Open Rites

Mortal Interactions with Ephemera

Contact

Faced with a haunting, or what appears to be a haunting, many occult investigators’ first course of action is to attempt to make contact with the entity involved. Unless the entity actually has the Image or Materialize Manifestations, or the Signs Numen, this is a slow process of trial, error, and research that takes up several actions, each roll relating to one tested attempt to understand what the entity wants. This is represented as an extended Wits + Occult roll with a number of required successes determined by the Storyteller. Supernatural equipment can help the character in his endeavor, as can certain tools geared toward spirit communication.

Summoning

For a solitary occultist attempting to force a ghost to appear, or a shaman inviting a spirit to Influence an area, occult libraries are filled with summoning rites. None of them, strictly speaking, actually work, in that without supernatural power it’s impossible to compel an ephemeral entity to appear, but the rituals and practices of a summoning can often, by accident or design, create the Conditions an entity would need to appear if it were so inclined. A summoning is made up of several research actions (Intelligence + Occult rolls, with bonuses and penalties for access to proper literature) to narrow down the requirements for the rest of the rites. The remaining actions serve as alternate ways to cause the Influence Conditions in the desired location.

By acquiring a ghost’s bones, or researching his Anchor and using it in the rite, the summoner sets up the Anchor Condition. By burning rare materials, the area is made Resonant with a fire spirit. By gathering people who can see the gears and following the God-Machine’s instructions, Infrastructure begins to build. Using the fruits of their researches, the ritualists customize Conditions for their intended guest, advancing the Condition to Open and allowing it to Manifest. Summoning rituals involving bringing an entity forth from another world must include a step where the gateway is opened — summonings for spirits must be performed in locii, and those for ghosts near a gate to the Underworld. These are even more difficult to pull off and are apt to be interrupted by meddling investigators, but are the only way to allow truly powerful entities access to the world. Occult literature is full of proposed ways to control summoned entities. These usually consist of banes and bans, which the summoner can use as leverage. Some spirits really are bound via their bans to serve mortals that raise them in the correct manner, while others will Blast anyone presumptuous enough to try.

Exorcism

Exorcism is the opposite of summoning, but works in exactly the same way — a series of actions (Resolve + Occult) that interact with the Conditions an entity is relying on to Manifest or feed. The classic image of an exorcism, priests sealing themselves into a room with a possessed victim to drive the entity out with prayer, confrontation, and willpower, is a combination of exorcism to chip away at the entity’s conditions, bindings and wards to keep it from escaping or summoning aid, abjurations to provide a spiritual kick, and the use of as many banes and bans as the exorcist has been able to research.

Abjuration

While exorcism is an attempt to tackle the Conditions underpinning an entity’s presence by mundane means or the use of bans and banes, abjuration fights the supernatural with the supernatural, pitting the user’s soul and Resolve against the entity he is attempting to force away.

Although many abjurists are religious, abjuration does not require religious faith to work. It’s a consequence of the human soul; by stilling and focusing the mind, and concentrating on the higher self, a skilled abjurist can cause his soul to affect Twilight, forcing ephemeral beings away and clearing an area of Influence. The abjuration effect must be performed as a meditative exercise that helps the user stay calm, even in the face of a rampaging, Materialized spirit. Religious abjurists use repeated prayer, while more secular occultists rely on incantations learned from their research. Anything that instills the proper calm and reverence will work, though — a soldier might attempt to abjure a ghost by reciting the patriotic oath of his country.

The abjuration itself is a Resolve + Composure roll contested by the entity’s Power + Resistance. As Abjuration channels the higher self, working the ritual by a means that matches the abjurist’s Virtue provides a two dice bonus to the dice pool. A strong psyche is also useful — Mortals with Integrity 10 receive a three-die bonus, Integrity 9 characters gain two dice, and Integrity 8 one die. Conversely, if the abjuration calls on the abjurist’s Vice, the dice pool is penalized by two dice. Low-Integrity characters suffer a one die penalty per Integrity dot below 6, -1 for Integrity 5, -2 for Integrity 4, and so on. Changelings have damaged souls: They do not gain a benefit or penalty from their Needle or Thread and use their total Clarity instead of Integrity, up to a maximum of 7.

If the abjuration is successful, all Conditions tagged by the entity in the abjurist’s Willpower in yards are suppressed for one day. On an exceptional success, the abjurist also becomes an extra bane for the entity until its Conditions return.

Warding and Binding

Occult lore is full of references to sealing locations from spirits and ghosts, either to bind them inside or keep them from entering. Chalk circles, protective charms in windows, or even a simple horseshoe above a threshold. Most of these tales have nothing substantial to them. Some are half-remembered references to bans or banes, or the weaknesses of supernatural — but still physical — creatures. A few, though, describe true warding or binding rituals.

Warding and binding are a combination of abjuration and an entity’s bane, empowered to create a temporary ban that prevents the entity from crossing in to or out of an area defined by the ritualist. Instead of confronting the entity directly as in abjuration, the ritualist marks the boundary she intends to protect with the entity’s bane. She doesn’t have to mark a complete boundary — her concept of the area she’s protecting is what’s important. Marking doors and windows with lamb’s blood to keep out a spirit that can’t touch it will prevent that spirit from simply floating through the wall while in Twilight, and carefully drawing the right sigils and name on the floor will serve to trap an angel.

If the ritualist doesn’t have the proper bane for her ritual’s subject, it fails automatically, so the most important part of warding is getting that detail right. Once that’s done, and the area has been marked, the ritualist performs whatever abjuration method she knows, focusing on suffusing the area with the essence of the entity’s bane. Performing the ritual requires a Presence + Occult roll, modified by the ritualist’s Integrity or Clarity as per an abjuration, and further penalized by the entity’s Rank. A further modifier depends on the size of the area being warded.

Vestige Creation

The creation of a Vestige requires a base item: There is a form of life force, often called Chi, Prana, Sekhem, or dozens of other names, that objects can become imbued with as a result of regular use or intense emotion in powerful acts. An object can also be imbued by sacrificing an existing relic as part of the process. After deciding on the base item, an intense memory must be imprinted to the object, appropriate to the desired result of the Vestige. Finally, the memory and life force may be sealed inside the object to permanently enchant the object. This final ritual is flexible in form, often individualized to the sorcerer or based on certain traditions.

Sealing the Vestige

• Dice Pool: Varies, often Intelligence + Occult
• Suggested Modifiers: Object imprinted with a fresh memory (+3), Object imprinted with a memory made more than five years ago (−1 for every five year period), object was imbued from sacrificing a Relic (+2).
• Success: The seal is complete. The object is now a Vestige. The player may give their sorcerer’s Vestige a dot rating up to their dots in Occult (minimum 1, maximum 5), a Virtue, and a Vice. The player and Storyteller should collaborate to create an appropriate Power and Curse for the Vestige.
• Exceptional Success: As success, except the player may give their sorcerer’s Vestige a dot rating up to their dots in Occult +1, potentially overcoming the known limits of vessels (minimum 2, maximum 6).
• Failure: The seal falls apart. The object does not become a Vestige. The sorcerer may try again with a −2 penalty to the dice pool. If the object is not made into a Vestige within a week, the rite has failed.
• Dramatic Failure: The seal implodes, shattering the object. The object is destroyed and the rite has failed.

If successful, the Vestige requires an expenditure of Experiences equal to its rating to be permanent (purchasing the Vestige merit), otherwise the seal dissipates after one week. The binding ritual can be repeated to extend the time by an additional week.

Hedge Magic

Fortune Telling

The character uses some minor form of divination, such as tarot reading, casting lots, or reading tea leaves to gain hints about a person or mystery. Though the character can attempt to influence the general focus of the information they receive, such as performing a reading about a character's future career or love life, fate decides what they learn. Attempts to use this more than once per subject per story produce ambiguous results. Appropriate tools or implements may provide an equipment bonus.

Dice Pool: Wits + Occult

• Success: The Storyteller provides small snippets of information to suggest a course of action if the player feels stuck, or provide foreshadowing about problems or mysteries ahead.
• Exceptional Success: As success, but the information is much clearer. In an Investigation, the hint provides a +2 die bonus to the next roll to find Clues through other means.
• Failure: The results are unclear or nonsensical.
• Dramatic Failure: The results appear to be clear, but the character has misread the signs. In an Investigation, the hint produces a tainted Clue. Sometimes, this produces a cruel twist of fate, such as one where efforts to safeguard against a predicted disaster ultimately cause the distaster.

Suggested Modifiers:

• The fortune teller's own fate is already entangled with the subject: -1 to -3
• The fortune teller is attempting to read their own fortune: -3
• Access to significant items from an Investigation, such as a murder weapon or physical Clue: +1
• Subject's fate or luck has been affected by an external supernatural power: + half the Supernatural Potency of the source, rounded up

Dowsing

Using instruments such as dowsing rods or pendulums, a dowser attempts to locate an important person or object. Supernatural tools may provide an equipment bonus. Attempts to locate subjects outside the mortal world or in a Twilight state automatically fail.

Dice Pool: Wits + Occult

Cost: 1 Willpower

• Success: The dowser's intuition narrows down the subject's location, providing a +2 die bonus to the next allied roll to find the target through mundane means.
• Exceptional Success: The dowser finds their subject.
• Failure: The results are ambiguous or nonsensical.
• Dramatic Failure: The dowser completely misreads the subject's location, leading to lost time or opportunities to find the subject.

Suggested Modifiers:

• The dowser is using a map or globe to locate the subject: -1 to -3, increasing with scale.
• The dowser is actively searching in the field while near the subject: +1 to +3.
• The dowser has some sympathetic connection with the subject, such as a person's possession or a part of the object: +1 to +3

Blessed Instrument

The details of this ritual are as diverse as the occultists who use it, but in all cases, they can imbue a mundane weapon or an item that has an equipment to subtly aid the user. The ritual takes a minimum of 10 minutes. An occultist can only maintain one such enchantment at a time, and may only perform the ritual once per chapter.

Dice Pool: Resolve + Occult - the item's equipment bonus

Cost: 1 Willpower

Duration: See below.

Success: For each success rolled, the item is imbued with a boon. Once the item is used, any unspent boons will fade at the end of the chapter. The item's user may spend boons to add an equal number of dice to rolls using the item. The Storyteller may spend boons to apply penalties to rolls that go against the ritualist's intended purpose. For example, if an occultist blesses her weapon to better defend herself, and an attacker turns the weapon against her, the Storyteller may spend boons to apply penalties to his attack roll.

Exceptional Success: As normal for success. At the Storyteller's discretion, the item may retain some supernatural power if the player purchases an appropriate merit representing a supernatural item.

Failure: The item is unaffected.

Dramatic Failure: The weapon is instead cursed, applying a -3 penalty to one roll of the Storyteller's choice.

Suggested modifiers:

• Extended ritual time: +1 to +3
• The ritualist is a mortal with Integrity 8 or higher: +1
• A blessing's purpose aligns with the Virtue of the ritualist or the item's owner: +1
• The ritualist acquires and sacrifices occult components: +1 per Availability

Protective Charm

Numerous cultures have their tokens of protection against the supernatural. Occultists can craft or bless such items to protect mortals. Though the effect is seldom potent, incremental advantages can make all the difference. This ritual takes at least 10 minutes or the time spent crafting the charm if it is being made from scratch. These charms only protect against specific categories of the supernatural, so the occultist must take care to correctly identify the threat before creating one.

Dice Pool: Resolve + Occult

Duration: See below.

Cost: 1 Willpower

Success: The charm provides a mortal bearer a +1 die bonus to resist the powers of a supernatural creature type determined by the ritualist. One charm may protect against fae creatures, applying its bonus to Dread Powers, Contracts, and other abilities associated with the Wyrd. Another may provide protection from the Numina and Manifestations of spirits. If this bonus is used, the bearer rolls their Resolve + Composure at the end of the scene. Failure on this roll means the charm's power fades.

Exceptional Success: As success, but there is more permanence to the charm. The bearer may spend a point of Willpower to restore the charm's protective magic. At the Storyteller's discretion, the bearer may purchase an appropriate merit for the item to "grow" into a lasting supernatural item.

Failure: The charm provides no more benefit than peace of mind.

Dramatic Failure: Instead of protecting the bearer, the charm draws the attention of a malevolent or mischievious supernatural creature.

Suggested modifiers:

• The charm was crafted by the ritualist from scratch: +1
• The charm is made from an item associated with a deceased guardian or ancestor of the intended bearer: +1 to +3
• The ritualist is a mortal with high Integrity: +1 for each point of Integrity above 7
• The ritualist is a supernatural creature and the bearer is one of their Touchstones: +1
• The bearer's Virtue is Faith or similar: +1 to on rolls to preserve the charm's effect.

Steel the Soul

The occultist performs a ritual to bolster a mortal's Integrity in preparation for a confrontation with the supernatural. This ritual takes at least 10 minutes to perform. At the Storyteller's discretion, this may provide similar benefits for supernatural beings with an Integrity analog.

Dice Pool: Resolve + Occult

• Success: The subject gains a +1 bonus to their next breaking point roll involving exposure to the supernatural. This bonus fades after being used or the subject goes to sleep.
• Exceptional Success: As success, and the subject also gains the Steadfast Condition.
• Failure: The ritual provides no mechanical benefit.
• Dramatic Failure: The subject's confidence is shaken, applying a -1 penalty to their next breaking point roll.

Suggested Modifiers:

• The ritualist has high Integrity: +1 for each point of Integrity above 7.
• The ritualist gives the subject another form of supernatural protection as part of the ritual: +1 to +3
• The subject is preparing for a confrontation in alignment with their Virtue: +1
• The upcoming confrontation involves confronting the subject's Vice: -1

Open Rite Mastery

Characters with the Ritual Sorcery Merit can master Open Rites they study. If the player fills a Sorcerous Rite slot with an Open Rite Mastery, they choose the Open Rite it represents and the sorcerer gains additional benefits when performing the rite:

• The choice of either one additional Mental or Social Attribute dot for the duration of the rite. The chosen Attribute must either apply to the rite’s dice pool or be thematically appropriate to the rite. This benefit continues during breaks or short interruptions during the rite, lasting no longer than one scene. The additional dot may raise the Attribute above its normal maximum.

• +1 bonus to any dice pool involved in performing the rite. This bonus stacks with Skill specialties.

• If a sorcerer sacrifices a Vestige during the rite, its dice pool receives an additional +1 bonus. The player may choose an additional Mental or Social Attribute to receive +1 bonus dot.