Level Two Rituals

Astronomical Compass	?
Attunement of the Instrument	Karen Kuhn
Blood Walk	[PGII,p87]
Calling the Restless Spirit	[CbN]
Cast Thine Hearing	Darrell Benvenuto
Cleansing of the Flesh	Deird'Re Brooks
Craft Bloodstone	[PGtS]
Detect Authority	[The Anarch Cookbook]
Donning the Mask of Shadows	[PGII,p87]
Eyes of the Night Hawk	[PGtS]
Eye of Watchfulness	T.l.M.f.A.p.
False Mask of Virtue	Deird'Re Brooks
Fireclaw	Deird'Re Brooks
Impassable Trail	[PGtS]
Learning the Mind Enslumbered	[CbN]
Leary's Purification	Jackson & Benvenuto
Machine Blitz	[PGtS]
Miracle	?
Mourning Life Curse	[PGII,p88]
The Open Passage	[Cl:Tremere]
Power of the Invisible Flame	[PGtS]
Principal Focus of Vitae Infusion	[PGII,p88]
Pursuit of the Nightmare	Datawolf & Benvenuto
Recure of the Homeland	[PGtS]
Severance of Thaumaturgy	Jensen & Benvenuto
Steps of the Terrified	[PGtS]
Summon Guardian Spirit	[PGtS]
Taint of the Sabbat	Thomas Jensen
The Gaze of Erzulie	Jensen & Benvenuto
The Preservation of Vitae	Darrell Benvenuto
The Preservation of Wooded Objects	Darrell Benvenuto
The Eye of Watchfulness	Golanski & Benvenuto
The Tongue of Damballah	Jensen & Benvenuto
The Zone of Secret	Jensen & Benvenuto
Ward versus Ghouls	[PGII,p87]

Astronomical Compass
Courtesy of: Unknown Origins (Pleases E-Mail: lance@acc.iit.edu if known)

Level: 2
Time Required:
Duration: Minimum of 5-Min.
Components:

By focusing on the relative directions of the stars and planets, one can find one's absolute position, which can be put into better-understood terms like latitude, compass direction, height, and the like.

System: Concentrate for five minutes and roll Astronomy + Perception. One success will tell you latitude, longitude, and facing to 10 degrees, and height to a hundred yards. Two gives you 1 degreee and 10 yards. Three gives 1/10th degree and 1 yard, etc. If you have time to spare and space to walk in a circle, reduce the target numbers; if you have heavy materials between you and the sky, increase them.

Attunement of the Instrument
Courtesy of: Karen Kuhn (102103.136@CompuServe.COM)

Level: 2
Time Required: 10 to 30-Mins.
Duration:
Components: musical tuning fork

This ritual takes approximately ten to thirty minutes to cast, depending on the skill of the caster. A musical tuning fork is required for the ritual to work, as well as an instrument to be affected. If successful, it will prevent the instrument from having to be tuned again for a number of months equal to the number of successes rolled on a (Manipulation + Music) roll.

Cast Thine Hearing
Courtesy of: Darrell Benvenuto (benvenut@qcunix.acc.qc.edu)

Level: 2
Time Required: 5-Min
Duration: Variable.
Components: Ears of a bat and one blood point of Kindred Vitae.

This ritual is designed to be used in conjunction with Casting of the Sight, but it can function on its own. It requires a number of components, most notably the ears of a bat, as well as a few drops of Kindred Vitae (one BP). When properly cast, this ritual will enable the caster to project his hearing to any point within his sight.

System: An Intelligence + Awareness roll is needed to target a specific spot, with a base difficulty of 5. The sound is tinny and difficult to make out at times; also, it is difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish direction of sound (the extended sense of hearing is mono, not stereo). Moderate concentration is required; the Magus must make a willpower check every half-hour to maintain his concentration. Failure means she has lost focus and cannot hear what is being said, or the focal point has slipped and moved to a different location, requiring a new targeting roll. A botch indicates the Magus has lost focus, and the ritual ceases to function. It must be recast, with new blood to power it (though the other material components are not damaged).

Cleansing of the Flesh
Courtesy of: Deirdre Brooks (margali@netcom.com)

Level: 2
Time Required:
Duration:
Components:

This ritual is mostly identical to Purity of Flesh, however it can be worked on others, even unconscious or unwilling targets, including mortals. With it, the caster causes the target's body to push to the surface and expel any foreign objects contained within it's flesh (bullets, glass, implanted devices). The ritual takes approximately an hour to cast, and unless the target is unconscious, is extremely painful, causing anywhere from one to three wound levels, depending on the amount and depth of material to be removed, to be determined by the Storyteller.


Eye of Watchfulness
Courtesy of: THE little MAN from ANOTHER place (ymg@ukc.ac.uk)

Level: 2
Time Required: 30-Min
Duration: Permanent
Components: 1 blood point and 1 of the casters eyelashes per rune.

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 invible until activated in the same way as the rune above. When activated the rune glows dimly whilst it briefly transmits images of what activated it to the caster. Whilst the Eye will be activated by someone Obfuscted as the rune, the caster won't necessarily see anyone 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
Courtesy of: Deird'Re Brooks (margali@netcom.com)

Level: 2
Time Required: 30-Min
Duration: One night
Components:

The Kindred can appear to be anyone she desires until the end of the evening.


Fireclaw
Courtesy of: Deird'Re Brooks (margali@netcom.com)

Level: 2
Time Required: 10-Min.
Duration: 1-Hour
Components: A lit brazier.

Causes fingertips to flame brightly, burning any who come in contact with them. Treat them as a chemical fire (2 Aggravated wounds, target number of 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 causes 2 Aggravated Wounds to her hands that can be soaked with Fortitude, target number is 6.


Leary's Purification
Courtesy of: C.S. Jackson (csj2053@utarlg.uta.edu)
Modified By: Darrell Benvenuto (benvenut@qcunix.acc.qc.edu)

Level: 2
Time Required: 15-Min.
Duration:
Components: Uses 3 points of the target's blood.

This ritual has its roots in the ritual of Purification of the Flesh, but is much more complex. Some call it the Purification of the Blood, and in that, the slang is aptly named. Although this ritual only requires level 2 in the path of Blood Thaumaturgy to learn, it requires level 4 in the path to have a chance of using it properly. This ritual allows the caster to inwardly condense from his or her tissues and inner blood all biological and/or mystical impurities (such as infectious diseases, the effect of Blood to Water, etc), pulling them together into a single pint (point) of Vitae over the course of fifteen minutes, at the end of which the contaminated Vitae is violently spewed from the caster's mouth, along with two other pints (points) of Vitae, washing the mouth and throat clean.

System: This ritual is physically punishing; the caster must make a Stamina + Occult roll against a Base difficulty of 6 plus 1 for every Blood Point used since contracting the contagion. Should it happen that this raises the difficulty above 10, the infection is so far reaching and deeply spread that this ritual will be unable to correct it. The caster loses four blood points whether the ritual is successful or not, but these do not count towards raising the difficulty. This ritual can be used on another, but with a fixed difficulty of 10 and, on mortals, its use causes three wound levels plus 1 wound level per success rolled. Thus, in this, the cure could be worse than the disease.

Successes	Effects
1	Removes normal bacterial and parasitic infections: Mononucleosis, blood flukes, trichnosis, heartworm, syphillis, etc.
2	Removes viral infections: HIV, Hepatitis, etc.
3	Corrects the effects of Blood Altering Disciplines.
4	Removes the effects of the Vaulderie* (the Sabbat Pack Blood Bond)
5	Breaks a Blood Bond (Must be done as soon as possible. +1 to the Base difficulty for every day it remains in effect.)

Miracle
Courtesy of: Unknown Origins (Pleases E-Mail: lance@acc.iit.edu if known)

Level: 2
Time Required: 30-Min.
Duration: Manimum of one night.
Components: A religious or fanatic group.

The user must lead a religious or fanatic group, and must perform a ceremony which has great meaning to the participants. This ceremony, which represented something important, becomes that thing for at most one night (and must not harm any who view it.) Thus, a burning-in-effigy can become the actual person who is being burnt; the manikin will seem alive and to scream, even on videocamera. Everyone viewing will believe this is an actual burning, if they were at least fairly serious to begin with. However, the person represented will not be found to be harmed, unless this harm is done separately.

Pursuit of the Nightmare
Courtesy of: Datawolf (datawolf@inconnu.org)
Modified By: Darrell Benvenuto (benvenut@qcunix.acc.qc.edu)

Level: 2
Time Required:
Duration:
Components:

Several items are required for this complex ritual. These include a personal piece of the target/victim, such as hair or nail clippings, and metal filings from a graveyard that is reputed to be haunted by the surrounding populace. When successfully cast upon a victim, this ritual creates a state of extreme and growing paranoia in the victim's mind for one night unless the effects are somehow shaken off.

System: The caster must roll her Manipulation + Intimidation (or Psychology) against a difficulty of the target's Intelligence + Courage. If the target is aware that he is the subject of a spell or altering influence, the difficulty is increased by 1-3, such value to be determined by the Storyteller. If it exceeds 10, this ritual will have no effect. One or more successes indicates that the spell has started and is working.
During the first hour after this ritual takes effect, the victim experiences at first a suspicion that something is amiss, then a gnawing feeling that he is being watched, followed by a strong sensation to seek out crowds and well-lit places. Attempting to achieve this leads to the quickly rising certainty that he is being pursued by someone or something, which blossoms quickly into a full-fledged, irrational panic that he is being stalked by something nightmarish and that he must not remain in one place for long or he will be caught and killed.
For the rest of the evening, the ritual causes the victim to believe that any shadow hides an assailant, any closed door or corner hides a pursuer, following him, and any unexplained sound to indicate impending doom at the hands of an unidentified entity.
For each hour after the ritual takes effect, the victim is allowed to roll his Intelligence + Courage against a difficulty of the number of successes initially gained by the caster plus 2. Three successes are necessary to throw off the effect, the victim's paranoia decreasing slightly with each success. This same check may be made each time the victim is confronted with his irrational behavior or is held in place for longer than ten minutes with this intent. The difficulty to resist Fear-based Frenzy rolls is increased by the number of caster's successes for the duration.
The effect is completely in the mind of the victim; Auspex level 2, however, will reveal the sparkle of magic in his aura about his head.

Severance of Thaumaturgy
Courtesy of: Thomas Jensen (tj@hum.auc.dk)
Modified By: Darrell Benvenuto (benvenut@qcunix.acc.qc.edu)

Level: 2
Time Required: Variable
Duration: Instantaneous
Components: None

This ritual was originally designed to be used against the ritual of Illumination of the Trail of the Prey. However, it has other applications. As the name of the ritual would indicate, it acts to disrupt the workings of active thaumaturgical rituals. It can be used to break or disrupt nearly any thaumaturgical ritual up to level II, such as Trail of the Prey, Defense of the Sacred Haven, Wake with Morning's Freshness, etc. In most instances, unless forced by the parameters of the ritual to maintain concentration, or able to immediately see the result, the caster whose ritual effect is disrupted is unaware of it.

System: For attempting to sever an existing, static ritual effect, the caster of the ritual must roll her Intelligence + Occult against a base difficulty of 6. This difficulty Rating is modified upwards by 2 for every level Higher than 1 that the ritual being affected is; thus a level 2 ritual would have a difficulty of 8, and a level 3 a difficulty of 10. The number of successes gained is rolled against in contest by the ritual being disrupted, using the original caster's Perception + Occult against a fixed difficulty of 7. If the Severance ritual gains equal or more successes than the original ritual, it succeeds, and the original ritual ceases to function. Thus, a Trail of the Prey ritual would lead a tracker up to the point where the Severance had been cast, and the trail would dead-end there. The range of this spell (i.e., how far the caster can be from the target of the ritual (i.e, from the windows that Defense of the Sacred Haven had been cast upon) is five feet multiplied by the caster's level of Thaumaturgy. For those attempting to sever an active thaumaturgic ritual (i.e., one which requires the original caster to maintain concentration during the effect), the two opposing thaumaturgists must make an extended contest of Thaumaturgy + Willpower, each one's successes taking away from the other's, until one achieves a total of five successes. The loser may, at the Storyteller's discretion, lose a point of temporary Willpower as a result. The loser cannot attempt to break the spell again for at least a minute or two.

Taint of the Sabbat
Courtesy of: Thomas Jensen (tj@hum.auc.dk)

Level: 2
Time Required: 1-Hour.
Duration: Maximum of one night.
Components: A blood point of the target's vitae and optionally eyes of one of the Sabbat involved.

This ritual enables the caster to sense whether or not a target has taken part in the Vaudlerie. The thaumaturgist may also be able to sense how strong the individual ties are to others (the Vinculum rating), depending on his number of successes.

System: A blood point of the target's vitae is required for this ritual. During the hour-long casting, the thaumaturgist (or a willing participant, knowledgeable enough to participate in the ritual) drinks the blood. For the remainder of the night, the imbiber is able to, upon making eye contact with the target, roll Perception + Sabbat Lore versus a difficulty of the target's Willpower rating.
If the eyes of one of the Sabbat involved (possessed of Vinculum ties to the target) are crushed and her inner juices added to the vitae to be drunk, the difficulty drops to 2, regardless of the target's Willpower rating, unless it is lower than two already.

The Gaze of Erzulie
Courtesy of: Thomas Jensen (tj@hum.auc.dk)
Modified By: Darrell Benvenuto (benvenut@qcunix.acc.qc.edu)

Level: 2
Time Required:
Duration:
Components:

See the Path of Voodoo.
This ritual calls for the caster to expend 2 Blood Points of Vitae, bled into a bowl and mixed with a number of dried and crushed plants associated with potence and love, including Ginseng and Amaretto. The Magus must then draw the Veve of Erzulie (in her aspect as the Loa of Love) on his forehead and above his heart. Several other symbols of love and potence must be drawn on various mentionable and unmentionable parts of the body over the course of the next hour as the caster chants in a steady rhythm. At the completion of the symbols and the chanting, the Magus places two small rubies over his eyes and speaks the final words of the ritual, to which he has been slowly building over the past hour. With a shiver, the rubies and symbols disappear.
The Magus can now, within the duration of that evening, use the "Gaze of Erzulie" at will to make a person (Supernatural or Kine) fall in love with him. The Magus must make eye contact and concentrate, and the pent-up power of the ritual is released in a heavy rush. To other watchers, it seems that the Magus's eyes flare a deep, ruby-red for a half a second.

System: The Magus makes a (Charisma + Leadership) roll against a difficulty of either the target's Willpower (for Supernaturals) or Willpower -2 (for Kine). If a botch is obtained, the target will know something was attempted, and will feel unreasoning anger towards the Cainite. Indeed, she may attack, with the mindless, enraged intent to kill. If less than three successes are gained, the target will be attracted to the Magus, although it will not be an overriding compulsion. All charisma-based rolls will have their difficulties lowered by one, and the roleplay of the conversation and interplay should reflect an interest. If the Magus is a boor, a snob, or is offensive, this feeling will rapidly fade. However, if three or more (3+) successes are obtained, the target enters into a state which is very similar to the emotional dependency experienced during a Blood Bond; the target will be fascinated by the Magus, and will want to spend time with him, to get to know him, to be with him and by his side. This feeling lasts until something bad happens to the target that might "snap her out of it" and she makes a Willpower roll versus a difficulty of 8. This difficulty is lowered by one for each of the following conditions: The Magus is physically distasteful/disfigured, physically or verbally abusive, uncaring of the target's needs, has revealed his Vampiric Nature, or has committed distasteful or frightening acts in the presence of the Target.

The Preservation of Vitae
Courtesy of: Darrell Benvenuto (benvenut@qcunix.acc.qc.edu)

Level: 2
Time Required:
Duration:
Components:

This ritual allows the Magus to store quantities of blood for extended periods of time without worrying about it losing its ability to nourish. Since the Kindred is really after the life force contained in the vitae and not the liquid itself, it is necessary to keep the vitae in a suspended state, in which it does not decay. This twenty-minute ritual acts to prevent the life force from escaping the fluid through enchantment of the container. The container must be of heavy, dark glass, with a wax seal. This wax must be made by the Magus, and must contain a quantity of Kindred Vitae, which lends it a reddish hue. One blood point of Vitae and a block of wax makes enough for two bottles, each containing no more than six blood points (pints) of vitae (if human -- less if animal). The bottle is filled with the fresh vitae and the ritual is begun; after twenty minutes of incantation and tight concentration by the Magus, the seal is affixed and the liquid enters a state of stasis. It will not slosh about inside the bottle if shaken, and appears frozen. If the bottle is broken, the liquid will resume it's normal state. Note that this ritual can be used to preserve any liquid, such as milk, tea, wine, etc. The temperature of the liquid remains constant -- if the ritual was performed on a bottle of hot tea, the tea would be just as hot when unstoppered a year later. The outside of the bottle is always cool and slick to the touch. The wax seal can be easily broken with a fingernail. Underneath it is usually a cork. Once the seal is broken, the ritual's effect abates, and the bottle quickly either warms or cools to match its contents. This ritual will last up to a century or more, depending on the conditions of storage -- if the wax decays or corrodes, the ritual effect is lost. Thus, being stored in a dry place, such as a desert, will give a longer "shelf life" than in a humid jungle environment.


The Preservation of Wooded Objects
Courtesy of: Darrell Benvenuto (benvenut@qcunix.acc.qc.edu)

Level: 2
Time Required:
Duration:
Components:

When one is an immortal, and furthermore, a studious one such as a Tremere, it becomes inconvenient in the extreme to have to constantly recopy tomes of material as their paper decays into dust. In the modern days of computers, microfilm, microfiche and acid-free paper, this is not as much of a problem as it used to be, but this ritual is designed to halt the decomposition of anything composed of wood, including paper. If cast upon a new book, the book will remain in that pristine condition (excepting wear and tear from usage), secure against decay from age. One might think that this is a simple task, and that a level 1 ritual would suffice, but it is not. This ritual takes almost a full hour to complete, and acts in several discrete steps. The way it works is that it first charges the wood fibers with energy, neutralizing those acids that cause decomposition, then forcing out all of the existing air that permeates the material. The ritual continues into its second stage, creating an ultra-thin film of ionized particles over the entire surface of the material which only allows small molecules, such as hydrogen and helium to pass. Over the course of a year, these trace gases permeate the book, assuring that no further decay will occur. This spell will also work on wooden furniture and decorations, having a treatment range of one square foot per success on a Willpower roll. This preservation effect will last for approximately one century, whereupon decay will slowly start to resume as the ritual fades. Conscientious librarians, however, will renew this spell on all their books every 75 years or so.


The Eye of Watchfulness
Courtesy of: Yann Golanski (ymg@ukc.ac.uk)
Modified By: Darrell Benvenuto (benvenut@qcunix.acc.qc.edu)

Level: 2
Time Required:
Duration:
Components:

Requiring a half an hour to complete, this useful ritual requires the caster to cut off and burn one of his eyelashes and mix it with a blood point of his own Vitae while murmuring a soft incantation. The mixed blood is then used to draw a symbolic eye, as well as a number of thaumaturgic symbols, upon any flat surface, such as a door or a wall. This drawing slowly fades, not to the rusty color of dried blood, but to a color and shade only slightly darker or lighter than the surrounding material. It can be seen, although its placement greatly determines the difficulty of perception (one placed eye-level on a door is easier to perceive than one in a corner affected with mildew). Should anyone except the caster pass within a meter of the Eye, it will activate. Since it has no mind, it is unaffected by Obfuscate. When activated, it will glow dimly, transmitting images of what activated it to the caster. As with any means of remote image transmission, Obfuscate will not function to shield the target. The caster can have up to his level in Blood Thaumaturgy's worth of Eyes "active" at any given time, and he will immediately know when any of them activate. Merely closing his eyes and concentrating will allow the caster to receive the images. Eyes last until they are either activated a number of times equal to the caster's Blood Thaumaturgy level, they are scrubbed off or the dried, enchanted blood flakes away over several years. The Eye needs to be drawn at least four inches wide by three inches high. Larger Eyes give a larger view, but are more noticeable.


The Tongue of Damballah
Courtesy of: Thomas Jensen (tj@hum.auc.dk)
Modified By: Darrell Benvenuto (benvenut@qcunix.acc.qc.edu)

Level: 2
Time Required:
Duration:
Components:

See the Path of Voodoo.
Snakes can communicate in a very limited fashion, and this ritual allows communication with them. The Magus must have the tongue of a Boa Constrictor in her possession, and it must be washed over with a full point of the caster's Vitae while the Magus chants for a full two hours, carefully scratching the Veve of Damballah into the surface of the wet tongue with her nails. At the completion of the ritual, the caster places the snake tongue on top of her own, where it sticks tightly until removed. With this tongue in place, the caster will be able to communicate with all snakes within earshot. The caster, unfortunately, cannot converse verbally (writing is still fine) in anything save "snake" while the tongue is in her mouth, and once removed, the ritual is broken. Normal snakes obviously cannot carry on conversations, however, danger signals can be given, as can cries for assistance. This ritual comes in handy when attempting to discuss things with ancient Snake Spirits, those who have never bothered to learn the Tongue of Man.


The Zone of Secret
Courtesy of: Thomas Jensen (tj@hum.auc.dk)
Modified By: Darrell Benvenuto (benvenut@qcunix.acc.qc.edu)

Level: 2
Time Required:
Duration:
Components:

Obfuscate is not available to all, and is often an envied Discipline to possess. This ritual is an attempt at duplicating some of the effects of Obfuscate. With this ritual active, you can conduct a private conversation with all other sounds being shut out and all sounds within the zone kept in (producing a hollow, echoing tone to the spoken word -- letting participants know the ritual is working). Movement within the Zone is slightly blurred to outside observers; attempts at Lip Reading will fail. Should this ritual be cast in a dimly lit area, an effect similar to the Cloak of Shadows will be cast across the participants, rendering them difficult to perceive without Auspex.

System: The caster must roll Manipulation + Stealth against a fixed difficulty of 6 for the Zone not to be flawed (which will allow sound to leak out). The Zone has a base diameter of 5 yards, but can be controlled to be smaller by the caster. It will last approximately 15 minutes per success, or until dispelled (at will).

Created and Maintained by Lance W. Larsen
(lance@iit.edu)
TVC Comments & Submissions