in this manner). If the ritual is
successful, the sorcerer may drain the victim and
then consume its soul. Use the rules for diablerie,
with the following alterations: the vampire may only
try to consume the mortal’s soul for a number of
turns equal to the ritual’s successes or the vampire’s
Willpower, whichever is lower, and the vampire may
only gain a skill or a mental Merit from the victim.
Once the Feast is completed, the vampire loses a dot
of Humanity normally.
Acolytes are usually extremely careful when
using this ritual, secretly grooming a sacrifice for
years until it is ready. Simply snatching an existing
individual with outstanding abilities is also possible,
but chances are that other vampires already have
vested interests in such individuals, or that they are
otherwise protected (e.g. by the government), so
abducting them is often easier said than done. It’s
also possible that an individual turns out not to be as
outstanding as the sorcerer expected, and then no
benefit is gained, though the Humanity loss still
applies.
After consuming a mortal, a vampire’s aura
exhibits the telltale signs of diablerie for half a year.